MAKES ME WANNA HOLLER by Nathan McCall Published 1995 page 28-29
Scobe lived with his family in one of the older sections of the neighbor¬hood. My brother Dwight had told me about Scobe a few years before I first saw him. I could tell from the sense of awe and wonder when Dwight talked about Scobe that he revered the guy. Without even seeing him, I admired him, too, and envied Dwight for having the chance to see him, live and in person, every day in school.
Scobe stood out from the other hoods because he was super baad, meaning he took flak from no man, white or black.
He had a medium build, bronze skin, flaming red hair, and a sizzling hot temper to match. When I transferred to Waters, Scobe was a ninth grader there three years ahead of me. He practically ran the school. Everybody, teachers and girls included, feared and respected him. Scobe was no hell raiser with his hands, but he had more heart than anybody I'd seen. When he lost his temper, he'd take on anybody and will himself to win. He eventually became known among blacks through-out Portsmouth as the baaddest cat to come out of Cavalier Manor.
Scobe had an older brother, Arnold, a stocky knockout artist. The two of them double banked guys when they got into fights. Arnold was as cool as Scobe was baad. He had a pair of black high top All Stars, which he laced with two pair of shoestrings, one black, one white. He wore his All Stars with thick sweat socks that pushed his pant legs up, giving them a disheveled look. He left the laces untied, and let the tongue of his sneakers droop, just so. It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Arnold had a unique pimp, too: He took the first short step, then paused longer than the normal pause for a pimp, then took his hop real slow. It was a brazen pimp that said, "I know I'm baad."
Scobe and Arnold set the standard for manliness in Cavalier Manor.
Guys talked about their street exploits and their persuasive charm with girls.
Dudes studied them like schoolbooks and imitated their walks and the lispy way they talked.
Whenever I saw Scobe in the hallways at school,
I'd stand off to the side and watch, drinking in every detail about him.
I remember the first time Scobe spoke to me. One day, when my grandmother Bampoose sent me to the 7 Eleven, I saw his buddies and him hanging around in front of the store. After I came out, I hung around nearby, listening to them talk. Scobe saw me gazing admir¬ingly at him and infused in me the fear of God. He walked over, looked deep into my eyes, and asked sincerely: "Don't you think pussy stinks?" I was shocked that he had said something to me;
I was dazed, like the fan who's touched the hem of a rock star's garment.
I tried to come up with a way to respond without revealing myself as a no name lame, but the words
stuck in my throat like a chicken bone. So I just stood there, wide eyed, tongue tied, and paralyzed.
I went away that day, bewildered still by the question he'd asked,
but proud to have been acknowledged by a hero.
After watching the older cats, I knew I had to work on getting my act together. Shyness or not,
I had to break into the social scene or risk being victimized in some way by it. …….. end quote
author’s website:
http://www.nathanmccall.net/
http://www.amazon.com/Makes-Me-Wanna-Holler-America/dp/0679740708
Scobe later taught McCall and his gang how to trap girls for gang rape.
[btw - At age 28, Scobe murdered his wife and then committed suicide]
