Roscoe
By Mark Cook
()
About this ebook
Roscoe is a short story about two men, generations apart, who become unlikely friends.Set in Tulsa, OK in the late 1990s, Roscoe is about a reading tutor who becomes the student when he learns about a terrible event in Oklahoma history.
North Tulsa is not a place where a middle class, white teenager is usually found. Mark goes there to help Roscoe, a 97-year old black man, learn to read. Roscoe teaches him about the Tulsa Race Riot, one of the worst race riots in American history. Mark even faces racism himself when he ventures into a neighborhood he is not welcome in.
Mark Cook
Mark Cook was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma in 1962. He spent his childhood playing and working on his grandparents dairy farm in Eldon, Oklahoma. His short stories Fritter and Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise were set on that farm. "My fondest memories are squirrel hunting in the woods and roaming the pastures and creeks searching for treasures." Mark is a Cherokee Citizen, and lives with his wife and their dogs east of Pryor Creek, Oklahoma. He teaches English at an at-risk high school in Broken Arrow and creative writing to adults at Northeast Tech in Claremore, OK.
Read more from Mark Cook
Stories from Last Wednesday Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFused Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Roscoe
Related ebooks
On the Come Up Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParticular Stones Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Secret Escape: The Lost Trinkets Series, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Eulogist Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThree Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnforgiven Victims Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wolf Trap Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Manipulated Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRedemption Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlood Trails: Tears of Blood, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Truth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfter and Before: The Story of Hatley Chambers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMemory of Murder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsManor of Disposition: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Midcoast Murder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIt's the Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTales On The Dark Side Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSolemn Tales from the Scribe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNight-Mantled: Best of Wily Writers, volume 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRefined Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Return to Murder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Song of Home: A Novel of the Swing Era Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Phantom Touch #1 (Ghost Paranormal Romance) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Antecedent: Reborn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Shadow I Walk In Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShadow Winds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove At The Wrong Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Can't Win: A Story from Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKneading You: A Lancaster Story, #1 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for Roscoe
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Roscoe - Mark Cook
This story is a work of fiction. All names, characters, institutions, places, and events portrayed in each story are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or events is entirely coincidental.
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to Lisa, my wife. She tries not to laugh at my jokes, but rarely succeeds.
Forward
Roscoe is historical fiction. Meaning the characters are completely made up, but the events are true. About 16 years ago, I taught Oklahoma history for one semester. I know, pure torture. However, during that time, I happened to see a newscast that featured a story on the Tulsa Race Riot Commission. I had never heard of the Tulsa race riot.
The next day when I arrived at school, I looked in the Oklahoma history book for more information. What I found was a shame. There was one short paragraph about one of the worst race riots in the history of our nation.
I began searching the Internet (this was way before Google.). There was little to nothing about the riot. However, I did find a few books at Barnes and Noble about the race riot. A few months later the findings of the Tulsa Race Riot Commission were available on the Internet. I printed out the report and read it several times.
My intention was to write a novel about the riot. However, the best I could come up with is a short story. The riot description in this story is based on that report. Roscoe is based on a black man who lived next door to me 50 years ago. I don’t remember much about him other than he was kind to my sister and me.
I hope you enjoy Roscoe and learn a little bit of Oklahoma history.
Sincerely,
––––––––
Mark Cook
Roscoe
Monday, May 3, 1999
The old house was like all the other houses on the block: the paint was chipping, and the roof needed replacing years ago. Boxwood hedges camouflaged the three concrete block steps to the front porch. I got out of my brand new 1999 Mustang my parents got me for graduation and ambled up the worn cement walkway to the front porch. As I stepped up on the second rickety concrete block it shifted under my weight and nearly bucked me off into the waiting shrubs. When I finally made it to the safety of the front porch, it was