Whenever Aunt Dorothy wanted to get in touch with Uncle Bro she would get into her white Town Car and drive to Midtown. Midtown is an interesting section of Memphis, TN. Some parts of Midtown are made up of rich and affluent people. However, there are other parts of Midtown that you would not want to be caught alone in at night. They called that part of Midtown “The Bottom”, and that’s where Uncle Bro lived. There were certain places that Uncle Bro frequented often. Aunt Dorothy came around so much that the people there recognized her car. If Uncle Bro was not around; she would just stop someone on the street and ask, “Do you know Maxwell?” (Maxwell was Uncle Bro’s street name.) Nine times out of ten they knew him. She would then tell them to have Maxwell to call his Aunt Dorothy and a few days later he would call.
It was no secret that Aunt Dorothy had some money. However, she was never afraid to drive to Midtown alone and look for Uncle Bro. She did not want to bother other people with what she considered was her responsibility. He was her sister’s son and since her sister was deceased; she was going to do what she knew her sister would have done herself. After I moved in with Aunt Dorothy, I became the chauffeur. Uncle Bro was my uncle (my mother’s brother) so she was willing to bother me. Since Uncle Bro did not have a phone, sometimes our trips were to take messages to him, such as invitations to family dinners, or give him important family news. Other times, Aunt Dorothy would have food and clothes that she wanted to take to him. I would load up the black Lexus (Aunt Dorothy’s new car.) and the two of us would head to Midtown. It may have all been in my mind, but I felt that we received the strangest looks from people on the street when we made our trips to Midtown. After I few trips, I decided that we would use my car in the future. I figured we would not look like a target in a old red Ford Escort. I didn’t realize that we were safer in the black Lexus because everyone in Midtown new Maxwell’s Aunt Dorothy and nobody messed with Aunt Dorothy.
In 2004 the Memphis Downtown/Midtown real estate market was booming. New single family homes and condos were popping up everywhere. Real Estate Investors were offering people large amounts of money for their property just to tear it down and build new and improved developments. During this time, Uncle Bro rented a room from a lady who owned three shot-gun houses on a side street in Midtown. Uncle Bro was not working, but since he took care of the lady’s son, she allowed him to stay for free.
Towards the end of that year the lady who owned the houses where Uncle Bro lived was made an offer to sell all three of her houses on that street. That meant that everyone living in them had to move. When Uncle Bro found out, he called Aunt Dorothy to get his sister Edmonia’s telephone number. Aunt Dorothy was not home, so he asked me for the number. A year or so prior Aunt Edmonia and her daughters, asked Uncle Bro to move to Minnesota with them. At that time he turned them down because he did not like the cold weather. However, he was considering it now because he was determined not to go back to living on the streets. He shared his concerns with me. I gave him Aunt Edmonia’s number and told him that I would let Aunt Dorothy know that he had called. I had recently closed on the Lakeview house and was making plans to move. I knew that I could not live with Uncle Bro, so the thought of asking him to move in with me did not cross my mind.
To Be Continued ...
By: Angela Green
Founder
Ambassadors of Memphis
It was no secret that Aunt Dorothy had some money. However, she was never afraid to drive to Midtown alone and look for Uncle Bro. She did not want to bother other people with what she considered was her responsibility. He was her sister’s son and since her sister was deceased; she was going to do what she knew her sister would have done herself. After I moved in with Aunt Dorothy, I became the chauffeur. Uncle Bro was my uncle (my mother’s brother) so she was willing to bother me. Since Uncle Bro did not have a phone, sometimes our trips were to take messages to him, such as invitations to family dinners, or give him important family news. Other times, Aunt Dorothy would have food and clothes that she wanted to take to him. I would load up the black Lexus (Aunt Dorothy’s new car.) and the two of us would head to Midtown. It may have all been in my mind, but I felt that we received the strangest looks from people on the street when we made our trips to Midtown. After I few trips, I decided that we would use my car in the future. I figured we would not look like a target in a old red Ford Escort. I didn’t realize that we were safer in the black Lexus because everyone in Midtown new Maxwell’s Aunt Dorothy and nobody messed with Aunt Dorothy.
In 2004 the Memphis Downtown/Midtown real estate market was booming. New single family homes and condos were popping up everywhere. Real Estate Investors were offering people large amounts of money for their property just to tear it down and build new and improved developments. During this time, Uncle Bro rented a room from a lady who owned three shot-gun houses on a side street in Midtown. Uncle Bro was not working, but since he took care of the lady’s son, she allowed him to stay for free.
Towards the end of that year the lady who owned the houses where Uncle Bro lived was made an offer to sell all three of her houses on that street. That meant that everyone living in them had to move. When Uncle Bro found out, he called Aunt Dorothy to get his sister Edmonia’s telephone number. Aunt Dorothy was not home, so he asked me for the number. A year or so prior Aunt Edmonia and her daughters, asked Uncle Bro to move to Minnesota with them. At that time he turned them down because he did not like the cold weather. However, he was considering it now because he was determined not to go back to living on the streets. He shared his concerns with me. I gave him Aunt Edmonia’s number and told him that I would let Aunt Dorothy know that he had called. I had recently closed on the Lakeview house and was making plans to move. I knew that I could not live with Uncle Bro, so the thought of asking him to move in with me did not cross my mind.
To Be Continued ...
By: Angela Green
Founder
Ambassadors of Memphis
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