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“Education is key. Many people don’t know what constitutes domestic violence or that it affects both women and men.” — Eva Jones, read more p21
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Not Fear, But Love: Cancelling Holidays in the Year of COVID-19 by Nick Judin
courtesy Angela Reddix
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Angela Reddix first had to argue with her father, George Long, to get him to take COVID-19 seriously. It was love for his wife and grandchildren that convinced him to cancel Thanksgiving. From left: Selina Long, George Long, Angela Reddix and Yu-Sun Long.
to be near family, opening an automotive business. In the ’90s, George became the first Black alderman of the mostly white town, an undertaking Reddix remembers as tinged with danger. “We weren’t allowed to answer the phone while he was running,” his daughter said, in case they received threats. Living out in the country, they had always had rifles in the house. But during his campaign, Reddix said, “there was always a shotgun next to the door.” With the arrival of COVID-19, the qualities Reddix cherishes most about her parents intersected in a way she could never have expected. “When it came around, he was so laissez-faire,” Reddix said of her father. “He’s older, in (his early 60s) but he’s still very sprightly. He used to run marathons, compete in arm-wrestling competitions.
He’s strong. Looks younger than his age.” He does. It took no small amount of bickering for Reddix to communicate the danger of the virus to her father. To George, it was like the flu. He’d lived through bad flu seasons. “But it’s not the flu, it’s worse than the flu,” Reddix explained. “It affects the cardiovascular system.” Still, he was willing to take the risk. George Long was not a man who made it through life cringing at the prospect of putting himself in danger. “He’s very social,” Reddix said. “He loves going to the auctions, loves going to church,” where he is a deacon. Finally, Reddix put it in terms he simply could not ignore. “It’s not about you,” she said. “It’s about mom. You could give it to her. It could be you! Mom can’t die alone in a hospital. How are you gonna tell the grandkids?”
Reddix could see the moment of realization dawning. “How are you going to tell the grandkids?” This was the question that convinced George Long to cancel his Thanksgiving plans. This was the question that convinced him to wear a mask, to minimize his social life for the duration of the pandemic. George loves his grandchildren. He loves his wife, Yu-Sun. And perhaps more than anything he loves the budding relationship between the children and their halmoni: the way she sneaks them food between mealtimes, the way they sprint to see her when they come to visit. This is what motivates him to pay the heavy price that is a year without tangible family togetherness. Not fear, but love. more NOT FEAR, BUT LOVE, p 10
November 25 - December 8, 2020 • boomjackson.com
hen coronavirus came to Mississippi, Angela Reddix had a plan. An educator for over a decade, she became a homemaker after a series of medical operations took a toll on her health. She had already learned to cope with home isolation—now her family had to master the same skills. “When all this came around, I said ‘here’s the game plan,’” Reddix told the Jackson Free Press in a Nov. 17 interview. Reddix and her mother have Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that often damages the heart. For the fall semester, Reddix’s stepchildren have remained in virtual classes, a transition they’ve struggled with at times. Even more difficult is the looming question of holidays. The kids, 6 and 8 years old, have grown accustomed to their holiday visits to see Reddix’s parents: George and Yu-Sun Long, often at their aunt’s home in South Mississippi. Yu-Sun, whom the children call halmoni, is the heart and soul of the family. “Watching my children and their grandparents bond has been magical,” Reddix said. She laughs, remembering the first visit after her Yu-Sun learned her step-granddaughter loved tomatoes. She had eight pounds straight from a Mississippi hothouse waiting on the kitchen counter when they arrived. “Mom,” Reddix said, “she’s only 38 pounds herself.” Yu-Sun was unmoved. “I didn’t want her to be hungry,” she reasoned. When Reddix speaks about her father, George, there is an unmistakable pride in her voice. Born in Iuka, and experiencing school integration as a student himself, he looked to the U.S. Army for an opportunity to expand his horizons. There, in a posting in South Korea in the late 1970s, he met Yu-Sun. They returned to America together, married in a court ceremony in Texas, and not long afterward, Angela and her sister Selina arrived. In their childhood they lived the lives of Army brats, across America, to Germany, to Korea and back again. Years later, the Longs returned to Iuka,
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