Life Is So Good (Part-2)
Chapters 11 – 13
George remained in Tennessee for two years. Most of his money was spent on food and train tickets. One day, when George saw a job building a wall along the Mississippi River, he immediately joined it. If George had a mule, his salary could have been higher, but he did not have a mule because he was a traveller.
The manager there gave George a mule to work but his salary was not much. This was still enough for George because there he got free food and a cabin to rest. There he met many black people who had come from far away places. But, these people were different from George because they came in search of employment to feed their families whereas George was a traveler who traveled to different places.
When George Marshall returned in 1923, he saw that the conditions there were still the same. He liked the candy he brought for his brothers and sisters very much. George also brought a dress for his mother, which she was hesitant to buy because she did not want George to spend her money on such things. His mother wanted him to save her money or spend it on herself, but when George said it was a gift he had graciously brought for her, his mother took the dress with a smile.
After this, George went to his farm and started helping there despite not having any work for him. When George went to the city to sell cotton, he saw a car closely for the first time. The car salesman had come to sell the car to the shop owner but he was not there. The salesman asked George where he could get some water for his car, then George helped him. When the salesman tried to give him money, George said there was no need for it.
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The salesman praised him for his helpfulness and kindness and asked if George wanted to drive the car. At first George was hesitant but then he tried. This was the first time he drove a car and he was the first person in the Dawson Family to drive a car. The salesman was teaching them to drive the car while sitting on the passenger seat. Everyone present there was looking at him and this is what the salesman wanted. He told George that when other people see someone driving a car, they will be motivated to buy it.
On reaching home, George told his family about his experience, which shocked them all, especially his father. After this, his mother said that they knew he would not stay at home for long. She said that she had noticed something different in George, but that there was still something missing and that he should keep exploring different places because she knew he wanted the same. George thought about it and agreed. His mother said he could come home whenever he felt like.
Next, George went to Houston and Brownsville, Texas. At last, he reached a small town in Mexico. When he got down from the train, he was very thirsty but he did not know where the water tap for black people was. When he asked the people getting off the train, everyone pointed towards a tap. George got in line, but then he realized he had to get a cup to drink water.
When the person behind him noticed this, he offered his cup to George. Seeing this, George became very confused. The person who was offering him the cup was not black. He was a little dark but still a fair person. When George asked him why there was only one cup, the man did not understand what he meant. The man apologized for only having one cup and said they would have to share it. Hearing this, George laughed because no white man would ever agree to share a cup with him, but he did not want to insult the man so George used his cup to drink water and returned it to him.
After drinking water, the white man named Jorge, whose name was similar to Jorge but was Spanish, went with them to a restaurant to eat. When George went inside, he was in a dilemma whether he was allowed to sit there or not. He didn’t know whether black people like him were served there or not, but then he saw a waitress setting a table for the two of them.
George was sitting next to Jorge and he couldn’t believe he was sitting with a gore. They saw that this place was really different from Marshall, Texas. Like him, Jorge was also a labourer. He told George that he needed people to work on a coffee plantation near his village, but the salaries there were low. His family also owned a farm, where George could help them in exchange for food and a place to stay. George agreed to this.
He thought about staying in Mexico. That village was very poor, yet the white people of the village never discriminated against George. He could get married there and start his own family. Nevertheless, Texas was still home for them, even though many people there did not like black people.
After some time, George returned to Texas and began helping on his farm. His parents did not ask him to help but he enjoyed working there. Days passed and George realized that he was not ready to live in Texas yet. So he went to the railway station to go to a place where he had never been before.
On the train to Cleveland, George met a black man. They saw that the man was sitting alone. He went up to the man and introduced himself. George realized that he had never had this much confidence since he was in Texas. There was a lot of change in him after visiting a new place.
The train stopped in St. Louis. George and Artis, whom he met on the train, look for a café. He was having difficulty finding cafes because most of the cafes there had signs written outside that they served food only to white people.
When he found a café that welcomed everyone, George took the menu and pretended he knew how to read and write. There the order was given and George said that he would also eat the same, only he wanted to have hot chocolate instead of coffee.
After eating there, George didn’t have much money left. He had already purchased a ticket to Cleveland, but his problem was arranging food for the journey. So George decided to stay in St. Louis for a while to find work.
While walking through town he overheard a conversation between a white man and a black laborer. They were talking about a man who had not come to work and now they were short of workers. When he saw George, he asked him if he wanted a job and he immediately said yes.
George’s job was to carry wooden boxes. For this work, he received one dollar a day along with free food. He stayed in St. Louis for only a few days to raise money for the trip to Cleveland.
Chapters 20 – 21
George could not take part in the First World War because at that time the owner of that mill had changed his age to make him a child. When the Second World War broke out, he could not join the war because he was too old. Due to this war, people were needed for many jobs in America because most of the people were recruited in the army. George learned that there was a high-paying job opening in California, but his wife wouldn’t let him. His wife felt that it could be very dangerous for George.
George did not know how to read and write but he was aware of what was going on in the world. At that time, George had a radio with the help of which he could know what cruel wrong things Hitler was doing. He often wondered why Hitler was so mean but then he thought that perhaps Hitler was a mad man.
Junior, George’s eldest son, was drafted into the Army for the Korean War and was away from home for three years. On returning from there, Junior had told that his life there was not easy. In the army I met many different people from all over the world. On one hand, they were very different from each other, but they were all fighting together and fighting for a cause and there was no discrimination against them.
But when Junior came home, he could not sit among white people. Here he again had to face apartheid. George felt very bad for Junior if he was being treated like this after everything he did for the country. But he explained to Junior that it would all continue like this. This is life and they just have to live by adjusting to the way things are.
By the late 1960s, George had retired and moved into another home with his second wife. Their children had now grown up and were standing on their own feet. His first wife Elzenia had passed away.
George met all three, except his first wife Elzenia, in church. Yes, he was married four times and outlived all of his wives. George had been a good husband to all his wives and had given them proper funerals, which is why he had no money left for his pension. He always treated all his wives well and took great care of them. Many women wanted to marry George because they knew how well he treated women and how loyal he was to each of his wives.
George wanted to build his own house. This would have been their first new home. He had a lot of material for this, but one of his daughters was diagnosed with cancer and he did not have money for her treatment, so George sold that land and all the material to help his daughter. But sadly, cancer had taken hold of their daughter and she died after some time. Still, she could not survive. Saying goodbye to his daughter was the saddest and most painful moment of George’s life.
Almost all of his children lived in Dallas. This was the place where he used to live with his first wife and coincidentally this was also the place where his last wife breathed her last. Therefore, apparently he did not feel lonely here. Like in his childhood, George still used to do his household chores. He stopped working when he turned 90, but he was happy that he had been active throughout his life. George believed that men were made to work, so they should keep working. It doesn’t matter what the job is. But working makes him feel proud.
George always wanted to study and write, but due to poverty, working became his compulsion. He took full care that all his children were well educated. People wondered why George didn’t go back to school. He had a lot of free time after retirement, but he felt that school was only for children. George could not hire a private tutor because he had no money left for it.
But one day, a man named Mr. Henry came to their door handing out flyers. At first George wanted to dismiss Henry because he couldn’t read, so what was the point of taking the flyer? But when Henry explained that he was offering adult education classes along with reading, George quickly changed his mind. He shook Henry’s hand and said, “I will definitely come to class.”
On January 4, 1996, George walked into school for the first time. Now he was 98 years old. He always reached class early and was very eager to learn. George had worked hard all his life. He knew that learning to read would be difficult, but he was not afraid because he had already faced many challenges in his life.
A lot had changed at school since George started going to school. Mr. Henry was filling in for other teachers, but since George became his student he never left school. Many people used to go to class with George. Many mothers gave George’s example to their children. His younger classmate and Mr. Henry was also getting to learn a lot from George.
When George’s children were young, he always made sure that his children studied well in school. Despite not knowing how to read and write, he always helped them in their homework. After coming back from school, George always asked his children whether they were studying diligently and they used to nod their heads in response. Now it seemed as if the wheel of time had turned, now whenever his son Junior came to meet him, he would ask George whether he was studying hard in school, to which George would nod his head and answer in the affirmative. Junior tells his father that it is very important to go to school. There is so much to learn and he is very proud of his father.
Conclusion
In this summary, you understood that life is full of struggles, yet we always have something to be thankful for. Life is not actually complicated. You can live a simple life, just respect others and be passionate about helping yourself and others.
In his 103-year-old life, George Dawson faced many troubles. But as long as he was earning for his family and not doing harm to anyone, he did not care about anything else. This was enough for him.
Richard Glaubman, the author of this book, was very worried about George when he was working with him because he was used to living alone, but within a few months of living with George, Richard realized that he was alone. Were not. Even though George lived alone, his children visited him almost every day. His teacher Mr. Henry also visited him often and his neighbors also used to visit him and bring food for him.
There were many people who didn’t treat George well, but George didn’t think about it. Even if they were nice to him, it didn’t matter much to George, he knew that the world would go on like this. This did not fill his mind with bitterness and he never misbehaved with anyone. Even if some people did not treat George well, there were many people who liked him very much.
We should learn to live with patience and always try to improve ourselves. When people hear about George that he has learned to read and write at the age of 98, it also comes to their mind that if he can do it, we can also do it. George helped many people and it gave him great joy to see the difference he was able to make in people’s lives.
We can all learn so much from George Dawson. We should be kind to others because we do not know what situation they are going through.
And the most important thing is that we should live life to the fullest. A hundred years may sound like a long time, but as George says, time passes so quickly that you don’t even notice it. We should try to make every moment memorable. Work hard and always do the right thing.
George was not addicted to cigarettes or drinking alcohol. He had very few clothes and lived very simply. But George inspired many people to live a meaningful life. Learn to appreciate what you have. We keep complaining countless times about what we don’t have, but learn to be satisfied with how much you have. Believe me, life is very beautiful and it will get better and more beautiful with each passing day.
Anyway, see you again with the powerful explanation of the new movie.
