ABSTRACT
In 1984 the Brothers were buoyant with hope. In 1991 most were deflated. In 2006 the picture is mixed. I traveled by train across two states to see James and flew to Utah to speak with Derek. Craig seems to have left his wife, cut ties with his wider family, and found work on the West Coast as a personal fitness trainer. I discovered on the Internet a workout videotape that features Craig, but that’s as close as I got to him. In tracking down Super, I put on my clerical shirt and collar again before knocking on his mother’s door (the first time was to visit Chris in prison). Like the Hallway Hangers, the Brothers related to me as a friend and sometime sociologist but were also interested in my job as a parish priest. It was wonderful to catch up with the men and to help Derek and Mokey renew their friendship. Here are edited interviews with all of the Brothers apart from Craig. The emphasis is on their jobs and their families, although I sometimes probe their feelings or invite them to step back and look at their lives through a sociological lens. Like the Hallway Hangers, the Brothers want to understand the world and to be understood themselves. As in the previous chapter, we start with those living closest to Clarendon Heights.
