LYONS: Stick with Uncle Sam and retire early. Ain’t nothing out here. I guess Rose told you what happened with me. They got me down the workhouse. I thought I was being slick cashing other people’s checks. They give me three years. I got that beat now. I ain’t got but nine more months. It ain’t so bad. You learn to deal with it like anything else. You got to take the crookeds with the straights. That’s what Papa used to say. He used to say that when he struck out. I seen him strike out three times in a row… and the next time up he hit the ball over the grandstand. Right out there in Homestead Field. He wasn’t satisfied hitting in the seats… he want to hit it over everything! After the game he had two hundred people standing around waiting to shake his hand. You got to take the crookeds with the straights. Yeah, Papa was something else.
‘Fences’ (Lyons): “You got to take the crookeds with the straights”
FENCES by August Wilson
From: Play
Type: Dramatic
Character: Lyons, a musician, is Troy Maxon's son from a previous relationship.
Gender: Male
Age Range: 30's | 40's
Summary: Lyons tells Cory how he's doing in jail.
More: Read the Play | Watch the Film
