The title of the novel is the same as that of Momma's plan for their trip to Alabama. While Dad has been getting their car, the Brown Bomber, ready for the road, Momma has been recording all the necessary preparations in a notebook.
Because they cannot be sure they will find accommodations everywhere along the way that will accept black patrons, they plan their overnight stops carefully. Momma wants to be sure they have enough food, as they also are not certain to find welcoming restaurants, so she packs ample amounts of sandwiches. She carefully labels each one so they won't run out and the children won't fight over them. She also packs clothes for the hot weather when they arrive and the few things they need en route.
Momma Watson is the driving force and inspiration behind her family's road trip to Birmingham. She is at her wits' end with Byron's constant bad behavior, and figures that the only way to straighten him out is to send him to stay with her mother in Alabama. Grandma Sands is very strict, and so Momma Watson is sure that spending the summer with her will be just what Byron needs to keep him on the straight and narrow.
That said, Momma Watson is all too aware of the perils involved in the family's forthcoming road trip. She knows just how hard life is for African Americans in the South and how much physical danger the Watsons might encounter on their journey. So Momma Watson makes sure that she packs plenty of food and water for the three-day trip; that way, the Watsons won't need to stop in an area where they might come across people who are hostile or violent towards them.
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