Maybe this was discussed earlier, but what how did the family support themselves through most of year 4 before JJ got the ad exec job? Did Florida collect on some insurance policy that James left for them? I honestly don't think they ever mentioned it and I don't recall ever seeing her go to work anywhere in year. Surely they weren't getting by on JJ's chicken shack delivery job.:D And I don't think they went on welfare, I would have remembered that.

Hi James:

They did win a lottery worth $2500.00. That was the episode where Thelma had her friend over and then they learned they had won the money. Later,Thelma's friend and her sister,played by Shirley Hemphill,held up the Evans' in the apartment. And then Willona came and saved the day by grabbing the gun from them and Thelma calling the police. And also J.J did manage the girl singer,Judith Cohen,and he liked to have gotten hustled by the 2 guys when the comedian J.J was managing suffered stage fright.

It seems so odd that Florida wouldn't have gone out and gotten a job though at this point. She had no problem getting one in year 6. The writing was weak on this how I have to admit.

Yes the writing was VERY weak! Which is why Esther and John had so many problem with this show's producers! Technically she was entitled to welfare since James died! They couldn't have gotten it with James living in the house, to my understanding of the system.

Florida didn't seem like the type that would go on welfare though and Ms Rolle would have probably rejected that plot as being stereotypical. She seemed more like she would work a couple jobs than get on public assistance, even though she sure was entitled to it. She certainly could have gotten a job someplace though. No wonder Ms Rolle got fed up and walked out.

As for the others, I don't know if Thelma had a job then? Here in NYC the municipal colleges had free tuition until 1975 (5 years after they started open admissions- big coincidence right). I don't know if there was a similar situation in Chicago then that would have required her to need money for tuition or if she was on scholarship.

Michael and JJ's jobs just provided pocket money as far as I could tell.