Tuesday Morning Ride was based on the short story "A Summer Tragedy", by Arna Bontemps, a Harlem Renaissance writer. Set in the 1930s, the story depicts an old man and woman who feel they have nothing to live for, since their children do not visit. They are so depressed that they eventually take themselves over a cliff. Houston's portrayal of the characters is different. The elderly couple wake up on a Tuesday morning and finish preparing for their last few hours in their home before they have to move into an old people's home. The couple has everything to live for, but lack a society to do it in.