CHAPTER 1

I had been walking most of the day when I came to this small town, and when I say small I mean the "welcome to" and the "you are now leaving" were on the same pole. Any way I walked into this country store, the one that is also the gas station and the post office too. I
check my pockets and find enough change for a soda, which after I go outside and sit on the front steps. I open the soda and take a long drink, trying to get the taste of dust out of my mouth from the travels of the day. It felt good just to sit and relax, and the soda really hit the spot.
I looked up at the sky, there were dark clouds on the horizon which in my book meant that a storm was nearing. I figured I needed to find someplace to wait out the storm, small towns seemed to frown on drifters and considering I hadn't bathed in a couple of days just added to
the list of transgressions I could commit. So I started walking out of town, you could almost hear the "thank God's" the people were muttering under their breath when I left. Soon I came to this bridge which crossed a river, I figured if it stormed I'd have shelter and I could also get myself cleaned up at the same time. I opened my bag to see what I had to clean up with. I was in luck, I had a small bar of soap that had seen better days and washcloth..with built-in finger holes. After I felt like I must have lost five pounds of dirt from the bath that I took, and I felt a whole lot better..except for the growling inside my stomach from not eating in a day or so. Maybe tomorrow I could find someplace to work a couple of hours, for either money or trade for something to eat. Either way I know I'd get myself a good meal. I had drifted off to sleep when above me I started hearing noises, sounded like kids talking. From what I could tell they they were trying to get one of the group to jump off the bridge, from what I could tell there was some reluctance from the party to do so. I'm listening and laughing to myself as the usual terms were being used, "I dare you" and "your a chicken". After that things grew deathly quiet, and then I heard.."if you won't go we'll make you". With that there was a scream and a large splash in the water about ten feet from the bank where I was standing. I looked and it appeared to be a child, not much more than five years old floundering in the river. Not that I was looking to be a hero but sometimes the heart takes over the brain, and I plunged into the river and toward the child. When I got there he was flailing his arms and screaming, I grabbed him by the neck and swam back to the bank. When we got back to the bank he was coughing up water and crying at the same time, I think he was glad that someone had pulled him out. But I think he was also scared that he was pulled out by a total stranger, that looked rougher then ten miles of Georgia backwoods dirt road. I was able to get that his name was Lenny and he lived with his Mom in a trailer park about a mile down the road. I was surprised I was able to get that out of him, but when I offered him a half-eaten snickers bar I had found in my pack I think he would have told me the name of everybody in town. Also I found out from Lenny that he had two sisters, Sue Bee and Jody. I asked if he had a Daddy, he said no.."momma said he was in heaven, and was better off there". Knowing I couldn't just send Lenny home by himself I decided to walk him home, maybe he wouldn't catch so much hell if I was there to explain what happened. So I gathered my things, took Lenny by the hand and asked him to show me where he lived.So With Lenny in tow I started off down the road, assuming the trailer park where Lenny and his family lived was a short distance. Well one lesson I have learned is that when someone tells you that the place your going is a "piece down the road" find out what there idea of a piece is. It took about forty-five minutes to get to the trailer park, which reminded me of an elephant graveyard for trailers when I first saw it. I always wondered where old trailers went to, well now I knew. A sign out in front told me I was entering "Whispering Brook Trailer Park", and another sign that told me "no peddlers were allowed". Well I found out why it was named "Whispering Brook", the brook had been dried up for nearly 10 years. Lenny and his family lived in the last trailer, a rusted hull of something that I suppose was a trailer several years ago. It was hard for me to imagine four people lived there, it gave me the chills just looking at it. Just a side note, the first trailer we passed awomanwas sitting in a lawn chair that looked like she used a shoe horn to squeeze into it. Well when we passed she yelled out "Lenny..your momma has been looking all over for you", "You better get yourself home before she comes looking for you". Then she turned her attention to me, "Are you Laura's new boyfriend, you don't look like your from around here" I said "no ma'am, I'm just making sure Lenny here got home okay and no I'm not from around here, just passing through".
As I passed each trailer, must have been about ten or twelve I had no idea people lived this way. I don't want to come off as being some kind of snob, just where I was raised was a WASP middle class burb, blue collar working people no more, no less. When we reached Lenny's trailer I noticed a women sitting on the front steps, not what you would call a stunning beauty but you could tell when she was younger she was a very desirable woman. When she looked up and saw me walking up the road with Lenny she came flying off the porch like she was shot out of a cannon. "Leonard Alfred Johnson"!! She yelled.."where in God's name have you been boy??" For a minute I had to laugh to myself, if I had that name I think I'd want to run off and hide too. She looked Leonard..I mean Lenny up and down and you could tell she was none to happy with his appearance. "Why are you so wet and dirty Leonard"?, "Have you been playing with those older boys again"? You couldn't help not feeling sorry forLenny,he'd been caught and I think if I hadn't brought him home the punishment he'd be getting now would be more then a butt chewing like he was getting. Finally Lenny's mom turned her attention to me, I was braced for the same treatment that Lenny had received..but I was taken by surprise. "Hi, I'm Laura, Laura Johnson..Lenny's mom", "I want to thank you for bringing my son home, it was very nice of you". "Where did you find Lenny"? I decided that Laura had worried enough and Lenny didn't need to get yelled at anymore, so I skipped the high points and just told her some story about walking down the road and running into Lenny and bringing him home. "Do you know how Lenny got so wet and dirty"? Laura wanted to know. "Well if he was anything like me when I was a kid he found a large mud puddle and decided that was the place to be". "But I fell.." Lenny started to say, but I shot him a glance that said he'd be better off keeping that part of the story to himself. "Well we were about to have supper, it's not much but your welcome to join us". Laura's invitation was indeed welcomed, seeing it'd been awhile since I had a home-cooked meal. "Thank you ma'am I believe I will join you" I said. Little did I know I was getting myself into.