An Old Man’s Tale
By
Dan Sprague
Copyright 2011 by Daniel Sprague
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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An Old Man’s Tale
By Dan Sprague
The director of the community center was tall for a woman; in her early to mid 60s, with fair complexion, short graying hair, wire rimmed glasses and no makeup or jewelry. Age had been kind to her though as she still cut a slim figure in her conservative brown business suit, classic white blouse and sensible brown shoes. This morning, just as she’d done thousands of times before, she arrived early, unlocked the back door and turned off the center’s alarm. Today was different though as her vacation would begin tomorrow and her retirement immediately thereafter; this was her last day on the job. Even so, just as she’d done for decades, she made certain everything was ready for the residents, before turning on the lights in the recreation room and unlocking the front door.
The community center was part of a retirement village located in Central Florida. It had similar amenities to most retirement communities: 18-hole golf course, clubhouse with golf pro, shopping arcade, formal restaurant, snack bar, barber shop, beauty salon, gas station, bank, post office and a large auditorium for movies or stage productions. Their sports complex offered: shuffleboard, tennis, racket ball, handball, basketball, two swimming pools plus a gymnasium with workout room and trainer. A shuttle bus made trips to local shopping malls, grocery stores and all Central Florida attractions. But this retirement village was a little different from other communities in that it was built by a teacher’s union and was exclusively for retired teachers. Continuous union membership was a requirement as well, which meant that district personnel and school administrators couldn’t retire here, even if they’d been teachers earlier in their career.
But the director wanted to retire here and unfortunately, the same teacher only condition would exclude her as well. She was hoping the board would make an exception in her case. If so, she was ready to make an offer on a condo and spend the rest of her years in the same place she’d worked for so long.
Worry that her retirement request would be turned down caused her to stop what she was doing, momentarily interrupting her routine. But she quickly brushed the thought aside, knowing they’d take into consideration her years of service: first as a high school volunteer and then after college, as a full time employee. Nevertheless, she worried; needlessly, I might add.
Because they’d been robbed several years back, as a precaution she glanced out the window before unlocking the door. She noticed two employees and several residents already waiting for the center to open. She doubted any of the clients, or employees knew this was her last day and she wasn’t about to tell them until her party, which management had scheduled after she returned from vacation. Thinking about her last day however, reminded her of her very first day here as a teenager. She chuckled as she remembered how she thought the seniors were old and out of touch back then. It didn’t seem that long ago. But now, she was a senior herself and she felt neither old, nor out of touch.
As she opened the door and greeted those waiting, a group of men she recognized as regulars rushed by her and immediately sat at one of the large tables in the recreation room. They acted like they’d been friends all their lives but like most of the center’s patrons, few had ever met until moving here. Now they could hardly wait to see each other to discuss whatever was on their minds. Today’s discussion started out with the threat of a hurricane in the Gulf, but changed when a late arrival pulled up a chair and took command of the conversation.
She recognized the late arrival and knew he’d been a resident here longer than the others; as a result, he was a bit older. With his snow white hair and beard, big belly and red face, you’d have thought he’d make the perfect Santa Claus at Christmas; especially after seeing him in the red shirt he was wearing this morning. From experience though, the director knew him to be a bit cantankerous and a little difficult to deal with at times too; not exactly Santa material. But she also knew him to be a thoughtful person and often endearing, in his own way. More than a little hard of hearing, he spoke louder than the rest and so she was still able to hear his voice even as she entered her office. In fact, his was the only voice she could hear as she sat at her computer, determined to tackle some last minute paperwork. Unfortunately for the paperwork, the one-sided conversation of the newcomer captured her attention, so she listened with interest while watching the group’s reaction through the glass wall of her office.
“All right, all right keep your shirt on,” the late arrival announced to the others who were obviously nagging him for being late. “At least I made it, didn’t I? I know I’m late, but I’m here, ain’t I? Just simmer down, okay? What’re we talking about today? The hurricane! You’ve got to be kidding. Don’t even worry about that thing; it’s not going to hit us. So, what else is there to discuss; nothing, right? That’s what I figured. You know, that’s always the problem with you guys; nothing’s ever on your mind, so nothing’s all you ever talk about. Yeah, you heard me all right, what of it? Anyway, I’m glad you’re talking about nothing, because I’ve got something I want to get off my chest.”
Someone must have asked what he was getting at.
“I guess you might say it’s about God,” he announced.
The director noticed a few obviously objecting, but the old man ignored them.
“Yeah, you heard me right; I said God. Anyone got a problem with that?” he asked, looking around the table and staring right at those who objected.
No one said a word although a few of the men silently rolled their eyes.
“I didn’t think so,” the old man said. “Anyway, I guess just about everyone prays to God, don’t you think?” Several nodded. “Well lately, I’ve been wondering what God might think about them; the prayers that is. Take war, for instance. Both sides believe God’s on their side, so each prays for His help in destroying the other. We do the same thing ourselves, in locker rooms all around the country; you know, just before the big football game.” He got a couple of nods.
“Well, something like that happens in churches too.”
She couldn’t help but notice that a few looked perplexed and didn’t understand where the old man was going with this. She had to admit, she was confused as well.
“Let me explain,” he continued. “A few years back a minister friend of mine from my church in the city, was also supposed to preach that day at a country church, about 40 miles away. However, the preacher had a little car trouble, so I offered to drive him, giving me the opportunity to attend both services. In the city church that morning we prayed for good weather because we were about to have an outdoor rummage sale for the church building fund. A couple of hours later, I was surprised to hear the country church people praying for rain to help their drought stricken crops. How do you think God handled that one? Well, I can tell you this for sure; it didn’t rain, but I doubt it had anything to do with His favoring our rummage sale over the farmer’s dying crops. Frankly, I don’t know what it meant. It did, however, cause me to question a few of the selfish prayers I had prayed to Him myself over the years. It also made me wonder which prayers He answered. Did He only answer the prayers of church going Christians? What about those good people who never attended church? Are they just left to the wolves? Then we have the Arabs, the Jews and a bunch of other groups; they all pray to God too you know. Do you think he might help them out occasionally?”
“What do you think? How does He decide which prayers to answer? Nobody really knows, do they? It’s all a big mystery and we’re supposed to figure it out for ourselves, right? Well, I’ve been trying to figure it out for a long time and I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to think. Do any of you understand it?” Everyone in the group remained silent. “I didn’t think so. But now that I’ve got you thinking, let me tell you a story about a young boy who prayed to God and actually had his prayer answered.”
“Several wars ago, all the way on the other side of the world, a young girl decided to marry her boyfriend, against her family’s wishes. Happens all the time doesn’t it? Especially whenever there’s a war going on, right? Well, that’s the situation Alice and Max were in. Now back in those days, England stood alone against the Nazis and things looked pretty darn bad for the British and their empire. So Max, being a patriotic lad, joined the Australian Navy and went off to basic training. When he returned from his training though, Max gave Alice the bad news; he’d be shipping off to England the very next day. Now there was a very real possibility that he could die, so he and Alice had no idea when, or even if, they would see each other again. Like many others who found themselves facing similar circumstances, lovers Alice and Max decided to get married.”
At this point, several in the group started grumbling and thought they could predict how the story was going to end.
“I’m just getting started you numbskulls,” the old man told them. “What makes you think this a story about a girl getting pregnant and the guy getting killed in the war? Have I ever told you anything even remotely like of that kind of sappy crap?” he asked. “Besides, we’ve all heard that same old story told too many times on TV, haven’t we?” Several nodded their agreement. “So then trust me and stop trying to leap ahead. How about you all just sit there quietly and let me tell my story, okay?” Without waiting for an answer he continued.
“Thanks! Now then, where was I? Let me see. Oh yes! Max and Alice got married and then Max went off to fight in the war. But then Alice, being just as patriotic as Max, decided she wanted to contribute to the war effort too. Besides, she also needed a little money to live on, so she got a job working on the assembly line of a big factory just outside the city of Melbourne.”
Just then someone interrupted the old man with a question.
“What’s that Jim? Does the story take place in Australia? At this point it does!” he answered gruffly. “Listen up Jim. You need to either start paying closer attention, or turn up that hearing aid of yours.”
Most of the group laughed, but someone else asked another question.
“What do you mean what kind of factory did she work in?” he said, clearly annoyed now. “What difference does it make what kind of factory it was? It was just a factory and she got a job there. Why don’t you just leave it alone? Besides, it’s my story and I get to decide which details are important.” But the other man evidently insisted.
“All right then!!! If you insist on every little detail, it was a chocolate factory. There! Does that make you happy?” Several smiled and a few laughed openly. “What in the blazes are you idiots laughing at now?” Someone told him.
“Of course,” the old man agreed. “I know the story would’ve sounded much better if Alice had worked at a gun factory, or a bomb factory, or any number of other jobs that might have contributed directly to the war effort and I’m sure she tried to get jobs just like that. But that’s not the job she got. Listen; people needed sweets back then too, you know. The point here is, she got a job and got on with her life and, if you would stop interrupting me, I might be able to get on with my story, okay?”
A few evidently still thought this was funny, but one stern look from the old man and they settled down quickly. With relative calmness, he continued.
“Every day, Alice went to her job at the factory. Then she’d, come home, make supper and listen to the depressing news of the war on the radio. After that she’d go to bed and do it all over again the next day. Pretty boring life, huh? Well, there wasn’t much else to do for the other girls either, what with all the young men off in England fighting. As a result, Alice often wrote long letters to Max. But since Max wasn’t much of a writer, he almost never answered. Even so, Alice wrote him faithfully. Meanwhile, the Japanese foolishly attacked Pearl Harbor and the Americans entered the war. A few months later, Australia became a staging area for the war effort in the South Pacific. Suddenly there were many thousands of young American soldiers all over Melbourne and many of the girls from Alice’s factory started going to the American USO after work. Naturally they tried to persuade Alice to join them, but she was reluctant because she was married. “What could possibly be the harm of coming with us just once?” they asked her.”
“But unfortunately there was a very real danger. You see, Alice really missed Max and she quickly discovered that going to the USO was not only fun, but it also helped her forget her loneliness. And so, one time led to another and then another. At first, she just sat at the table and watched as her friends danced with the soldiers. But in the end, Alice joined them on the dance floor and rationalized by claiming it was just clean fun. Before long though, she met a handsome US Marine who showered her with gifts and attention. I don’t have to tell you guys how these things go, do I?”
The group all nodded, almost as one and the director could tell they were finally hanging on every word the old man said. Obviously pleased, he continued.
“Eventually, the Marine moved into Alice’s apartment and she did her best not to think about poor Max fighting the Germans. Frankly though, Alice was so happy she really didn’t care if Max ever came home, because the loneliness was gone now and she had a real reason to face the day again.”
Through the glass, the director could see that several began to complain about something and the story teller tried to get his audience back under control.
“All right, settle down! I know, they were living in sin and all that, but give me a break. I never said this was a story about morally upstanding people, did I? You can hear that kind of story in plenty of other places. How many times do I have to tell you guys, this story is different? Now shut up and let me get on with it.”
“Let me see……….Oh yes! Alice and Dan, (Did I mention that the American’s name was Dan?), were living in sin and having a good old time, while poor old Max was out of the picture, off fighting the Germans; right? Well, let’s not go too far down that road thinking about poor old suffering Max. We’ll hear more about him in a minute.”
“Now, don’t forget that Dan was a United States Marine and the real reason he was in the South Pacific was to fight the Japanese. Because of that, Dan would have to leave Australia from time to time. Like everyone else fighting the war, he never knew where, when, or how long he’d be away because it was a big war secret. Usually, he’d be gone no longer than four or five weeks. This one time though, he left and didn’t return for several months. Because Dan was gone for such a long time, Alice began to worry that something might have happened to him. But she had another, even bigger reason to be concerned; she was pregnant.” Several in the group began to complain again, but the old man got them back to his story fairly quickly.
“I know, I know!” he said. “Just relax! Believe me, I haven’t forgotten about Max and at this point, neither has Alice. In fact, sometime during the wait for Dan to return, unexpectedly Alice received a rare letter from Max. In it he told her his tour of duty would be completed shortly and he’d be returning home in a few weeks. I’m sure you can understand that Alice was in a blind panic now. Because the baby was due in a couple of months, Alice was showing and she knew it’d be impossible to hide it from Max. But she also didn’t know how to explain it to him. To make matters worse, with Dan away, she’d be forced to face the music all by herself. Since she wasn’t sure how to handle the situation, she did what any girl would do; she quit her job, left the apartment and moved back home with her parents.”
At this point, two of the director’s employees approach the table with coffee and a mid-morning snack for the group. So the old man temporarily suspended his story while they were being served. But he resumed again the minute the servers finished.
“For those of you who may be a little absentminded, I’m going to take a minute to review; okay?” A few openly objected, but he ignored them and continued anyway.
“As you remember, Alice married Max but he had to ship out to England the very next day to fight the Germans. While he was gone however, Alice met Dan, a US Marine stationed in Melbourne, and they fell in love. Then, boyfriend Dan left to fight the Japanese. During that time though, husband Max wrote to say he was on his way back home. But Alice had a big problem; she’s very pregnant with Dan’s baby. Since husband Max, has been gone for more than a year, he’s instantly going to realize what’s been going on in his absence. You know, if this happened today, it could be the basis for a great TV comedy, but back in 1942, it meant some very serious trouble for Alice.”
“Well, Max returns to Australia, visits his old apartment in Melbourne and discovers that Alice doesn’t live there anymore.”
Some laugh, realizing this was a lame reference to an old movie.
“However, Max learned about Dan from his former neighbors in the building and they also told him about Alice moving back home with her parents. Naturally, Max’s next stop was the parent’s home in a nearby town, where he encountered the very pregnant Alice. Max took one look, did the math and, in a jealous rage, hit the poor girl, giving her a black eye. The next day, Max filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery. When the court learned he’d been out of the country fighting Germans for the past fourteen months, well, what with Alice being pregnant and all, the divorce was granted in record time.”
“Now remember, I told you we’d hear more about what Max was really up to in Merry Old England? After the divorce was final, poor old long suffering Max sent for a girlfriend he’d been courting in England, who was somehow also heavy with child. In other words, fighting the Germans wasn’t the only thing Max had been doing while he was away from home. Evidently, while Alice was fooling around with Dan in Australia, Max was busy making whoopee with a girl in England and she got pregnant as well.”
“Anyway, Alice eventually had her baby and, a few months later, Dan returned. Let’s remember though, when Dan left, he had absolutely no idea Alice was pregnant. Now, she had a baby in her arms and said it was his. Naturally, he had some doubts, but Alice’s father, with the help of a shotgun, convinced Dan it was in his best interest to go immediately to the Justice of the Peace and marry the man’s daughter. Shortly thereafter, Dan got shipped back to the US, but promised to send for Alice and the baby, as soon as he could. Three years later, when the war was over, Dan made good on his promise. Alice and little Danny were finally going to America and a brand new, wonderful life.”
The director saw that some of the men were evidently grumbling about something again. But this time the old man addressed them as if they were stupid little children.
“No, this is not the end of the story and they’re not going to live happily ever after. Would you please stop jumping to conclusions? This is a true story and not some fairy tale, so just sit still and listen,” he said in a disgusted tone.
“Everything seemed to be going her way and Alice couldn’t have been happier. But as I said, this was real life and in the real world, things don’t always work out the way you planned. Just when mother and child were getting excited about moving to a new country, a required immigration physical revealed that Alice had tuberculosis and she wouldn’t be allowed to go to the United States. Even worse, as was the practice then, Alice was whisked off to a TB hospital, never to be heard from again.”
“What was to become of little Danny, you say? Well, with Alice out of the picture, her family didn’t want to raise him either. They decided he would be better off with his father, so they sent him to America as scheduled. Unfortunately, they neglected to tell Dan anything about Alice’s problem and also failed to tell him she wasn’t coming. Perhaps they kept it a secret, figuring Dan would find out soon enough. More likely though, it allowed the family to get rid of the boy and prevented Dan from saying no.”
“During the long sea voyage a war bride, who was also traveling to the US, took care of three year old Danny. Meanwhile Dan, expecting to be reunited with his wife and child, met the ship in San Francisco. But instead of seeing his wife, a total stranger met him at the prearranged meeting place. The stranger explained about Alice’s sad fate and told Dan how sorry she was. Before Dan had a chance to react, she handed over little Danny and rushed off to find her own husband. One can only guess what might have been going on in his mind, but I somehow doubt it had anything to do with how big his son was, or even how cute he looked. Even though Dan may have been in shock over the news of his wife, he had a much bigger problem to deal with. How was a full time soldier supposed to take care of a little kid by himself? Well, the next day Dan came up with the perfect solution and dropped little Danny off at an orphanage. Unfortunately, the little boy was never adopted and, just like his mother, would never see his father again.”
Some feigned sadness because of his story and interrupted him once again.
“All right, all right; stop with the tears already! Yeah, I know it’s sad, but I’ve got a ways to go yet. Here, take this and dry your eyes. Trust me, it gets better. If you remember, I told you this story was about an answered prayer. Well, I haven’t said a word about anyone praying yet, have I? So, simmer down and let me finish the story. By the way, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, little Danny is me.” With that announcement, most of his audience immediately started grumbling again.
“That’s right, me! What do you mean that changes everything? It doesn’t change a thing. Don’t accuse me of trying to put the attention on myself. Frankly, I’m sorry I ever told you any of this! Listen! This isn’t really about me or any kid, for that matter. It’s about the kid’s prayer; remember? Just settle down and listen, okay?”
“Anyway, I was a very unhappy little kid back then, but somehow, I still believed in God and prayed to him every single night. Well, at least until high school when I became interested in girls.” Several of the men snickered and others laughed openly.
“Now don’t start in again!” the old man told them. “You know what I mean, so I suggest you stop with the catcalls if you know what’s good for you.” Suddenly the snickers changed to smiles and the group began to listen again.
“The point is,” the storyteller said, “while I was growing up, every night I would pray the same prayer to God. It was actually the simple prayer of a kid; “please dear God, all I want is a normal life”. All those years I was praying this however, my life was anything but happy, or even close to normal. It made me a very angry kid and I often got into trouble.”
“Finally, I got into a whole lot of trouble and was actually sent to a reform school, but I still prayed. Even in reform school though, I continued to be bad so when I got out, the decision was made to send me to a military school. The idea being, military school would ultimately force me to change my ways, whether I liked it or not. I was fifteen and about to start the tenth grade.”
“Because the school didn’t open for a few weeks however, I was temporarily sent to live with a foster family. Call it fate, or divine intervention, but this was the same family I had lived with when I was four. Although they’d been told about the trouble I’d caused, fortunately they only remembered me as that sweet little orphan kid from Australia. Tearfully, I explained why I didn’t want to go to this military school and pleaded to stay with them. In return, I promised to work hard in school and never to cause them even one minute of trouble. To my amazement, they agreed and the next day I was enrolled in the local high school.”
“Even though I was a mean, angry kid, I realized that those people really believed in me. Because of that, I wasn’t about to let them down and had every intention to keep my word never to cause them trouble. From that day on, my life changed for the better. I studied, made friends, listened to records, went to dances, played baseball, went to football games and worked summer jobs. The most important thing though, I didn’t get into trouble; at least none worth mentioning. Three years later, I graduated high school and went away to college on a scholarship. During college, I worked a couple of jobs, studied, raised a little hell, and was into all kinds of activities, including dating co-eds. Eventually, I met the girl of my dreams and, despite my making a fool of myself often, she married me a few years later. Fifty years of marriage, four kids, several grandkids and great grandkids later, here I am. During that time, I’ve earned a good living, went to church, voted in every election and often volunteered time to worthy causes. More important though, I’ve never been in any trouble since then. In other words, I’d changed.”
“A few years back though, it occurred to me that I wasn’t getting any younger and the majority of my life was already behind me. As a lot of us do, I began to reflect on the things I’d accomplished in my life and came to the depressing conclusion that I hadn’t really done anything out of the ordinary. For the most part, fame and fortune had passed me by and I was more than certain my name would never make it into any of the history books. As upsetting as it sounded, I had to conclude, that a hundred years from now, I would be completely forgotten; just as if I had never even lived.”
The old man paused momentarily a little teary eyed. Everyone in the recreation room had stopped talking and was looking at him now; you could have heard a pin drop. “That’s when I thought about that troubled, little kid and his simple prayer for a normal life. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Dear God in Heaven, that prayer had actually been answered. Instead of prison, or the loony bin, I really had lived a normal life. It didn’t change my lack of accomplishments, but somehow that revelation made me feel much better. Thank you God!”
For a few seconds, no one said a word.
“Well, I guess things really turned out okay, but I just can’t help but wonder what might have happened if that kid had changed his prayer a little. What if, in addition to a normal life, the prayer had included something about fame and fortune? As long as God was listening, how much effort would a couple more miracles have been?”
Then he smiled and his friends evidently began to make light of his story.
“All right, all right, that’s enough! I knew I shouldn’t have told you any of this. You always misunderstand and make fun of everything. You guys don’t even know what normal is. Yes, of course I’m ornery and set in my ways, so are you. You idiots! At our age, this is normal and God doesn’t hold it against us; at least I hope He doesn’t. You know, when I started this story I had somehow hoped to expand your intellects, just a little. But with your tiny brains, I guess that’s not possible, now is it?”
“Holy cow! Would you look at us! We’re acting just like little children, trading insults and trying to top each other all the time. Maybe it’s true what they say about old people going back to their childhood. On the other hand, maybe it just keeps us sharp.”
“Listen, my friends; I’d love to sit around here trading stories all day, but I’ve got a grandson who wants me to help him with his curve ball.”
Evidently, one of his friends made a joke about his baseball abilities.
“What do you mean I’m too old to play?” the old man answered laughing. “I can still out pitch all of you any day of the week. Did I ever tell you about the time I tried out for the Red Sox? What? Well, all of you repeat stores too and I’ve heard every one of them a hundred times. So what if I’m a little forgetful? So are you. It comes with age my friends. Well, so long now! Take it easy! See you all next time.”
The director pulled a tissue from the box on her desk and dabbed a tear from her eye. Over the years she had heard so many moving stories. She knew she’d miss this job, but, great stories or not, she didn’t want to spend all of her retirement hanging around the recreation room like so many others. She actually thought of herself as being more like a hospital volunteer; a candy striper, as they were called. Then again, they were always looking for help at the library too. But she’d worry about that after her cruise to Europe, then Alaska and the tour of the United States she had planned. Then she laughed to herself, thinking about the limited, naive viewpoint of that young high school girl she used to be. Like it or not though, she really was old. However, growing old didn’t have to mean spending the rest of her years in a rocking chair. It only meant she’d be entering another phase of her life; hopefully as full of adventure as all the other phases.
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Please check out my murder/mystery novel, The Crucifixion Murders