Misconstrued Thoughts : Yesterday's Misconstrued Thoughts Today

Creative Writing Thursday (Story Continued Part III)

If you haven't read the earlier parts of the story, go back and read them here (Part II) and here (Part I).

Elbert began to scan the front page of the paper. Interesting, the headlines read that the president was going to be going through town the next day. It was some kind of campaign across the south to make his presence known; No doubt connected to the upcoming election. He hadn't been a particularly useful president especially to those in the south, but oh well, politics never really interest Elbert anyway. He continued to scan the paper, and there noticed an article on the animal shelter in town being closed down. "The Dog!" Elbert exclaimed. Elbert had remembered to get the dog food, but it was getting near dark and he hadn't put the dog food out.

Elbert scampered up using his cane, and head to the door where the grocery bag still sat, being left there since his return. As he scoured through the bag, he found the can of dog food, and headed toward the kitchen. As he rummaged through several drawers, he finally found the can opener. Sinking the can opener into the can lid the distinctive sound, an end to vacuum seal and the distinctive smell, low grade meat, filled the air. That smell almost put a knot in Elbert’s stomach every week. This wasn't because it was a retched smell. It was because he thought back; it brought back so many memories. Finishing the round to open the lid, Elbert picked up the can and headed to the door. Opening the back door he looked and saw the food left from last week. A trail of ants proceeded from out in the yard to the dog bowl where the week old dog food sat.

"Well at least, the ants are getting fed," said Elbert. Elbert sat the new can of dog food down on the ground and walked towards dog bowl, picking it up he walked towards the garbage can. Opening the garbage can lid he threw the week old dog food and a host of ants into the garbage. As he turned around he walked toward the spot the bowl had sat, the ants now had turned into a massive spiraling state of confusion. "All right boys, here's a new batch", spoke Elbert to the ants as if they knew it was he who was feeding them weekly. Tiping the can over the dog food fell upright into the bowl, and then tipped slightly to one side. The smell of the dog food, now escaped from the can, strongly filled the air. This once again made the memories all come back in a rush as it had done every week for the last forty three years.

That’s right, forty three years ago, Elbert had bought that new dog for his boy Tom. It was half cocker spaniel, half Siberian Husky, probably one of the oddest dogs to have ever walked the planet. But little Tom loved that dog, Elbert had feared the piercing eyes of the dog would scare little Tom, when he first bought him, but little Tom would always say. "I love Lettzy, because she knows I care for her. Her eyes always tell me". It was always cute to here little Tom say that, with his strong southern accent.

But it was forty three years ago too that Lettzy had run off. Little Tom was heart broken, true he had only had the dog for about four or five months, but he had grown so close to her. That first week she was missing he started making flyers to put all over town, he would spend hours walking around hollering for her. Little Tom was thoroughly engrossed in finding his dog. As he arrived home late one afternoon, after looking for her, he went to his father and asked. "Can we keep putting out fresh dog food until Lettzy comes back?" I think she may get that smell in the air, and remember me and come home!" Such sincere words from a eleven year old could not be ignored. Elbert had responded that they would, knowing that if she didn’t return relatively soon, this would of course not continue.

However, the unexpected happened the second week that Lettzy was missing as Little Tom was out looking for her. It was over at the corner of 54th street. Little Tom was out looking for Lettzy his friend Shadrad Maclivitch was helping him look for her. Shadrad had explained to everyone that they were there on the corner, when the two of them saw Lettzy in the baseball field across the road. Little Tom overwhelmed with joy started hollering for her and quickly ran across the street to get her before she ran off.

But Little Tom never made it across that street. It was such an unbearable thing for both Elbert and Elouise. Often they blamed themselves for letting Little Tom go all over town in search of the dog, not being there helping in his never ending pursuit. But it would be of no benefit, the years of beating themselves for this. The only thing Elbert could do, and continued to do for years, was to continue to put that dog food out for the lost dog, just as he told Tom he would do. It was as if to repay Little Tom for this error on their part. It wasn't a matter of truly thinking the dog would return, he didn't believe it that first or second year or even in this forty-third year. It was a matter of keeping his word to his son. His son which he deeply loved, and had always and would always deeply miss.

It was also all of these things that led Elbert to pursuing the placement of the crosswalk on the corner of 54th street. It was three long years of petitions, pleadings and desperate cries to politicians. That to was his mission as if to repay Little Tom for what had happened. Little Tom was gone, but he wanted to ensure the safety of the many other kids who often headed to the ball field he had built a few years earlier, in the vacant lot there where the supermarket now stood.

And that was what crossed through Elbert's mind every time he smelled that retched smell of dog food. A new can put out every week for the last forty three years.

Elbert turned from the freshly placed dog food, and the memories, and walked toward the back door. As he closed the door behind him, he tried to close the memories as well, but he always knew they were there to be relieved each week as he continued in this tradition for his son.

Elbert threw the empty can in the trash can and headed back towards the living room. Setting his cane on the corner of the coffee table, he returned to his easy chair and picked up the paper once again. Once again, his distant stare returned. Once again he thought of all the things he and his wife had done for the local kids. He also thought of how he had helped his wife and their family through incredibly rough times during the depression. There were all those years, of helping so many people, so many people who were gone now. He knew he to would be gone soon as well.

"Its such a shame", thought Elbert out loud. Those had been very good people, people concerned with others, helping them out; He too had helped them. Ms. Ellesis, Mr. Wilcox, even his dad and mom. They were all such good people, and really had made such an impact on his life. But they were all gone, and in reality the only memory of them remain only with Elbert. That generation of people were gone.

"It’s a crying shame!", exclaimed Elbert in another vocal thought. With the passing of himself Elbert realized that thoughts of them were probably gone forever too. The world just didn't seem fair to Elbert, those who help those around them actually passed away into the everlasting unknown never remembered again.

Then Elbert thought once again to his desire to be something big, how he had attempted and should have been a famous actor. He thought how he had the desire to be an accomplished artist. But his devotion to his family and friends had prevented this from ever coming to fruition. He knew that was the best way to live, and he didn't regret helping his family, helping those in the community. But it was now late in Elbert’s life, and his desire to be famous had never ceased.

"I'm going to be just like all those who preceded me. They helped those around them, but once the people you helped are gone, well you are nothing to the world." Elbert was speaking out loud as if a divine revelation had hit him. "With no hope for the future, the only true hope we have is to make our name immortalized, my frail body makes it apparent that’s our only hope. An immortalized name! I've always known that, that’s why I went to Hollywood years ago! But its to late now, I’m nobody to this world."

“I’m a sad old man. I stay in this house all week, thinking, staring wondering hoping, and just thinking back. The only time I get out of here is the weekly walk to the grocery store. No one knows me anymore, knows who I was, what I’ve done. I’m nobody. The only skill I have now is I can endure heat!”. Elbert looked down at the coat he still continued to wear. A sense of disgust overcame him. “I think I’m something because I can endure this heat. That’s my last cry to be famous? I’m a sad old man!” The emotions at this point were making Elbert’s vocals grow ever louder, even though the room as always was empty. By the end of these outwardly expressed thoughts, his volume was such that he even startled himself. In this startled state, Elbert grew quiet. Quiet to his own inward thoughts.

Elbert thought of those in the history books he had studied growing up. Maybe there would be a way to immortalize his name. To assure that all generations would know that he had existed. For to live in eternity as an unknown person, just a good person, proved of no use to him. He would still be unknown. But to have a name… an immortalized name! Elbert looked at his coat which he still wore. The heat didn't bother him. He was the best in the world at enduring heat. But that would never make him famous as he had thought at least in his subconscious for the past several years. But he could be famous; known for all eternity, there was a way. He just had to think of those history books and those names which had been immortalized in them.

Next week (Part IV)... The end? We'll see.

Posted by itzjerm at April 14, 2005 06:44 AM