To Jonny

I thought it might be beneficial to share something about myself. I was born on October the Eighth of 1985 at about 2 in the afternoon in Wakefield Nebraska. Back in those days Wakefield was a big mining town, and my pa found himself happy to be employed in one of the biggest silver mines in the area. My ma ran a pet grooming business out of the garage, but next to nobody knew about it, and most of everybody else didn't care how clean their dog was, so mostly she just took care of us kids. I was the youngest of 8 children, 5 sisters and two brothers. I'm not even sure if I've met my oldest sister, she was 24 at the time that I was born, and she never comes around much anyways. Mama always says she never much did like the smell of Wakefield.

In the Summer of 1989, I recon I was about 8 years old, I met a boy named Jonny. Jonny was bright and whimsical. Me and him became the best of friends. I had never noticed how dull my play time had been, always inside with my toys. Me and Jonny went outside into the fields and forests and explored and played and pretended. I miss those days of running and grinning, playing without expectations, guilt or responsibilities.

One day I went to Jonny's house without calling first. Me and Jonny had been talking about climbing the hill behind the old Jacobson farm to see if there really were wild Indians out beyond our little valley like my pa had told us, and I decided that day was the day we ought to do it. I filled up my backpack with a jar of peanut butter and apple juice and headed off to his place. When I got there nobody answered the door for a good minute, and getting impatient I hollered loudly for Jonny at his window. After a moment I heard someone crying. I helped myself into the house and found Jonny there crying over his mother who was lying on the floor with bruises on her arms and a black eye. Jonny's father had stayed to long at the bar last night, and had come home angry. I got real sad like after that.

I never really saw Jonny much after that. His momma took him away to live with her family in Georgia a few days after that. I don't know why I felt inclined to mention that, but I do. I haven't heard from Jonny at all since he moved away. I wonder about him sometimes though.