other days. The rain had slacked off to a drizzle.
While I was waiting on my bundles I saw Ara T a few houses down in the alley where he was checking garbage cans. There was no mistaking Ara T’s cart with everything from broken toy guns to old car mirrors fastened to it. An old doll’s head was tacked to the front. The handles of the cart were wrapped with different kinds of wire and cord.
I walked up to Ara T and stood by the metal garbage cans he was picking his way through. I was going to get my knife back and then I was going to mind Mam and stay away from him.
s-s-s-s-Got my s-s-s-s-k …? My … s-s-s-s-k …? s-s-s-s-Got my s-s-s-s-yellow handle?
He didn’t turn around even though I was sure he had heard me. I stepped closer and changed to a louder voice.
s-s-s-s-You s-s-s-s-got it?
Still not paying any attention to me he rooted around in one of the cans he had already gone through. Then he swung around and gave me a mean stare like a teacher did when somebody was acting up in class.
Can’t have it, boy, till you calls it what it is.
I smiled at first because I thought he may have been just kidding with me but any time Ara T came close to smiling you could see his gold tooth. I didn’t see any gold. He was puffing on his crooked cigarette and trying to make like I wasn’t there.
s-s-s-s-Do you s-s-s-s-have it?
Told you, boy. Can’t have it till you call its name proper.
Ara T moved on to another bunch of cans behind the next house. Still not looking my way. I stood in the middle of the alley with my newspaper bags in my hand. Ara T wanted me to say Knife. I didn’t know what game Ara T was playing but I didn’t like it. I thought about yelling KNIFE at the top of my lungs because I never stuttered when I said words in a yell.
But Ara T moved on down the alley.
The carriers had started leaving on their routes. I waited until everyone was gone and then took my bundles over to my bags hanging on the fence. Picking my way along the alley I found an old tin can with a jagged top that wasn’t rusted too bad. I twisted on the top until it came off and then took it to my bundles to start sawing on the heavy bundle cords as best I could. I decided I should have just kept my knife because even a dull knife that wouldn’t cut butter was better than using the top of a tin can.
I knew if I told Mam that Ara T had my knife and wouldn’t give it back that she would search him out and get my knife back in nothing flat. But I couldn’t tell Mam I had talked to Ara T again. Anyway. If I was going to be collecting and handling the route on my own then I needed to start figuring how to solve my own problems.
Throwing papers wasn’t any fun in the yellow raincoat Mam made me wear but I wasn’t in so much of a hurry because it was Saturday.
More people were out on their porches on weekend afternoons and they gave me some big waves when I threw their papers that slid right up to their doors. I figured the route would take me to only a little after three o’clock.
On Vinton I walked up to the house where I had made my first collection the night before. The father and mother and a little girl were sitting in chairs out on the porch. Instead of making a throw I skipped up the steps to hand the paper to the father who had tipped me a nickel. As I passed the screen door I took a quick peek inside and there was TV Boy with his face stuck in front of the screen with the sound turned off just like the night before. How could TV Boy be so interested in something that took him away from the world like that? I could sit in front of my window sometimes and get lost staring out into space but the tiniest noise would usually bring me back to earth.
The times I sat down and watched television I found myself thinking about everything except what was happening on the screen.
Like on
The Howdy Doody Show
. When Howdy Doody was talking to Buffalo Bob I would forget what they were saying and start pretending that I was a
While I was waiting on my bundles I saw Ara T a few houses down in the alley where he was checking garbage cans. There was no mistaking Ara T’s cart with everything from broken toy guns to old car mirrors fastened to it. An old doll’s head was tacked to the front. The handles of the cart were wrapped with different kinds of wire and cord.
I walked up to Ara T and stood by the metal garbage cans he was picking his way through. I was going to get my knife back and then I was going to mind Mam and stay away from him.
s-s-s-s-Got my s-s-s-s-k …? My … s-s-s-s-k …? s-s-s-s-Got my s-s-s-s-yellow handle?
He didn’t turn around even though I was sure he had heard me. I stepped closer and changed to a louder voice.
s-s-s-s-You s-s-s-s-got it?
Still not paying any attention to me he rooted around in one of the cans he had already gone through. Then he swung around and gave me a mean stare like a teacher did when somebody was acting up in class.
Can’t have it, boy, till you calls it what it is.
I smiled at first because I thought he may have been just kidding with me but any time Ara T came close to smiling you could see his gold tooth. I didn’t see any gold. He was puffing on his crooked cigarette and trying to make like I wasn’t there.
s-s-s-s-Do you s-s-s-s-have it?
Told you, boy. Can’t have it till you call its name proper.
Ara T moved on to another bunch of cans behind the next house. Still not looking my way. I stood in the middle of the alley with my newspaper bags in my hand. Ara T wanted me to say Knife. I didn’t know what game Ara T was playing but I didn’t like it. I thought about yelling KNIFE at the top of my lungs because I never stuttered when I said words in a yell.
But Ara T moved on down the alley.
The carriers had started leaving on their routes. I waited until everyone was gone and then took my bundles over to my bags hanging on the fence. Picking my way along the alley I found an old tin can with a jagged top that wasn’t rusted too bad. I twisted on the top until it came off and then took it to my bundles to start sawing on the heavy bundle cords as best I could. I decided I should have just kept my knife because even a dull knife that wouldn’t cut butter was better than using the top of a tin can.
I knew if I told Mam that Ara T had my knife and wouldn’t give it back that she would search him out and get my knife back in nothing flat. But I couldn’t tell Mam I had talked to Ara T again. Anyway. If I was going to be collecting and handling the route on my own then I needed to start figuring how to solve my own problems.
Throwing papers wasn’t any fun in the yellow raincoat Mam made me wear but I wasn’t in so much of a hurry because it was Saturday.
More people were out on their porches on weekend afternoons and they gave me some big waves when I threw their papers that slid right up to their doors. I figured the route would take me to only a little after three o’clock.
On Vinton I walked up to the house where I had made my first collection the night before. The father and mother and a little girl were sitting in chairs out on the porch. Instead of making a throw I skipped up the steps to hand the paper to the father who had tipped me a nickel. As I passed the screen door I took a quick peek inside and there was TV Boy with his face stuck in front of the screen with the sound turned off just like the night before. How could TV Boy be so interested in something that took him away from the world like that? I could sit in front of my window sometimes and get lost staring out into space but the tiniest noise would usually bring me back to earth.
The times I sat down and watched television I found myself thinking about everything except what was happening on the screen.
Like on
The Howdy Doody Show
. When Howdy Doody was talking to Buffalo Bob I would forget what they were saying and start pretending that I was a
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