Davidson / Marcano So Gently Goes the Hummingbird

1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-1-6678-9744-8
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet/DL/kein Kopierschutz

E-Book, Englisch, 182 Seiten

The teenage struggles of the 1950s. The fashions, the music, and the rebelliousness that went with the era. No adolescent boy or girl could escape the good times or the bad. The ugliness of bullying, racism, and antisemitism was frightening. There were the victims and the villains: the helpless and the heroes. So Gently Goes the Hummingbird is a story the reader will remember for a long time.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Davidson, D.

Marcano, R.

Leseproben

CHAPTER 1 Indian myth proclaimed the middle of the lake had no bottom. One male swimmer would drown yearly—a sacrifice to an Indian Princess (Lady of the Lake). The legend declared she tried to swim across the lake to reach her lover on the other side. The incident happened hundreds of years in the past. The Indian Princess failed in her attempt, and the cold water swallowed her up. That was only one of the many versions of the fate of the young Indian Princess. Perhaps, it was just a mythical folk tale, or was it? Many claims at least one male swimmer dies in the lake every summer. In 1959, the town of Lake Ronkonkoma was still a tiny hamlet of fewer than 4,000 inhabitants. Nearly half of the population were summer-only residents. The lake, the largest freshwater lake on Long Island, spreads across the middle of the quiet Long Island village. Lake Ronkonkoma was a famous water attraction to the residents of Suffolk and Nassau counties. Those who preferred fresh water to salt water chose Lake Ronkonkoma and Cannan Lake as opposed to Jones Beach or Smith Point for summer swimming. A couple of miles away from the lake, there was a white stucco building. It was the weekend, so the middle school was closed. It was late June, and there was only one more week left of school. On that Saturday morning, there was activity going on at the athletic grounds at the rear of the building. The area was a hangout for the high school kids that lived in the surrounding community. A crowd of teenagers stood in a circle, watching two teenage boys engage in a fistfight. The older boy was Arthur “Dutch” Schmidt. Dutch was a six-foot-tall German immigrant and weighed about one hundred and sixty-five pounds. The dark-haired 18- year-old bully towered over his smaller opponent, 17-year-old Dempster “Demp” Wilson. Demp was barely five feet eight inches in height, and his skinny frame weighed less than one hundred and thirty pounds. The crowd of teens dressed in typical 1950s fashion. Boys wore mostly jeans and cotton T-shirts of different colors—most girls dressed in jeans, Kulot shorts, pedal pushers, and lightweight summer blouses. The gathering of on-lookers cheered on both fighters. The crowd had no favorite. They were encouraging both boys to continue to do battle. The girls were more vocal than the boys. They typically cheered for the underdog. In this case, Demp Wilson. Their support did little to enhance Demp’s chances against the bigger boy. Arthur pounded Demp with several punches, and Demp dropped to the ground. A 17-year-old Irish kid, Shey Donovan, tried to hold Demp down. Shey’s solid build accentuated his six-foot frame. “Just stay down, Demp,” Shey urged. “You can’t beat him!” The sandy-haired Demp struggled to his feet and wiped the blood from his mouth; his piercing hazel eyes peered up at Shey. Demp grinned and then put his head down; he charged at his bigger adversary, Dutch Schmidt. Schmidt grabbed Demp by the neck and slammed him to the ground. Demp got up on one knee and stared at Schmidt. Shey was about to interfere again. Dutch badgered Demp Wilson. He spoke with a slight German accent. “Why don’t you let the Jew boy fight his own battle?” Demp wiped some dirt from his face and glared at the big German boy. Demp knew he had bitten off more than he could chew when he decided to intervene on behalf of the Jewish kid, Asha Linsky. The 18-year-old blonde boy, Asha Linsky, tried to stop the fight. He knew it was his fault, and he regretted it. “Leave him alone, Dutch!” Asha was a Jewish immigrant from Germany. He was small and wore horn-rimmed glasses that made him look even less intimidating. The lenses magnified his blue eyes. Dutch Schmidt smirked at the Jewish kid. Demp tried to stand but fell again, completely exhausted. Schmidt started towards Demp again, but Shey Donovan stepped between the boys. “He’s had enough, Dutch.” Dutch eyeballed Shey. “Says who?” Shey pressed his face close to Dutch. “Says me.” Dutch and Shey glared hard at each other. Shey’s dark eyes were intense. There was dead silence on the field. Dutch knew Shey was a formidable opponent and decided against pushing the matter further. Two of Dutch Schmidt’s friends started laughing and taunting Demp. The two 17-year-old boys were Chuck Perkins and Freddy Dobbs. The dark-haired Perkins was much bigger than the red-headed freckled face, Freddy Dobbs. They were both stooges who followed Dutch like two lost puppies. Whatever he asked them to do—they did. Chuck had a transparent personality, easy to see through and even easier to ignore. Freddy was just a follower who could never think for himself. Perkins chuckled. “Forget it, Dutch. You won, man. Let it go.” Dutch gawked at Chuck and Freddy. Freddy jumped into the conversation. “Chuck’s right, man. It’s cool.” Dutch backed up but pointed his finger at Shey Donovan. “You just cruising for a bruising. Ain’t you, Mick?” Shey grinned. “Anytime, Dutch. Anytime.” Dutch stomped off. His two chums chased after him. “Hey, Dutch! Wait up, man!” Chuck hollered. Most of the crowd of teenagers slowly dispersed. Shey helped Demp to his feet. Demp wiped the dust off his denim. Asha Linsky came over to Demp. “You didn’t have to do that for me, Demp.” Shey snapped at the runt-like Jewish boy. “Damn right, he didn’t! Maybe if you weren’t such a candy ass, you’d learned to do your own fighting.” Demp pressed his hand on Shey’s chest. “Cut him some slack, Shey. Asha didn’t ask me to fight his battle.” Shey swiped at Demp’s hand. “Yeah, well, you’d think him being a Jew and all... he would’ve learned by now to stand up for himself.” Asha’s blue eyes fixed on Shey. “You’d be surprised what I’ve learned, Shey… being a Jew and all.” “Let it alone, Shey,” Demp responded. Shey shook his head and walked away. Demp put his arm around Asha. “Shey didn’t mean nothin’ by that. He likes you.” Asha peeked up at Demp. “His right, you know. Everyone should learn to fight their own battles. I owe you, Demp, big time.” “You can buy me a vanilla coke at Stiflers, and we’ll call it even.” Asha grinned crookedly at Demp. “Skin me,” said Demp. 18-year-old Asha slid his hand across Demp’s hand. The bark of a dog grabbed their attention. Demp simpered. “Sammy! What are you doing here, boy!” Demp knelt and petted the five-year-old Pit Bull. His shiny black coat was accented by a small white patch on his chest. A young female voice called out. “It’s my fault. Sammy followed me.” Demp and Asha glanced over at 16-year-old Sukey Chandler; Sukey wore blue jeans. Her cut jeans ended at the lower calf. Sukey’s saddle shoes were black and white. Her chest was underdeveloped, and the two slight bumps barely appeared through her blouse. Most often, Sukey had a vacant look about her, but the perky brunette always beamed around Demp. “You ain’t mad at me for coming, are you, Demp?” The bright-eyed girl with the ponytail smiled again at Demp. Demp shrugged. “Why should I care what you do, Sukey?” Sukey’s grin disappeared. Demp felt bad. “We’re going to Stiflers for a coke. You wanna come along?” Sukey was surprised. She pointed at herself. “Who me?” “Yeah, you,” said Demp. “Who else would I be talking to?” Sukey simpered. “Sure, Demp, I’ll come.” She held up two coins. “Hey, I got two Quarters for the jukebox.” Demp seemed less than impressed. “Cool.” Demp led the way off the school grounds. Asha followed, and Sammy the Pit Bull trailed behind. Sukey hesitated momentarily, relishing that Demp wanted her to come with him. She had a crush on Demp that went back to grade school. Every time she saw him, her heart would flutter. Unfortunately, Demp had no such feelings. They were neighbors, but Sukey was just an unnecessary annoyance to Demp. But he did feel sorry for her. Sukey did not seem very popular with the other girls at school, and most boys ignored her. Sukey didn’t care to mention all the bad things going on in her life to anybody—especially Demp Wilson. Business establishments lined the main street of Lake Ronkonkoma: starting on the corner of Portion Road and Hawkins Avenue sat the town’s hardware store. Further down on Hawkins, on the left, was Stiflers Luncheonette and, next to it, a Bohack Supermarket. Across the street stood a large A&P that offered stiff competition to Bohack. Stiflers was a small store with a soda fountain to the left and booths to the right. The lingering aroma of hamburgers sizzling on the grill and French fries cooking in oil filled the room. A loud rock n roll song, “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, blasted out of the Wurlitzer jukebox. The lunch counter appeared reasonably crowded with kids; Demp, Asha, and Sukey entered the store. Demp found an unoccupied stool at the counter. Sukey tried to sit beside him, but Asha beat her to the other seat. Sukey pouted and sat on the third stool. Sammy, the Pit Bull, rested at Demp’s side. There was a small dance floor to the rear of the store, and several couples were dancing the “Lindy.” A teenage boy dressed in a white uniform and white cap stood behind the lunch counter....