Animal Crackers

 Animal Crackers

By 

Larry J. Dellinges

Timothy J. Rogers sat quietly and stared ahead watching the courtroom clock reach 4 pm. while his court appointed attorney huddled across the bench with Judge Jones who raised his eyebrows and then nodded his head in agreement. Timothy, age 14 was a shy and quiet young man with good grades in school and never in trouble with the law but now that his father was convicted of murder and presently sat on death row and his drug addicted mother was nowhere to be found. With no family or friends to take young Tim in his fate was now up to family court and it appeared his new found status would be that as a ward of the state. It was now just a few minutes after four when Judge Jones recommended Tim would spend the next four years in Madison Juvenile Home until his eightieth birthday. Judge Jones quickly left the court room and just as quickly Tim found himself sitting in a Sheriffs van at the gates of Madison a state run facility for orphans. It was remarkable that Tim ever reached this point in his short life left with only memories of mental and physical abuse from both his mother and father but Tim had a forgiving soul and his spirit was his life line to the future.

The iron gates to Madison slowly closed behind him as if Tim was being swallowed up by a fire breathing dragon and with just the clothes on his back and a five dollar bill in his pocket at tall leggy woman with grey streaked hair fashioned in a bun met him at the front steps of Madison. “Timothy I assume”, asked the woman who reached out and touched the shoulder. Tim could only shake his head finding it difficult to speak as the reality of the situation began to take hold. “I’m Miss Herbert”, the woman in her mid-fifties said, “ and I’m the director of Madison’s home of wayward children”. Tim tired to appear he was listening but he stood frozen while he gazed at the many faces that now peered at him through the windows of the three story building. “So, your impressed with this old building”, Miss Herbert continued, “it was built in 1881 by some of the same people who built our railroad back in the day”.  Miss Herbert continued with her history lesson and mentioned the building was originally a bank and then the counties first firehouse and then a  jail before its conversion to a youth home. 

Something deep inside Tim felt uneasy about Madison as well as Miss Herbert and it was more than just his current situation. Tim closed his eyes and tired to black out all the sights and sounds around him but it was useless and before he had a chance to clear his thoughts Miss Herbert grabbed his arm tightly and pulled him through the dark wooden front doors of Madison and said in a hurried tone, “ lets get you settled in”.  As they stepped inside Tim noticed a elderly man wearing a sheriffs uniform sitting at a dimly lit desk with his face buried in a newspaper. As Miss Herbert directed Tim toward the deputy Tim read the name plate on the desk as Sergeant Collins. At first Sergeant Collins was unaware that anyone had even entered the building as he continued to read with only cigarette smoke to greet them. Miss Herbert cleared her throat as Sergeant Collins slammed his newspaper down in anger and took a final drag from his cigarette before putting it out in a ashtray overflowing with butts.

The Halloween get together

 Page 2. 

The Halloween get together was just an hour away as Penny's mother braided strands of gold and silver thread into her daughters hair putting the finishing touches on a beautiful Prairie Princess. Nelly watched intently while laying across Penny's bed and wondered if she would be next in line for the hair treatment? At last they were done giving Penny the first real opportunity to take one last look at herself in the mirror before leaving. Penny closed her eye's for a second and then quickly opened them as if awaking from a dream. Her reflection from the mirror was radiant from this child's point of view wearing a loose fitting shirt with matching pants that seemed to flow and swirl like prairie grass in the wind each time she made the slightest movements. Her shirt was the color of the darkening night sky and her pants were a deep forest green giving her the appearance of a sunset especially after her mother draped a silver silk cape across her shoulders. Penny's parents smiled at one another as Penny, Mark and Nelly piled into the families truck and headed out to a Halloween party that would be like no other!

Well, the High School gym was packed with demons, goblins, and witches not to mention every super hero on the planet including Mars and the Moon? One parent was Freddy and three others were Micheal Meyers and one person wore a presidential mask and he spend the entire evening in the back of the Sheriffs patrol car just for his own safety? Anyway, the older kids had a water balloon fight in the parking lot until Mark decided throwing an egg at the mayor was funny and he ended up in the back of the Sheriffs patrol car with the president for the rest of the night. While inside the gym spooky music drowned out the laughter as well as screams of terror mostly from the little ones who weren't really sure why they had to be frightened just for a piece of candy? Most the treats and the candies were home made with some store bought stuff but one rancher brought several gallons of what he called clear water that only the adults could drink?

Penny's costume was the talk of the town but not for the reasons you might think. Some folks took offense still believing in the curse of the dead oak tree while others asked Penny's parents to leave. Fear and superstition is a powerful emotion causing the weakest of human beings to make the worst choices and it was for that very reason the old oak tree still stood. There was however one thing our fear stricken town folk didn't know and that was the fact that the dead oak tree sat directly on the far east corner of James property. Penny's father had seen and heard enough and it wasn't the first time the thought had crossed his mind of cutting down the dead tree once and for all. Like any good rancher worth his sand he never left home without his trusty rifle and chainsaw and tonight he would change a few minds and perhaps put an end to a hundred years or so of bad thinking?