The rain is pouring. It is soaking into my thin soles of the sneakers I found on the side of the road. The sloshing continues with every step I take. Right then, I wish for rain boots. I didn’t used to be this way I swear. I used to be able to provide for my children. I used to be a good father and husband, full of hope and happiness. Even though Roosevelt just passed the Wagner National Labor Relations Act (Fact sheet), union authority doesn’t necessarily solve my problems. Our only real concern throughout the day is what we are going to eat to stay alive. Let me backtrack.
I just graduated with my law degree and was looking for a place to work. After searching long and hard, Goodwin Procter served me good. Man, I had it made, a job and a sexy degree not to mention I was rolling in dough. And then all I needed was a girl, I found her. Marie, boy she’s a looker. Impressed with my college degree her other boyfriends never had, it was love at first sight. This was during the same time when the first flight to the North Pole just happened. Floyd Bennett and Richard Byrd got the damn medal of honor alright. Two seconds later and before I knew it, Marie was pregnant with our second child.
A blessing in disguise was what that was. Each year our babies grew we’d donate all their old clothes and toys, you know to give back. Now, it seems that we’re the charity But I am still not finished. All my buddies at the firm kept talking big about their investments in the NYSE so I gave it a go. Eventually, my investments tripled and I became an even richer man. I can’t believe that was just 5 years ago. But as you already know, something happened and I lost everything. Suddenly, by the end of October 1929, it crashed. First the stock market, then my life.
My investments were gone and I soon got a call a few months later telling me Goodwin Procter went under. Apparently, it managed a bank that failed and that was it, I was a fritz. Now, time goes by all too slow and ignoring the piles of eviction notices have become a daily routine (Cinderella Man). A couple months ago, before the Wagner National Labor Relations Act was passed, the president signed another legislation to help more people get jobs by putting them to work on highways and bridges, the Works Progress Administration. This was when I decided to stop moping around.
For the last few years my brother and I went to the dock early morning when we heard about a job. We would wake up at 5 o’clock and walk to the docks gate’s, waiting for what it seemed like hours. Finally, the boss would step out and begin his picks. Now, I will not lie, I am a lawyer not a wrestler. With my skinny legs and measle muscles my chances were already slim, it runs in our genes ok? Not to mention the 1000 other men we were competing with, you can already guess we never were chosen. My brother and I knew there must have been something else we could do other than manual labor.
Finally my brother became useful, instead of just eating our food and sleeping in our beds. His suggestion changed our lives. I am a lawyer, I am intellectual man, much more than those beasts fighting like dogs at the docks. I decided to use my powers for good and take a leadership position. No one else knows the legalities of this depression except for me it appears. My brother became a marketer and I became an activist fighting against our government. Who cares that we are putting a few people to work like slaves for our infrastructure, what about the rest of us?
We are barely getting by, and by we I mean everyone. As a team, we rally all day into the dark night. I write speeches and convince people to rally with me and he makes posters and flyers, attracting the helpless to join for a common cause. Now the helpless don’t have to feel helpless anymore. I have learned to accept that in order to keep going, you gotta take things into your own hands (Ford). But I’m proud of how far we’ve come I mean we have done very well and receive great donations. I never thought people would appreciate those opposing government order, but hey, after all there isn’t much real order here.
It’s hard though. The hardest part is keeping my family sane so my brother and I always think of new ideas to help ourselves through this extremely difficult time. Using my incredible convincing skills that were once useful at the firm, I worked my magic instead on the shop keepers. Believe it or not it’s not too hard to convince them you deserve this food. I tell them I have a penny even though I might have 10 and no one questions it. Probably because of my perfected poker face. Hopping from store to store, that’s how we get our groceries.
Thankfully it’s worked so far. My bartering skills also came in handy when we’d meet people off the streets. One time a guy named Lou, I’ll never forget, told us he had a stew for 6 but he needed a stove to warm it with. Nicest guy I’ve ever met. I might’ve took advantage but we have to fight to survive in this world. He said, “help me out”, so I convinced him that cooking in my kitchen and sharing his stew would be beneficial to him since he wouldn’t be able to eat at all without the stove (Waiting For Nothing). Smart huh? A way to consume and provide (Zinn).
Despite our methods to help ourselves and others, I struggle internally with myself all the time. I am a father and a husband. Though I prayed to God in thanks for my beautiful family years ago, it has become less of a miracle and more of a way to embarrass myself. I don’t care that my brother lives with me, I am still the man of the house. But everyday I feel less and less of a man and it undermines my confidence, for some reason I take it so personally and I don’t want to. When I see the kids hungry or hear Marie crying softly in the bathroom when she thinks I’m not around it makes me feel like a bucket of manure.
Times are cruel and it has made me cruel whether I want to be or not. Sometimes, when I don’t feel like I have done enough I get angry. Sometimes I’ll throw things or punch a wall and I’m not even a violent person. This habit of anger management occurs so often, my family knows when its coming and they know when to stay away (American Century). It kills me not being able to provide for my family anymore like I used to and a lot of the times I have no clue how to handle it. Right now, it’s hard to stay hopeful and positive but I have to keep trying for the people I love.
I know I am an educated man so I hope my skills have more to offer than ditch digging and bridge building. I will continue to use my experience in school to better myself. I would also like to learn how to speak about my feelings to my wife and learn how to deal with them instead of getting angry. I will continue to love my family with every piece of my heart and do everything I can to keep them healthy. I won’t give up and I will advance in convincing my fellow Americans to stand up for justice. I will do whatever it takes to get my old life back, and those rain boots.
