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Post by celticgirl91 on Jan 19, 2010 1:35:11 GMT -5
George watched sadly as day after day both his girls went to work. This was something he had never wanted to happen. Everyday Sarah came home tired and dirty. George knew she hated working. He knew she missed school and her friends, and yet she never complained. George couldn’t be more proud of her. But even though he was proud of her, he was sad too. Seemed like he was always sad these days. Sarah couldn’t even come home for lunch like the other girls. Carrie was always at the store and George was always job hunting. So when all the other factory girls went home for a quick lunch, Sarah had to sit on the factory steps and eat whatever Carrie had packed for her. One day, George was walking through town, looking for a job. Again. He was beyond losing hope. He walked down the familiar street, passing all the businesses that he’s checked about a hundred times each. What was the use to keep looking? Seriously. He was just wasting time. He walked toward the mines, thinking that he might try there again. He had heard that there had been an accident… Maybe he could take the man’s place, even if it was only for a day. He wasn’t paying attention. He was staring at the ground as he walked up to the entrance when he suddenly ran into someone. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!”, the soot covered man said. George couldn’t make out any of his features. He was so dirty all George could see was the blueness of his eyes. “I’m sorry”, George started apologizing. “Wait a sec… George?”, the man asked. George didn’t know how this man knew his name, but it was kinda creepy. “Yea?” “George!”, the man exclaimed. “It’s Ryan! Don’t you recognize me?” George looked closer. It WAS Ryan… that wasn’t soot making his hair black as coal… that was his natural color. And the voice and the eyes were the same. “Ryan!”, he threw his arms around his old mate in a hug. Ryan laughed. “Yea… it’s kinda hard to recognize me like this. How the heck are ya? What are you doing here?” George hesitated. “We’re not doing too well”, he finally admitted. “I’m still out of work. Carrie and Sarah had to get jobs. I thought I’d try here” Ryan’s smile faded. “Oh… I’m so sorry George” George nodded. “We’re surviving though”, he said. “But how have you been? How long have you been working here?” Ryan’s grin returned to his face, his white teeth standing out against his black, soot covered face. “I’m doing very well”, he said. “Wait here. I have a surprise for you” “A surprise?”, George asked. “What is it?” Ryan’s smile just got bigger. “Wait here”, he repeated excitedly. “Ryan!”, George called, but too late. Ryan had already ran back into the mine. George waited. For 10 minutes, he waited. Where the heck was Ryan? And what surprise could he possibly have? Finally, George saw him walking back out of the mine with another man. This man was also covered in soot, and slightly taller than Ry. Maybe this was Ryan’s boss? The other man smiled when he saw George. “Look what I found”, Ryan said when they were close enough to be heard. George looked between the two. “Who?”, he asked. The other man laughed. “Oh come on now George? Don’t you remember me?”, he asked in a deep voice. No way… George saw it now. The height, the build, the eyes, the voice. It was as if his son had returned home. “Damian!”
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Post by celticgirl91 on Jan 20, 2010 1:32:06 GMT -5
last post.... then the epilogue
“Damian!”, George nearly tackled the lad. Damian laughed. “Missed you too George. What’s the craic?” George pulled back and looked at him. Damian looked older, wiser, and somehow not as innocent and carefree as he had before. “Not much, just looking for a job”, George answered Damian’s question. “How did you two end up working together?”, he was now looking back at Ryan who was grinning like a fool at George’s reaction. “Long story”, Ryan answered. “Meet us at the pub around 6 tonight, then we’ll tell you” “I would love to”, George answered sarcastically. “Only problem is that I don’t have any money” Ryan looked at Damian. “We can buy you a drink, right Damo?” “Aye”, Damian agreed. “I won’t be drinkin’, so you can have mine”, he said to George. George laughed. “Okay, 6 it is” Ryan looked around.”We actually have to get back to work, so we’ll see you then!” George grinned as his two mates left. He then turned and went back home, completely forgetting about the job. Later that night, George stepped into the pub and breathed in the familiar scents. The last time he had been here was that last night with all the lads, right before the factory had closed down. He smiled at the memory. He missed those times. So much had changed since then. George looked around the pub and smiled when he saw Ryan and Damian sitting in their regular corner booth, just as if nothing had happened. Thankfully, they had been smart enough to clean up. “Hey Lads”, George greeted as he sat down. Damian grinned. “Hey George!” “Good to see ya George” Ryan beamed. “What are ya drinkin?” “Nothing”, George waved it off. He wouldn’t take Ryan’s hard earned money. “You sure?”, Ryan asked. “Come on George, don’t make me drink alone. Cus you know, little Damian here is too young” “Hey, not for long”, Damian put in. George laughed. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed having the craic with these lads. “Okay, I’ll have a scotch then” Ryan waved over the bartender and ordered. George looked at her, remembering what had happened with Keith. But he’d get into that later. “So… how did you two end up working together?”, George asked. Ryan looked at Damian. “You wanna tell him, little bro?” Damian nodded. “Sure. I’ll tell my part”, he looked at George. “When the factory first closed down., I couldn’t find a job. Anywhere.” George nodded. He knew how that went. “So eventually, my rent ran out at the boarding house and I got kicked out. I had nowhere to go. For about a week I wandered the streets, looking for a job, sleeping in old sheds at night” “Oh Damian…”, George’s heart went out to him. He could just imagine wee Damian huddled in a corner of an old barn, shivering in the cold. It wasn’t a pretty picture. “What did you do for food?”, he asked. Damian shrugged. “Only thing I could do. I stole it. I didn’t really have a choice” “Why didn’t you go back to your family?”, George asked. Damian got thoughtful. “I don’t think I ever told you… but my family died in a fire last year. I don’t have anyone left” George’s heart went out to the young lad… he had had no idea…. “Come on Damian”, Ryan complained. “You’re depressing George, get to the good part” Damian perked up. “Right. Anyway, I was wandering around, with no were to go, when I bumped into Ryan. He took me in-“ “Even though I didn’t have enough money for even myself”, Ryan cut in. Damian rolled his eyes. “Right. Anyway, Ryan was lucky and had found a job right away. He got me one too and we share the rent for a room at a boardinghouse” “Wow”, George said. “Sounds like you’ve been through a lot” Ryan and Damian both nodded. “It’s been hard”, Ryan said. “But what about you? What happened? You said Carrie and Sarah had to get jobs?” George sighed and explained everything. From how he couldn’t find a job, to how Sarah was working so that they could pay the rent. “Oh… I’m so sorry George”, Damian said at the end. George gave him a sad smile. “We’ll be okay. I hope. I just have to find a job” Ryan and Damian looked at each other. “What?”, George asked, watching the two matching grins in front of him.
About an hour later, George ran into his house. “Carrie!”, he called. Carrie came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “What?”, she asked calmly. George ran to her and swung her up into his arms and swung her around, laughing. “George!”, Carrie couldn’t help but laugh with him. George set her down and looked her in the eye. “What?”, she asked. “I got a job!!” One second. Carrie was silent for one second. Then she screamed. “OH MY GOSH!!! How? Where? When? Oh my gosh George!”, she threw her arms around his neck. “Where?!” George laughed again. He couldn’t help but laugh. “I saw Ryan and Damian today. They work in a coal mine. They pulled some strings and got me a job” Carrie’s smile faded. “A coal mine? But that’s so dangerous” George smiled and kissed her check. “It’s a job. It’s way less dangerous than Sarah working in a factory. And it’s a job”, he raised an eyebrow at her. Carrie looked as if she was trying hard to hold back a smile, but instead she burst out laughing. “it’s a job”, she repeated. George smiled, bent down, and kissed her. Carrie wouldn’t have to work anymore, Sarah would be able to go back to school again, life would get better. Now I’m on the scrapheap and I’m 39…. George laughed. Not anymore he wasn’t. the end
thanks sooo much to all my readers!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
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Post by celticgirl91 on Jan 21, 2010 0:33:02 GMT -5
“I can’t wait to show her!”, Carrie giggled as George led her through the grocery store. They were perusing the store like little kids, gathering ingredients. “She’s been waiting so long”, George agreed. He had been working the mines for about 2 months and yes, it was dangerous, but he loved it there. Especially because he was able to work with his old two mates again. Today was a special day though. Today was special because it was Saturday. And Saturday was the day that Ryan and Damian were coming over to the house. Paul was going to be there too and he was bringing Lydia. George wished Keith could be there as well, but as they didn’t know where he was exactly, that was kind of impossible. The best part of today though was a surprise. At least for Sarah it was. Today, she was finally getting her cake. And it was George’s job to distract her while Carrie made it. “Where are we going?”, Sarah asked as she skipped down the street, slightly ahead of George. George laughed. “You’ll see. I want to show you something” “But Mommy needs help getting ready”, Sarah insisted. “No today she doesn’t”, George replied. “This way”, he called as he turned a corner. Sarah skipped along as George took her down the road to his old factory. Sarah stopped skipping when she saw it. “Is this where you used to work?”, she asked. “Yea”, George said softly as he stared up at the building. Sarah looked up at him. “Do you miss it?”, she asked. “Yea, I do”, George answered. “You know my father used to work here? And then I worked here for 20 years.” “That’s a long time”, Sarah commented. “Yes it is”, a tune started to play in George’s head. He didn’t know where it had come from, but it wouldn’t go away. “Come on Sarah”, he said. “Let’s go back to the house”
Later that day, the party was a huge success. George had a great time catching up on the craic with his mates, and Sarah’s face was priceless when she saw her cake. She gave him a million kisses and a hug so tight that he could barely breath. But all through the day, George could not get that tune out of his head. After the party was over and Sarah was tucked in bed, George slipped out of the house. He didn’t know why, but he found himself back at the factory. “Twas Joey the Weasel, that gave us the wire….”, he sang to himself. Where had that come from? And before he knew it, George was writing. He found some old paper in a dumpster and for the next 30 minutes straight, he wrote. When he was finally done, he looked over his work. He had done a pretty good job. It was a song about his story. His story and the story of hundreds of other men that had lost their jobs. It was a story about Yesterday’s Men.
Twas Joey the weasel that gave us the wire¬, They were closing our factory down¬ Though we didn't believe him and we called him a liar¬, The redundancy letters came round¬ As we read them in silence, I choked back a tear, ¬It was hard to believe after twenty-odd years Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates¬ Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic¬ Oh, We gave them our best years now they've paid us back¬, By making us yesterday's men¬, Sure as heck¬, By making us yesterday's men So We said our goodbyes by the factory gates, ¬One cold Friday evening last year¬ And I saw it all there in the eyes of ma mates, The anger, the sadness, the fear¬ Like our fathers before us we worked there with pride, ¬ Now we fought back the bitterness burning inside Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates,¬ Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic Oh we gave them our best years now they've paid us back,¬ By making us yesterday's men,¬ Sure as heck¬, By making us yesterday's men Ah Now Jimmy, said she, Give the kids a few bob, ¬After all, sure it is Friday night¬ But How could I tell her I was out of a job¬, from now on things were going to be tight¬ How well I remember it cut like a knife, I was never a day on the dole in my life Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates¬, Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic¬ Oh, We gave them our best years now they've paid us back,¬ By making us yesterday's men¬, Sure as heck¬, By making us yesterday's men The machines now are silent, the workbenches bare, And there's dust on the factory floor¬ They've boarded the windows and have chained up the gates¬, And have padlocked the factory door ¬Now I'm on the scrap-heap, and I'm thirty-nine¬, Just one of the hundreds, shot down in my prime Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates¬, Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic¬ Oh, We gave them our best years now they've paid us back,¬ By making us yesterday's men¬, Sure as heck¬, By making us yesterday's men Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates¬, Farewell to the paydays, the pints and the craic¬ Oh, We gave them our best years now they've paid us back,¬ By making us yesterday's men¬, Sure as heck¬, By making us yesterday's men
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