Page 16 - Demo

Fools%u2019 Journey10yard.%u201d I said I was sorry, and I%u2019d certainly fill the hole in and plant some grass seed the next morning. When I offered him a beer he left in a huff. Once Lynn and I actually started teaching, I was flat broke, and Lynn nearly so. The hog roast had wiped me out, and I was too proud to ask my guests for donations. Lynn had been living on what she%u2019d earned teaching summer school in Michigan, so we each struggled for two weeks until our first paychecks arrived. Fortunately, new teachers received a perk we hadn%u2019t expected. Marge, the official Welcome Wagon lady, arrived after school one day and presented each of us with an official greeting signed by the official Mayor %u2014 and a large official packet filled with various official certificates for freebies and discounts around town. This was great smalltown stuff, definitely not what you get in Chicago or New York, and we had a very enjoyable visit with Marge that afternoon. The coupons for free meals at local restaurants were particularly appreciated, and they helped us get to know the town better. Dave had us over to his mom%u2019s house for dinner one evening, and his grandmother made a tasty stew. When she asked if we knew what we were eating, we guessed immediately. There was, indeed, a surprising amount of meat on a hog%u2019s head. Our first couple of weeks of teaching school were chaotic, disorganized, and overwhelming, but we soon settled into a semblance of a routine. Life in small-town Kendallville wasn%u2019t overly stimulating, but it was good. However, one day, the ambiance of a peaceful, quiet, friendly, Midwestern town was suddenly broken, not only for us, but for nearly everyone in the county. We learned that a despondent black man had jumped off the roof of downtown%u2019s three-story Kendall hotel. After falling nearly 40 feet and landing on the concrete sidewalk he, fortunately, suffered only minor injuries. How could this happen? Why here? At the time, there were no Blacks living in Kendallville %u2014 the victim and his two buddies were in town to do some house painting. After having a couple of beers with their lunch in the hotel bar, he became depressed with his lot in life. then stood up and found his way to the roof. His two friends followed, and struggled to restrain him, as a crowd gathered on the street below. Amid cries of