Excerpt: The Eternal Optimist

It was a hard time for everyone. The United States was suffering through a depression that was unlike any other in her hundred and sixty odd years. They were some of the lucky ones. Though his hours had been cut by a lot, there was still work on the railroad for their father. At least enough to keep something on the table.

But their big house was drafty, too expensive to heat properly in the bitter cold of a Minnesota winter. Though he and his older brothers didn’t need to share a room because of space, huddling together in the large bed was the best way for the five year old and his three siblings to remain warm in the long night.

Rod could see the breath coming out of his mouth on the sunny February morning in early 1940. As he glanced out the window that was near the foot of the bed, he got an idea. The glass of the window was so frozen you could only see the sun’s light. He slowly slid closer to the panes, being careful not to wake anyone.

Peeling off the thick socks that were helping to keep his feet warm, he fought back the giggles that were trying to work their way out of his throat. He couldn’t help but gasp at the extreme cold as he placed the bottoms of his feet against the frozen glass. Closing his eyes, he counted started counting to ten, but decided eight was close enough.

Slipping back under the covers, he wiggled up so he was between his oldest brother Omar and his younger brother Woody. His head still faced the bottom of the bed, so it wasn’t hard to slip a small foot beneath their pajama tops and lay them squarely on the warm flesh of their backs.

“Jeepers, that’s cold.” yelled Omar as he grabbed on to the ankle about the offending foot. “So you think that’s funny huh?” He tired to sound menacing as he grabbed the small ankle of the offending child. He didn’t even notice Woody had literally jumped out of the bed at the icy touch.

“Wha…” Jeep said in a sleep voice. “I don’t want to get up yet.”

Omar pulled the squirming five year old back to the top of the bed. “I’ll show you funny,” he reached to the side of the bed where a small glass stood with ice that was water when they went to bed. Holding his little brother’s hands above his head, he nodded towards Woody. “Grab his feet. Both of them..” Then glancing towards the still groggy Jeep he looked towards the arms. “Hold him still for me Jeep.”

Jeep yawned widely, then decided to just lay across the arms, pinning them with his weight. “There, that does it,” he said as he closed his eyes again, turning his head towards the top of his little brothers.

“OOOowwwww, hey, that’s not funny!” Rod squealed with both laughter and discomfort as Omar slowly ran the frozen glass across his stomach. He was laughing so hard he could feel the need to pee getting stronger. “Please Omar, it was just a joke,” he cried out in a breathless voice. “I have to go, Please Omar, let me up!”

Tears of laughter rolled down the child’s cheeks, but Omar could see him visibly tensing. Turning to put the glass back on the night stand, he motioned to his younger brothers. “Ok guys, you can let him up now. But next time I am doing it until all of the ice melts!”

Rod nodded, believing his eldest brother as he quickly scooted off the bed. He gasped realizing the floor was ice cold and his socks where somewhere in the tangle blankets on the bed. ‘Oh well,’ he thought as he scurried from the room, ‘it was still worth it.’