Grove Street Park

            by Ruby Shapiro

 

“Do you recognize these pictures?” the detective asked me.

I looked down at the table and saw every town I had been to: San Francisco, Tucson, Ohio, Berkeley, Seattle, and Pittsburg.

“And what do they all have in common, Shawn?”

“It’s unfair! All I was trying to do was help.  I used to be one of them and I just want to help! Maybe bring some joy into their lives? You would never understand that lifestyle.  And I can!”

“You did not help anyone, Shawn.”  The detective walked out, and I sat alone in the dark room staring at my reflection in the mirror.

*  *  *

I always knew that new towns brought new opportunities, and my move to Berkeley gave me just this.  At first I moved in with Joe Danielson.  He had put an add up for a roommate, I called him and got it right away.  He seemed like a generous guy, and we got along great.  He said, “My home is your home.”  He lived in a small house filled with everything you could ever want.  I stayed with him for a couple of weeks, but then I realized I needed to take life into my own hands. 

After I had finished setting up and cleaning the house I explored the neighborhood and came across a park.  I walked onto the black concrete basketball court.  There was activity all around me, pairs playing tennis in the distance, girls playing softball to my left and groups of boys playing basketball.  As I walked farther onto the court, I saw six old men sitting on a bench, some of them were sleeping, and some were talking.  I wasn’t quite sure who they were talking to, but they just kept on jabbering. 

“Hey man, what do you think your doing? Get off our court!”  I looked down and realized I was standing in the middle of a basketball game.  So I walked towards the bleachers to take a seat, but then I noticed a man lying on the ground.  I went closer to him.

“Excuse me.  Sir, are you alright?”  I stared at the old man who was wearing one shoe and pants that looked like they were sopping wet.  “Sir?”  He was not responding, his eyes were closed and he was shaking.  “Excuse me.  Do you need me to call an ambulance?”  Since there was no response I ran onto the softball field and asked the coach to call 911.  As I walked back the man started talking.

“Hey, thanks.  You’re great.  You wanna know my name?  It’s Jonah.  I’m from Arizona. I rode a horse here into this park.  Can’t you see it? I parked it right down over there. Right down next to all those kids.  They all liked my horse.  I have always wanted a horse, ever since I was little…” 

Jonah rambled on, and I took a seat.  Around twenty minutes later a cop walked into the park.  He said nothing to me, but went over to Jonah and kicked him.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” 

Jonah didn’t respond.  Then the cop walked towards me and asked me to leave.  He said I was making Jonah act up, that nothing was wrong with him, and I shouldn’t give him attention.  How could I be doing anything wrong by trying to help an old man? I asked myself.  But I made my way back to the bench that was filled with old men.  There was one old guy that caught my eye.  He had a red slipper on one foot and a black tennis shoe on the other.  He wore ripped blue jeans and a big blue puff coat.  On top of the jacket he had on a red graduation robe.  As I got closer towards him he reeked of alcohol.  He was cheering for the basketball players.  He didn’t know them but he looked so proud.  Then he glanced towards me.

“Hi, what’s your name young man?”

“Oh, my name is Shawn.  Do you play basketball?”

“Not anymore, but back in my day I did.  I was good too, quick.  Hey let me get that.” 

He pointed towards my water bottle.  I handed it to him.  He took it finished it, put the empty bottle in his pocket, and smiled.

“Do you stay here?” I asked coarsely.

“Yeah, I do.”

“So if come back tomorrow, I’ll see you?”  He nodded his head.  I walked out of the park on MLK and Russell Street.  I was not quite sure what street home was on, since I had only been living in it for a short while, but I began to walk anyway.  It turned dark, and I still could not find home.  Then I ran into another man who was just like Jonah.   He had fallen to the ground, so I picked him up, and together we got home.  We walked in and I sat him on the couch.  This time I was going to be sure to give this man help.

“I’m going to get you some water, alright? What is your name?”

“Oh, yes, yes, water is good.  My name is Don.  You know who gave me that name? My mother did.  Back when she believed in me and my future.  But then she kicked me out.”

 I stumbled through the kitchen and finally found a glass.  Filled it with water, and grabbed some leftover lunch from the refrigerator. 

“Don, can you get up? Can you come in here? I have some food for you,” Don came into the kitchen with a smile on his face.

“Thank you.  Really, I needed this.”  That night I made Don so happy that I was ready to do it again.  After a shower and some new clothes I said goodbye to Don.  Later that night I searched through the messy house and arrived in the attic.  It was even more cluttered than the rest of the house.  I found so many items I never was there.  An enormous umbrella, a second toaster, a tennis racket, an old pair of rain boots.  I grabbed all I could find, that seemed practical and headed down stairs.

The next morning I took all the items I had found the night before and brought them to the park.  As I walked outside, I saw a shopping cart, I filled it and strolled to the park.  Today there were less kids but I saw some of the same men on the bench. 

“Hey guys, I brought you some stuff,” I was scared they wouldn’t like any of the gifts I brought; I guess they were kind of random.  But as soon as I pushed the cart towards them they were all arguing over who got what. 

“I want this!”

“No this is mine!”

“I give you this toaster for that radio?”

            The men were so excited by all my gifts, I knew I needed to bring more tomorrow.  Maybe I would buy some stuff for them too. 

            “Wow! I’m so happy you like all my gifts.  I have some surprises for tomorrow so I’ll see you then.”  I took my empty shopping cart and rolled it home.  That afternoon I walked to a toy store and bought Monopoly, Scategories, and Uno, all my favorite games.  Then I headed to EB games There I bought three handheld play stations. 

            “Can I see your ID?”  The salesman asked me after I handed him my new credit card, that I had just received in the mail.  

            “Oh, my ID? I don’t have it with me.” 

            “Well, I guess I can let it slide this time but the next time you use this card, you gotta bring some kind of ID,”  the clerk handed me the card I walked home with all my new toys. 

            It was my tenth time at Grove Street Park.  I had already given the games to the men, and they were playing them nonstop.  The play stations were a hit, I told them I would buy more once another credit card came in the mail.  These men became my new and only friends since I lost touch with Joe, and had no job.  Everyday I visited Edward, Clay, Mike, and John.  Sometimes I saw Jonah and Dave, but you could never count on them.  We all sat together and played games while they told me stories about their lives; I really could relate to them so well. 

            “We had this friend.  Clay do you remember his name? I don’t, but he used to collect every piece of clothing he could find.  He collected them, and then sold them.  After making some money he got nicer and nicer clothes, I never saw him after that, but one day he came back to Grove.  He visited us and now he has his own store.  Hey it’s my turn.”

            I learned so much from my new friends and got to hear some great stories.  One night, we all had a sleep over.  They came over to eat, but I had no food, it was all rotten in my fridge.  It finally was time to go to sleep but I forgot where I had put all my extra blankets. 

            “Hey guys, you just stay in here I need to get you sleeping stuff.”

            “John, did you hear what happened to me today?”

            “No, what?”

            “So, early this morning, the cops came to the park and asked me questions about all of our new stuff, like how we got it.  I just told them a friend gave had given it to all of us.  But then they asked me to describe him.”

            “What did you say?”

            “I just told them what Shawn looked like, his long brown hair, the overalls he wears everyday and that same blue shirt.”

            “Huh, I’m happy I wasn’t there, I hate those dame cops.”

            I walked back into the room interrupting John and Clay conversation, “Hey guys, what ya talking about?”

            “Oh nothing just a small run in with the cops.”

            I threw the blankets on the couch, “Good night guys.”  It was time to go to sleep and soon time to go.

            After overhearing John and Clay I knew I had to leave.  On my last morning in Berkeley, I went to Grove Street Park.  I had had enough with this town and needed to move.  I wanted to find new friends and start my life over.  It was a Saturday morning, and there were girls playing softball, boys playing basketball and all my friends sitting on the bench. 

            “Hey guys, how’s it going?”  They all looked at me and then put their heads down.  They were hiding from something but I had no idea what.  I then felt a strong hand grab my wrists.

            “Sir you are under arrest for the murder of Joe Danielson.  Anything you say can and will be used against you…”

            I had never gotten caught before, I always moved just in time.  I would change my name and then flee to another town.  But instead of the cops taking me downtown they took me to the house.  The two male cops got out of the car, grabbed me and led me into my home.  The door had been knocked down, and there were men taking pictures all around.  They took me to the closet and opened the door.  They were trying to break me, by looking at Joe in the face, but it didn’t work.  As the police walked me to their car they began to talk as if I had disappeared.

            “Do you see this, what he did to this man?”

            “Yeah, I don’t know how you could cut someone into so many pieces.  This is not a person anymore.  It almost just looks like meat.”

            I remember that day so well.  I walked down the street and found Jo’s house. He told me to let myself in with the hidden key.  I hid in that same closet all day.  Waiting.  He finally came home, opened the closet door, and I took his life.  It then became mine, I was Joe Danielson, and I had everything.