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Ernie's Tale

The rejected town hero.

By Gary StuckeyPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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In the small southern town of Castleton, Alabama, there lived a man named Ernie. He lived across the tracks in the poorest part of town. Castleton was almost a ghost town, with only a flashing caution light. There were very few businesses left anymore, except for a gas station and a dollar store. Ernie would sit in front of that dollar store every day and greet customers as they walked up.

"How are you ma'am?" he would say, or "Hey man, you a'right?" They would smile and carry on a short but sweet conversation with him. Ernie was always dressed in a red, tattered wind breaker, camouflage jeans and shoes that didn't match. He wore a faded, gray veteran's cap with an American flag across the front. He always said that his grandpa gave him that hat, though many figured he found it a nearby dumpster.

The dollar store hired a new manager named Mr. Jackson. He was a stocky man, balding and in his early sixties. He was never married and he had just started living in the green house on Turner Street. He drove an old Chevy van and could be seen walking out of the ABC store with a brown bag, in the nearby town of Brewer, on any given Saturday.

One day as Ernie sat on the edge of the sidewalk near the front door of the dollar store, Mr. Jackson came out and shook his head.

"You can't keep sitting here like this. You're loitering. Move along now!"

"Lo...Loit...Loitering? Don't know what that is..."Ernie said. "Mama says I can sit here as long as I stay outta trouble."

"I don't care what your Mama says, young man....you gotta leave. Get going!" said Mr. Jackson. I'm busy...Don't let me catch you out here again." And with that he went inside.

"I ain't no young-un.." said Ernie to himself. "I'm 55 years old...That's what Mama says I am..." He walked across the parking lot and into the nearby woods to the trail that led to his house. On the way he saw a squirrel climbing an oak tree. "I gotta go home...can't be there at the store no more. No sir. I can't." Tears began to trickle down his cheeks.

As the weeks went by, people started to wonder what happened to Ernie. It wasn't the same without him waving and speaking to the townspeople. Mrs. Johnson walked into the store and to Mr. Jackson's office.

"Where is Ernie?" asked Mrs. Johnson.

"You mean the hobo...the weirdo that sat in front of the store. Haven't seen him! I may have told him to get lost....can't remember the conversation...but"

" He's not a hobo...or a weirdo...and he wasn't bothering anybody! He has been rejected his whole life by his family....and by inconsiderate people like you! I won't be back! Mrs. Johnson stormed out of the store.

"Don't let the door hit ya on the way out..." Mr. Jackson yelled. He laughed and muttered to himself, "Good riddance!"

The next week was the first time Ernie had been seen outside. It was now February, but much warmer than it had been in many days. He walked out of his house, which was a rickety old shack, and headed down the trail to the dollar store. His stringy brown hair was longer now and he had a scruffy beard with patches of gray. He walked up to the door of the store and placed a note in the crack of the opening. It was still very early and the store was not yet open. As he left, he smiled and it seemed like a burden had been lifted off of his back.

Soon, Mr. Jackson showed up and found the note. It read:

" I forgive you Mr. Jackson. Mama told me that I needed to. Happy Valentine's Day.

P.S. Mama wrote this because I can't read or write."

The note had a valentine sticker with a bear that said "Be Mine."

Mr. Jackson just grunted, and balled up the note and threw it into the trash. "Whatever" he said. He got busy doing paperwork, too preoccupied to worry about a sappy note like that.

Later that afternoon, as he got up from his desk, Mr. Jackson walked outside to get some fresh air. Suddenly he started having sharp pains in his side. He fell to his knees and a customer called an ambulance. He was taken to a nearby hospital in the town of Brewer. A doctor told him that if he didn't have a kidney transplant soon, he would not make it. "We will be on the lookout for a possible donor." he said.

Meanwhile, back in the town of Castleton, a tragic event occurred. Lying in the street was the town hero, Ernie. "I didn't see him, I swear!" cried Mrs. Andrews. Ernie was attempting to cross the street but never made it. He never saw the oncoming car, his mind was overtaken by the thoughts of the valentine candy his mama promised to give him. A police officer, with tears in his eyes, consoled Mrs. Andrews and said, " I know, Mrs. Andrews. I know."

The next day, the doctors came into Mr. Jackson's room. We've found a donor for you. We will begin surgery immediately." Mr. Jackson smiled and thought to himself how lucky he was.

The surgery took all night, and after the kidneys were transplanted, something was very wrong. Doctors and nurses were everywhere as they worked to save the store manager.

At that very moment, a visitor came to see Mr. Jackson. She was an elderly lady in a flowered dress and shawl. "What is wrong." she asked. "How is he doing?"

"He didn't make it" said a doctor. His body rejected the kidneys. I'm so sorry."

"Oh...me too. I was hoping so much that my son's kidneys would help him...God rest his soul."

And with that, Ernie's Mama walked out of the room.

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