A Michael story.
Michael (skangster1965) likes to talk about how he moved from Norway to the US, because it gives him some element of mystery here. It's understandable, because Norway is facinating to Americans, especially to those few who actually know where it is. It congures up pictures of trolls, and Americans love trolls because there are so few here. He never mentions his true origins though, which is a shame because they are really nothing to be ashamed of.
He was born in rural Arkansas and lived there for the first six years of his life before he was sold to a family in Norway who wanted a child more than anything. Being sold, perhaps that's why he doesn't speak of it, because that is a pretty sad thing to go through. But his parents gave him the choice, he wasn't forced into it really. He understood that if he didn't go and his parents didn't get the money, that the entire family was going to be homeless, and that was the main reason why he went. He had 5 brothers and 7 sisters, and even at six years old, he knew that going to Norway to a new family was the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do in some ways. The money that the family recieved for Michael allowed them to survive and purchase more seed after the previous year's cotten crop was flooded and ruined. They would have lost the farm that year, and they didn't because of Michael's sacrifice. And besides that, he had a good life in Norway.
But his life in Norway, if you want to hear about that, just ask him. This is to tell about before.
When he was four years old, he went to work in the cotton fields. They didn't assign him very difficult tasks, he was only a child. His job was to take water to the rest of his family, who were all working much harder. In such rural families, the childern don't usually start picking cotton until they are seven or eight years old, but Michael was a tough kid, and he wanted to help, so the fall he was five he joined in the real work.
They gave him a big canvas sack, and he would help pick. On a good day, he would pick maybe a hundred pounds of cotton. Not much really, but it did help a little. The summer before that harvest he was a big help to his family. He never complained, and would take those 14 hour days of picking weeds with out a word. He helped with the other crops too. The family grew alfalfa to feed the mule and the cow in the winter, and he helped harvest that. They also grew lots of vegetables for the family to eat, and Michael loved caring for those.
It was a life of little recreation for the family. There were a couple of weeks in August, before the cotton bloomed, after the other crops had been taken in, when they would go fishing during the day and other things like that, but the rest of the year was time for work. But every night, when they got back from the fields and had eaten whatever dinner there was to be had, the family would join together on the porch and sing songs. They were a happy family, though they didn't have much. The house was small, and Michael was packed into a bedroom with all 5 of his brothers, but he'd never known anything different, and didn't think it was too crowded. It was just how things were, and they weren't bad.
But in the spring of the year Micheal was going to turn six, things went bad for the family. They had just gotten the cotton seed in the dirt when it started to rain. And it kept raining. The river flooded, and the family spent the days praying that it would crest before it reached their fields. It didn't. Within a week, all of their fields were under several feet of water. Everything was lost. The harvest simply would not come that year, for any of their crops. They evacuated, and when they came back, there was no house to come back to.
They got emergency assistance from the government, but it wasn't enough to cover the cost of a new house, live on for a over a year until they could get another harvest in, and pay for the seed for that new harvest. They got a new house built, but it didn't seem likely that the family would be able to stay there. They were desperate, Michael's father didn't want to let the farm go, and his mother cried for days. His father knew no life other than farming, and when he went to the city to see if he could find a job there, he couldn't find a thing. An old family friend offered him a job stocking in a grocery store, but it wouldn't support his family. His mother said she would get a job, too, but she had crippling arthritis in her hands and no one wanted to hire her either.
Just when the family had nearly given up hope, they were approached by a man in a fine suit who asked if they would send one of their children away. They initially said no, but Michael, who was sitting in the room, said maybe. The negotiations began, and the Norwegian couple came to Arkansas to meet Michael. They bought him ice cream and soda pop, and were very kind. Michael knew he would miss his family horribly, but he realized that these people were alright too. He knew that he could be the savior of his family, and so he agreed to go with them.
He was their savior, for that year. They kept the farm, got seed in the ground the next year and had a good harvest. Michael kept in touch the best he could, but one day the letters stopped coming from his mother. Somehow, he decided that she didn't love him anymore, that none of his old family loved him anymore. He stopped writing to them.
He came back to the US years later, and tried to find them. He couldn't. They've disappeared without a trace. No one back in that small Arkansas town knew what became of them. The best he got was from an old man at the hardware store who said that they packed up one night and never came back. Michael still wonders, and he's still looking for them. He wonders why they stopped writing, and what has become of his parents, and what his brothers and sisters are doing. He wonders if he has many nieces and nephews, he has a feeling he probably does. And someday, maybe, he'll find out. And maybe when he does find out he'll come to terms with his childhood, and will enthrall us all with better stories about it than I can tell.
He was born in rural Arkansas and lived there for the first six years of his life before he was sold to a family in Norway who wanted a child more than anything. Being sold, perhaps that's why he doesn't speak of it, because that is a pretty sad thing to go through. But his parents gave him the choice, he wasn't forced into it really. He understood that if he didn't go and his parents didn't get the money, that the entire family was going to be homeless, and that was the main reason why he went. He had 5 brothers and 7 sisters, and even at six years old, he knew that going to Norway to a new family was the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do in some ways. The money that the family recieved for Michael allowed them to survive and purchase more seed after the previous year's cotten crop was flooded and ruined. They would have lost the farm that year, and they didn't because of Michael's sacrifice. And besides that, he had a good life in Norway.
But his life in Norway, if you want to hear about that, just ask him. This is to tell about before.
When he was four years old, he went to work in the cotton fields. They didn't assign him very difficult tasks, he was only a child. His job was to take water to the rest of his family, who were all working much harder. In such rural families, the childern don't usually start picking cotton until they are seven or eight years old, but Michael was a tough kid, and he wanted to help, so the fall he was five he joined in the real work.
They gave him a big canvas sack, and he would help pick. On a good day, he would pick maybe a hundred pounds of cotton. Not much really, but it did help a little. The summer before that harvest he was a big help to his family. He never complained, and would take those 14 hour days of picking weeds with out a word. He helped with the other crops too. The family grew alfalfa to feed the mule and the cow in the winter, and he helped harvest that. They also grew lots of vegetables for the family to eat, and Michael loved caring for those.
It was a life of little recreation for the family. There were a couple of weeks in August, before the cotton bloomed, after the other crops had been taken in, when they would go fishing during the day and other things like that, but the rest of the year was time for work. But every night, when they got back from the fields and had eaten whatever dinner there was to be had, the family would join together on the porch and sing songs. They were a happy family, though they didn't have much. The house was small, and Michael was packed into a bedroom with all 5 of his brothers, but he'd never known anything different, and didn't think it was too crowded. It was just how things were, and they weren't bad.
But in the spring of the year Micheal was going to turn six, things went bad for the family. They had just gotten the cotton seed in the dirt when it started to rain. And it kept raining. The river flooded, and the family spent the days praying that it would crest before it reached their fields. It didn't. Within a week, all of their fields were under several feet of water. Everything was lost. The harvest simply would not come that year, for any of their crops. They evacuated, and when they came back, there was no house to come back to.
They got emergency assistance from the government, but it wasn't enough to cover the cost of a new house, live on for a over a year until they could get another harvest in, and pay for the seed for that new harvest. They got a new house built, but it didn't seem likely that the family would be able to stay there. They were desperate, Michael's father didn't want to let the farm go, and his mother cried for days. His father knew no life other than farming, and when he went to the city to see if he could find a job there, he couldn't find a thing. An old family friend offered him a job stocking in a grocery store, but it wouldn't support his family. His mother said she would get a job, too, but she had crippling arthritis in her hands and no one wanted to hire her either.
Just when the family had nearly given up hope, they were approached by a man in a fine suit who asked if they would send one of their children away. They initially said no, but Michael, who was sitting in the room, said maybe. The negotiations began, and the Norwegian couple came to Arkansas to meet Michael. They bought him ice cream and soda pop, and were very kind. Michael knew he would miss his family horribly, but he realized that these people were alright too. He knew that he could be the savior of his family, and so he agreed to go with them.
He was their savior, for that year. They kept the farm, got seed in the ground the next year and had a good harvest. Michael kept in touch the best he could, but one day the letters stopped coming from his mother. Somehow, he decided that she didn't love him anymore, that none of his old family loved him anymore. He stopped writing to them.
He came back to the US years later, and tried to find them. He couldn't. They've disappeared without a trace. No one back in that small Arkansas town knew what became of them. The best he got was from an old man at the hardware store who said that they packed up one night and never came back. Michael still wonders, and he's still looking for them. He wonders why they stopped writing, and what has become of his parents, and what his brothers and sisters are doing. He wonders if he has many nieces and nephews, he has a feeling he probably does. And someday, maybe, he'll find out. And maybe when he does find out he'll come to terms with his childhood, and will enthrall us all with better stories about it than I can tell.