Jason’S Journey

By Allen L. Harrell MD

The end of my journey here on earth is presently being played out, but I am not afraid. In my lifetime, I have experienced it alllove, happiness, sorrow, and disappointment. Yet I have never felt alone. First, in my childhood, my parents were always there to love and protect me, and then it was my friends at school. I was abundantly blessed having Anne at my side, my wife and my lifes companion. But even above all this, I have felt the ever presence of God. Ive said and done many things that I regret, but my God is a forgiving god, and in my prayers, I am ever pleading for forgiveness for offending him in any way.
I can only imagine the wonderment of what lies ahead for me. After seeing only a few of the natural wonders of the world, how much more beauty can my eyes behold? For me, heaven would be having my spirit set free to float throughout the universe, seeing the marvels of the world that God created for all mankind. But I can only imagine what heaven is really like. A song set to music by Bart Millard, I Can Only Imagine, says it all:
I can only imagine what it would be like when I walk by your side.
I can only imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me.
I can only imagine.
Surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus, or in awe be still?
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine when that day comes and I find myself standing before you.
I can only imagine when all I do is forever, forever worship you.
I can only imagine. I can only imagine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Mar 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466906136

Allen L. Harrell MD

The author is a veteran of World War II. He served as a yeoman in the US Navy from June 1944 until August l946. He received a BS degree from the Citadel, the military college of South Carolina, in 1949 and a master’s degree in bacteriology from MUSC in 1952 and an MD degree in 1956. After completing his internship at Saint Louis City Hospital, he served one year as an internal medicine resident at Orange Memorial Hospital in Orlando, Florida. He then joined a group of physicians in Statesville, North Carolina. In 1961, he returned to MUSC in Charleston and completed a residency in Pediatrics and rejoined his group in Statesville in 1963. He returned to Charleston in 1965 where he remained in the practice of pediatrics until his retirement in 1996. The following nine years, he served as a part-time student health physician at the College of Charleston. He is presently a full-time retiree who enjoys spending time with his wife of fifty-four years, his six children, sixteen grandchildren, and five great-grands. He loves gardening and spends most of his time outdoors when he is not writing.

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JASON’S JOURNEY

This novel is an autobiography of the author’s life. It details the way his world was when he was a lad growing up in lower rural South Carolina. The chronology of events presented in this novel dates from the beginning of WWII when he was an adolescent and moves through time up to the year 2014. The readers of this novel will be astounded with the author’s perseverance in achieving the goals that he had set for himself. He was convinced that the road he traveled was charted for him from the first day he left home to attend high school. What the readers will find most interesting is the author’s relationship with his family, his three dormitory roommates, and his experience with the opposite sex.

He met the one true love of his life during his first year in medical school. His day to day life with his family and friends reveals the very essence of his being.

The names of the characters and the township where the author, Doctor Allen L. Harrell, attended high school were changed to prevent the identity of anyone who may be alive or deceased.

JASON’S JOURNEY

Chapter 1

The year was 1939 and WWII was in its initial phase with Hitler out to annihilate the Jewish race and rule the world. Poland had been invaded by both Germany and Russia. By April 1940, both Poland and Denmark had fallen and Germany had invaded Norway. By the end of September, France was occupied by the Germans and much of Europe was under siege. It seemed as though all of Europe may be falling under the dictates of Hitler. However England, under the leadership of Sir Winston Churchill, refused to negotiate with the Nazis. The United States was hesitant initially to become directly involved as she was recovering from the depression following WWI. However, on December 7, 1941, with Japan bombing Pearl Harbor, the US was pulled headlong into the conflict. She reacted to the bombing of Pearl Harbor by declaring war on Japan and committing full support to the allied forces in Europe. Even though I was only thirteen, I remember the news of pending doom spreading throughout Europe and the prevailing mood of the United States of America.

At the beginning of that historical period in time, I had just completed my last year at the local elementary school. To attend high school, I would have to live away from home Monday through Friday. There were only three high schools serving the entire county. Pleasantburg High School was the school closest to my home. Gasoline and automobile tires were in short supply at the time, and both of these commodities were rationed to the civilian population. To cope with these shortages, the County School Board opted to house the high school students living too far out in the rural area to commute to school daily - a dormitory for the boys and one for the girls. The school buses were picking up the boarding students on Monday morning and delivering them back to their distant bus stops late Friday afternoon.

The high school principal, Mr. James Stanley, and his family lived on the first floor of the building housing the boys. The County Superintendent of Education, Mr. John Cooper, and his family lived on the first floor of the girls’ dormitory. Mr. Stanley served as the disciplinarian for Pleasantburg High and the full-time caretaker for the dormitory boys Monday through Friday afternoon. The thought of living away from home for five days each week left me feeling a bit uneasy. Mom and Dad spent a lot of time during the summer preparing me for what I would be facing living in the dormitory once school started in the fall.

After the long hot summer of 1940, the first day of the new school year arrived. With the alarm clock ringing at 4:30 a.m., Mom, Dad and I arose quickly, dressed, ate a light breakfast and were on the six-mile drive to the bus stop. The three of us were afraid that the tires on our old jalopy would blow out or some other mishap would occur that would delay us. The bus was scheduled to leave my bus stop promptly at 6:00 a.m. in order to arrive at school on time. On the way to the bus stop, Mom said, Jason, I know that we have already gone over all of this several times but let me remind you again to be sure to keep your suitcase locked and under your bed. She went on to say, You don’t know any of the boys that will be rooming with you. Your Dad was informed by the school principal that there would be twenty boys living in five bedrooms, four in each room with each sleeping on a single cot. He was also informed that the name of every student was to be placed on his suitcase in big letters and this we have done. From what we have learned, there will be only one bathroom for all twenty of you to use. I know that all of this will seem strange to you, but I’m sure that you will make the necessary adjustments. Little did my parents know how uneasy I felt when I boarded the bus.

Stopping along the way to pick up other students, the boarding students living the greatest distance first and then the day students, the bus arrived on the school campus at 8:00 a.m. with classes starting in fifteen minutes. I followed two of the upper-class boarding students that were on my bus. The three of us rushed out of the bus, deposited our suitcases at the head of the stairs of the boy’s dormitory and rushed over to the school building. Being accustomed to small classes, never more than five students in the same grade while in the local elementary, I was startled when I entered the class-room to see so many students in one room - thirty boys. The eighth grade girls were in a separate classroom across the hall.

With each of the thirty seats occupied, Miss Else Blackwell, our teacher, rapped on the desk with a ruler and said, We will all now stand and recite the Lord’s Prayer. Every student responded quickly to her command. After the prayer ended and everyone was seated, I looked at Miss Blackwell standing up front beside her desk. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties and perhaps a little on the pleasingly plump side. Her hair was coal black and hung evenly, reaching almost to her shoulders. Her skin was almost milky white without a blemish or any imperfections. She was dressed in a navy blue suit with the skirt ending just below her knees. I thought that she was beautiful; however, with her commanding voice, I quickly surmised that she was in complete control of her classroom. In the midst of my evaluating her physical attributes, she said, Now, I would like for all of you to leave your seats and stand around the walls. As I call the role alphabetically, each student’s name I call will take a seat beginning with the first seat on my right, and we will follow through until the last name is called. In a very orderly manner, every student was seated within a few minutes.

Math was the first subject of the day, and Miss Blackwell wasted no time in approaching the task at hand. She requested that the students seated first on each of five rows go to the blackboard and solve the word problems that she had previously written there. Was I ever more glad that I was fourth from the front seat? I knew immediately that I was not prepared for what was expected of an eighth grader. While the five were up front working at the blackboard, audible whisperings were coming from the rear of the room. Miss Blackwell struck the top of her desk again and complete silence followed. In a very distinct but calm voice, she said, In my classroom there will be no talking or whispering unless I call on you or you raise your hand to speak to me. Do all of you understand? That statement set the tone for my introduction to Pleasantburg High.

Before the noonday break, there was a rap on the door and Miss Blackwell opened it and stepped out. In less than a minute she was back at her desk and said, May I have a show of hands of the boarding students? In response to her request, four hands were raised - mine and three others. She then said, You four are to have your noonday lunch during recess in the dormitory dining hall, the middle gray building facing the street to our left. Following this statement a few snickers were heard, but with one rap on her desk complete silence fell. Immediately, I felt as though the four of us that raised our hands were seen as being different - the country bumpkins.

At noon the bell rang for recess. I, along with the three others that raised their hands, went directly to the dining hall. Standing at the entrance were the other boarding students, male and female, waiting for the door to open. As we entered, we saw that a sandwich, an apple, and a glass of milk had been placed on the tables for the thirty-eight boarding student. While seated at the table, several of the upperclassmen were laughing and talking, but not the freshmen. We ate our lunch and within a few minutes we were ready to return to the classroom when the bell rang for classes to resume. Everything seemed quite orderly and well organized.

After the last class of the day ended, I headed to the dormitory not knowing what I would find. I made my way up the stairs and found that my suitcase had been moved. After looking around, I saw that there was a suitcase placed on each cot and I very quickly located mine. The other nineteen boarding students were milling around looking for their suitcases. Within a few minutes, a bell rang from downstairs and a loud voice followed. All twenty of you report down stairs and gather outside behind the building. Very quickly, the twenty of were standing outside facing Mr. Robert Stanley. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties and quite handsome and impressive in physical stature.

With all twenty of us gazing directly at him, he said, You are all welcome to dormitory life. To my knowledge, Pleasantburg High is the only public high school in the state that houses students living too greater distance out in the country to commute to school daily. Sixteen of you are upperclassmen and are familiar with the house rules. Four of you are here for the first time. Your suitcases have been placed on the cots in the room that you are to occupy. As in the past, one newcomer is placed in a room with three upperclassmen. I have chosen to place each freshmen in a room with three upperclassmen to serve as big brothers, informing the newcomers of the house rules. After a pause, apparently to collect his thoughts, he continued, Several of you standing here exercised poor judgment last school year and you were duly punished. As you will recall, two were expelled. Let us strive to make this a good year. Just remember, I live with my family downstairs and any noise made on your floor will be heard below. Again this year as always, the evening meal will be served at 6:00 p.m. After returning to your room, you will hear a bell ring at 7:30 p.m. signaling the beginning of study hall. You are to remain in your room until bedtime unless you have a good reason to leave it. At 9:45 p.m. the bell will ring again signifying bed time. The lights are to be out and everyone in bed at 10:00 p.m. You are to keep your personal items in your suitcase under your bed. Your bath towel and face cloth are to be folded and hung on the foot of your bed. Your bed is to be made up at all times unless you are lying in it. Before I dismiss you, let me add that one of you are to keep the charcoal heater in the bathroom burning full blast from 3:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. to supply hot water for all of us to use. The duty of firing up the heater Monday through Thursday evening will rotate in alphabetical order to include everyone except those involved in sports. After another, pause, he said, Are there any questions? No one spoke out and Mr. Stanley left in a hurry to dress out in the gym to assume his role as the high school football coach - the one and only coach and athletic director for the school. Three of the boarding students were on the football team and they also headed to the gym to dress out for the first fall practice.

Chapter 2

After meeting downstairs with Mr. Stanley, I headed back upstairs with the others. I was feeling very uncomfortable not knowing what I would be doing once I was back in my room. After football practice had ended, the three upperclassmen participating in that sport returned to the dormitory. It was then that I and the three other freshmen were informed that we were to be initiated into ‘The Brotherhood of the Dormitory Boys’. The four of us learned that we were to run through the belt line. The sixteen upperclassmen formed a double line. As the four of us ran through the line, we were struck by heavy belt buckles, wooden paddles or sticks. They really meant to hurt us. One of the seniors missed his target and struck another upperclassman and a fight ensued. Both of them ended up with bloody noses. The scuffle broke up immediately when someone yelled that Mr. Stanley was entering the building downstairs. Back in my room, I examined my buttocks and found that I had several hard raised areas which were painful to touch, but I was determined not to cry or reveal that I was hurt.

At 5:45 p.m., the dinner bell rang and we were off to the mess hall. While we were eating, Miss Moore, the lady in charge of the mess hall, announced that a duty list had been posted. After each meal, one male and one female were to remain behind to help cleanup. I was pleased to learn that my name was near the bottom of the list. After arriving back in the dorm room, I met my three roommates - Claude, a senior, and two juniors, Abe and James. They informed me that no one was to use hot water until the lights blinked, indicating that Mr. Stanley and his family had bathed. As soon as the signal was received, I undressed and placed a towel around my waist. Upon opened the door leading into the hall, I saw several others waiting their turn to bathe. Most of them were standing in the nude. When the bell rang for study hall to commence, I along with several others had to return to our rooms without bathing.

I didn’t know how or what to study. I felt ill at ease. I knelt on the floor with my books opened on the bed and just gazed at them until 9:45 when the lights blinked for bedtime. I placed my books back into the book-satchel and then under my cot. I undressed and slipped into my pajamas and then into my bed. I wanted to cry. I wanted to escape from that world which was so foreign to anything that I had ever known. As soon as the lights were out and conversation had ceased, I felt someone trying to slip into the bed with me. I scrambled out of bed and said, What are you doing?

I recognized Claude’s voice as he whispered, Haven’t you been told that you are my rat and it is your duty to sleep with me? I was up and heading to the door when I heard him say in a low voice, Go back to bed you rat, I will tell you what is expected of you tomorrow. After returning to my bed, I lay awake for quite some time wondering what Claude had in mind.

The following morning I was afraid to look at Claude. However, he made it impossible for the three of us not to see him as he was standing in the nude showing off the size of his engorged penis. After weaseling into the line, I was able to wash my hands and face over the bath tub. I rushed back to my room, dressed and followed the others to the mess hall for breakfast. On my way back to the dorm, I discretely questioned the other three freshman and learned that the same thing had happened to them after the lights were out. The four of us decided to meet outside after school let out to decide what we should do. While in the classroom, we kept looking at one another, and I sensed that a bond was developing between the four of us.

We met immediately after school let out. We knew not to divulge what had happened for fear of being hazed. We had already been informed what happened to rats that ratted on a dorm brother. It didn’t take of us long to decide that we should ask for a meeting with Mr. Stanley. We wanted him to reassign the four of us to the same dorm room. Before Mr. Stanley left for football practice, we approached him in his office and asked for a time to meet with him. He said, The four of you are here, why not now? What’s the problem?

Mr. Stanley, I said. Will you please consider reassigning the four of us to the same dorm room? We could study together and we would be much happier.

Scott spoke up and said, I know that I will need help with some of my studies and maybe the four of us can help one another. Paul and Bill voiced the same opinion.

Well! Mr. Stanley said, I see that the four of you have given this a lot of thought and have come up with a reasonable request. I have not had such a request in the past; but, I can think of no reason why we shouldn’t if you think it will help you in your studies. Let all the others know that I will meet with all of you upstairs after supper tonight. Having said this, he left us standing quite pleased with what we had accomplished as he rushed to the gym to dress out for football practice.

The four of us decided that we should not mention our meeting with the principal; and, we thought it best not to return to our rooms until after the evening meal. We spent the remainder of the afternoon playing basketball. This was my introduction to that game, and I felt that I really wanted to become good at that sport. We were afraid to pass the word along to the others that Mr. Stanley would be meeting with everyone upstairs after the evening meal. They may think that we had ratted on the four seniors.

Shortly after we returned to our rooms after supper, Mr. Stanley appeared upstairs and in a loud voice called out for everyone to gather in the hall. I was afraid that he was going to say that the four of us had approached him, but thank God, he didn’t. In a very brief statement, he said, I have reconsidered the rooming assignments of the freshmen. I prefer that the four of them occupy the back room to the right of the stairs. The upperclassmen in that room will move into the rooms that were initially assigned to the freshmen. Are there any questions? Not a word was spoken and the meeting was concluded. I went directly to my room and removed my bed linens. I picked up my suitcase and moved toward the door. Claude stopped me and said, You rat, tell me how all of this came about. This is my fourth year here and nothing like this has ever happened before. Did you rat on us? Before I could answer him, he said, No, I suppose you didn’t. Had you said anything, we would have been expelled. But don’t think that I am through with you. You can tell the other three rats what’s expected of them. I was too afraid to answer him, and I walked out of the room under his arm as he stood braced against the door facing.

As soon as the four of us were settled in our designated room, I related to them what Claude had said. We were afraid that the four seniors would slip into our room after the lights were out. Locks or night latches were not permitted on any of the room doors; however, the four of us came up with the idea of blocking the door by placing two of the metal frame cots end-on-end reaching from the door to the opposite wall. It was a tight squeeze, but we were able to make it work. We made the change just before lights were out and we had to do it without making any noise. We had learned that Mr. Stanley’s bedroom was directly below us.

Within five minutes after turning out the lights, we heard the door knob turn and we all sat up, afraid of what could happen. We heard one of them whisper, The damn door will not budge and we cannot make any noise. They must have returned to their rooms because we heard nothing more. During the night Scott had to urinate. He directed his stream into the base of the open window, and the urine flowed through the screen and down the outside wall. We decided that we would have to hide containers in our room for such an emergency. Early the following morning, we moved the cots back to their usual place, and none of the others knew what we had done.

By sticking together, the four of us felt safe and we quickly became the best of friends. After the school days ended, we were together on the basketball court, together as we entered the dining room at meal time and together as we walked to the dormitory and into our room. We became known as the Quadrats. Threatening notes were placed under our pillows, but we eventually reached the point that these notes did not frighten us. We frequently found ourselves at meal time sitting across the table from seniors who attempted to kick us in our crotche while we were eating. When one of the female students saw this happen, she reported the incident to Mr. Stanley and the crotch-kicking ceased immediately.

At the end of the first week of school and during the bus ride back home, I was thinking about what I should tell my parents. I didn’t want to let them know that one of my roommates tried to get into the bed with me. I was ashamed of what had happened and I knew that they would be upset if I told them. However, in spite of everything that had happened, I was feeling good in the company of my new-found friends. The four of us knew that we would be safe as long as we stuck together.

Both Mom and Dad were at the bus stop to meet me when I got off the bus and both were smiling. Mom gave me a hug and said that I had to tell everything about my first week at school.

Well Lori, Dad said, give the poor boy time to catch his breath.

Mom and Dad there isn’t much to tell. I was a little homesick, but I got through the first week. I’m having trouble with Math and English but my roommates and I are studying together and that helps.

Mom said, Do you like your roommates?

Yes, I do, Mom, the ones that I have now.

Have you already changed roommates?

Really, Mom, it’s a long story. We can talk about that later.

During the weekend Mom questioned me about everything. I informed her what my daily routine was like, what the food was like, how I studied with my roommates using the bed as a desk, how much I liked basketball, and the names of my roommates. However, I did not tell them what Claude and the other three seniors tried to do. Over the weekend, Dad and I went hunting, and the three of us attended church services on Sunday. Early Monday morning, my parents and I were back at the bus stop for me to board the bus to face another week of dorm life.

Chapter 3

My day to fire up the water heater arrived. After school, I remained upstairs to feed coal to the monster. The three seniors involved in football were in the process of leaving for practice. Claude entered the bathroom as I was starting to fire up the heater. After he relieved himself, he left the bathroom, but returned almost immediately and said, I got you now all to myself. The coach is at the gym and everyone else is outside. I’m going to tell you what is expected of all freshmen that enter this house. Being afraid of him, as I jumped up to leave the room, he threw me against the door. The noise in the struggle was quite loud, and Claude let go of me hearing someone ascending the stairs.

Calling from the hall, Abe said, I heard a loud noise. Did someone fall?

Jason fell and I’m helping him up. Claude replied. Abe went on to his room without saying another word, knowing that Claude had lied. Before leaving for football practice, Claude returned to the bathroom and said, You rat-of-a-bastard, your room door better not be blocked tonight. We are coming for all four of you. We will smother you with a pillow and take you to our beds.

When my three buddies returned to the dorm after playing basketball, I told them what Claude said. The four of us decided that we had to take matters into our own hands. We planned to approach Claude after football practice and tell him that we would tell Mr. Stanley that he and the other three seniors tried to get into our beds after the lights were out. We felt that he could not physically handle all four of us at the same time if it came to that. To our good fortune, providence prevailed. That very day, Claude was injured during football practice. His right leg was broken and he was out of school for two weeks.

When Claude returned to school after breaking his leg, we caught him in his dorm room alone and we told him that the four of us would beat the crap out of him or any of his senior cronies if they ever attempted to bother us again. We also told him that we would tell Mr. Stanley that he and the other three tried to get into the bed with us after the lights were out. With the heavy leg cast up to his waist, Claude was in no condition to take us on. With the somber expression on his face, we sensed that he knew that we were no longer afraid of him. Since only the seniors were involved, we surmised that slipping into the bed with the new-comers was a rite reserved for seniors only. Still, not being too complacent that our problems were solved, we continued blocking our door before lights were out for the next few weeks. We were able to hide containers in our room to be used in case we were short taken during the night. With the school year just starting we remained on guard, having no idea what might follow.

Chapter 4

My roommates were not prepared academically for what was expected of students entering high school. Their previous schooling was more or less comparable to mine, a small country elementary school with two or three teachers teaching seven grades. However, the twenty-six other students in our class attended the large elementary school on the Pleasantburg Campus with one teacher for each grade. They were much better prepared for the work expected of an eighth grader.

Miss Blackwell became aware that my roommates and I needed extra help. She would frequently remain after school to help us with English and Math. She informed Mr. Stanley that the four of us were not adequately prepared for high school work. At night during study hall, Mr Stanley would frequently come up to our room to help us with our homework assignments. With the help we received from him and Miss Blackwell, the four of us began feeling better about our studies. We felt that our teacher and Mr. Stanley really cared about us.

One night during study hall, Mr. Stanley came up stairs to look over our homework. Before reaching the top step, with the door opened, he was able to see into the bathroom. There, lying on the floor, was Francis, a tenth grader. As Francis looked up, Mr. Stanley saw the light coming through a crack in the floor from the bathroom below - his bathroom with his wife bathing at that time. Well! Mr. Stanley said. I see we have a peeping Tom. Francis, you can follow me down stairs. The word was quick in getting out, and within a few minutes, we were all standing at the stair-well banister to hear what was happening. First, we heard the paddle striking Francis’s buttocks -