Rescues In Time

By Desiree Davis

James is a lonely history buff and recent high school graduate who is contemplating what to do with his life when he sees a newspaper ad for summer help at a local theater and decides to inquire. After all, he loves old Hollywood movies and the job seems like a perfect match with his interests. A short time later, James is surprisingly hired over the phone without filling out an application, enduring an interview, or supplying references. The elderly owner of the theater who shockingly resembles an old Hollywood movie star soon confirms everything James has ever dreamed possible. After he reveals his special projector is actually a time machine, he and James are propelled back in time where they meet important historical figures like Abraham Lincoln, Al Capone, and James Dean, and attempt to change the course of history forever. Rescues in Time shares the adventurous tale of a teenager’s travel through time after he meets an elderly theater owner who can help him achieve a challenging quest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Jun 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781483485225

Book preview

become.

CHAPTER 1

My name is James, and this is the story of an adventure I had one summer. Let me go back a few years to when I was a child. I grew up in a very small town, so small you could throw a rock from one end to the other. Okay, not really, but that’s how small it felt to me.

I was kind of a strange child. I loved history and was a loner of sorts. I stayed by myself for most of my childhood. Now don’t get me wrong, I tried to make friends, but it never seemed to work out for me. Sure, they would stay in my life for a short period of time, and that was it. I never had any long-lasting friendships. Because of this, I would spend most of my time buried in history books while oldies played in the background.

One day while reading one of my history books, I started thinking about what it would have been like to live in that time period. Now the time period I’m referring to is the 1950’s, ’60’s, and ’70’s old Hollywood. The history books I referred to earlier were books about old Hollywood and the actors and actresses who lived in that period.

I would get lost in my thoughts about how cool it would have been to walk down any street in Hollywood and bump into-well, just about anyone. One of the books I was reading told how one of the people had died in a plane crash, and another died from a drug overdose. I started to get upset about all of this and started asking questions. Why did no one stop them? Where were their so-called friends? Why didn’t they do anything?

The answers I found were depressing.I went to bed that night feeling enraged. How could the people around them not want to help them or even possibly save their lives?

I finished high school with a 4.0 GPA. Life had seemed to move so quickly after that night. I honestly don’t know what happened to all those high school years; they seemed to fly by. One minute I was a freshman reading about old Hollywood and becoming enraged by all the things I was reading. The next minute, I was about to graduate high school and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

After graduation, I found myself trying to figure out if I wanted to go to college or just go straight into the working world. Luckily, one day after job hunting and college searches, I went down to the old ice cream parlor on the corner of Lost and Creek. I ordered a blueberry twist. I swear it was the biggest ice cream cone I had ever seen.

It was a nice summer night, not to hot, and it didn’t cool off too much either: it was perfect. So I took my cone and went to sit on one of the benches outside. As I am sitting there minding my own business, I heard a conversation across the parking lot between two older gentlemen about the day’s events. I looked over and saw a newspaper on my table, which I hadn’t noticed when I first sat down. I looked around to see if someone had just laid it down for a second and walked away. I didn’t see anyone.

I picked up the paper and started skimming through it. At first I didn’t see anything interesting. All of a sudden, I saw an ad for summer help at the theater down the street from my home. The theater used to show old Hollywood movies. I knew this job would be perfect for me while I figured out exactly what I wanted to do with this life I’ve been given. I knew I wanted to make a difference but I didn’t know how or what to do to make the change I thought was needed.

The following morning, I called the number listed in the paper. An elderly gentleman answered the phone and surprised me by sounding familiar, calm, and very inviting. The old man told me that if I could be at the theater by noon, I could have the job, no interview, no application, no references. I was shocked when I heard this but managed to mumble Okay, yes sir; thank you so much. I looked at my watch and it was a quarter to noon. I ran over to the front door, threw my tennis shoes on in a hurry, and flew out the door.

I arrived at the theater at exactly five minutes before noon. I ran up to the theater and flung the door open. There stood the old man behind one of the concession counters. Almost in shock, I looked at him for a minute. He looked like one of the actors from one of the old Hollywood movies I had seen recently.

I shook my head in disbelief, wiped my eyes, looked again, and just decided I was losing my mind or desperately needed an eye exam. Either way, I put the thought out of my mind and proceeded to the counter where the old man was still standing. He said nothing but was now looking at me like I was a long lost friend. I approached the counter…

James: I spoke with you on the phone about the job.

He replied, Oh yes. Well I’m glad you made it. I could really use some help getting this place fixed up and ready to open next spring.

Now at that moment, I found myself in awe of his attire, how he stood, and the way he spoke. I could tell by his demeanor and body movements that he was clearly from another time. He demanded attention without saying so, commanded respect without asking for it.

After a few minutes, I asked ever so carefully,

James: What would you like me to do first?

In his ever so gracious voice he replied, How about we go upstairs and clean out the control room? He started moving toward the control room and motioned for me to follow him. We walked down a long corridor that wound around to a large door.

He opened the door and there was the most beautiful wide staircase I had ever seen. At the top of the staircase, there was stuff everywhere: old posters on the floor, old movie reels, old machines, dust, curtains, brooms, clocks, and old projectors used to show the films. I started thinking about the mess before me. I would be here until spring just cleaning out this room. I kept looking around the room trying to figure out where to begin, how to begin?

The old man was standing there in the doorway, just watching me look around. I turned to him…

James: Sir, where would you like me to begin?

He said, Well, first we should probably organize everything in here. Start by putting all the posters in one place, then all the reels, machines, etc. Once they are all separated, sort them by category- the posters and movies, I mean. I nodded to show I understood his instructions.

He started to walk out of the room when..

James: Sir, I didn’t get your name.

He replied with a chuckle, Oh that. Well you can call me Archie.

James: Wouldn’t you rather I call you Mr. whatever your last name is?

He grinned.

Archie: No, no. Archie will be just fine.

He chuckled as he walked away.

CHAPTER 2

That summer the days seemed to drag on for me, but I didn’t mind because I was having so much fun working in the old theater. Archie was great to work for and with, especially when he told stories about his life.

I remember this one story in particular about how he had once bumped into one of the actresses from one of the posters we had just found. He spoke of how beautiful and elegant she was in person. I was instantly hooked on his every word. In my mind, here was this older gentleman who was sweet and kind to me, and yet he had the privilege of actually meeting one of the actresses that I had looked up to my whole life.

Anyway, one day I was in the control room finally getting to dust off some of the equipment when I came across an old projector I hadn’t noticed before. I didn’t touch it. I waited until Archie came up to