Anthills and Racing Feet: A Boy Leaves His Island Village to Live in Big City, New York

By Wade Williams and Karlene Johnson

Junior is a ten-year-old boy who leaves his familiar home in a small, rural island village and travels with his mother to join her new husband in big city, New York. The story meets us at his emotional separation from his beloved grandmother and boyhood friends. It takes us through the many bumps along the journey as he tries to find his Sense of Belonging in this perplexing, new home. He discovers, as immigrant children do, that there are many challenges. The size and speed of life, new people, strange customs, puzzling behaviors, feelings of isolation and bullying in school all play their part in his journey. This is a modern-day story about the value of family love and support, the wisdom of lessons learned from elders and the process by which a boy finds his inner strength, just when he needs it most.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Oct 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781489705198

Wade Williams

I am a Jamaican-born writer and I live in Atlanta, Georgia. This is my first book. I worked in advertising and public relations in Jamaica for many years and wrote extensively for media in those contexts. I am married, the mother of two adult children and I am also a grandmother. I currently work full-time in the airline industry and part-time as a certified teacher of children with special needs. I have a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Georgia State University. My husband and I have been blessed to travel extensively, and I enjoy collecting indigenous art and local artifacts from around the world.

Book preview

Anthills

AND RACING FEET

A boy leaves his island village

to live in big city, New York

Written by Karlene Johnson

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Copyright © 2015 Karlene Johnson.

Wade Williams- Graphic Designer/Illustrator

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.

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ISBN: 978-1-4897-0520-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-0519-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015914071

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 09/30/2015

CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1 Goodbye, Sunset Village

Chapter 2 Mama, Mr. Charlie and Migration

Chapter 3 The Arrival

Chapter 4 A New Life- The Nuts and Bolts

Chapter 5 Tough Times for Junior

Your Sense of Belonging

Chapter 6 Courage and Racing Feet

Chapter 7 Yes, Home!

Preface

I n December of 2002, my family and I moved from Kingston, Jamaica, to Atlanta, Georgia. Like many immigrant parents, my husband and I wanted more opportunities for our children. Our daughter, Joline, was 17 years old at the time and had started college at Northern Caribbean University. She continued on to Georgia State University and eventually to law school. Today, she is a practicing attorney, as well as a wife and mother.

Our son, Jonathan, was 10 years old, and had already started 6th grade in Jamaica. He transitioned to 6th grade. It was the middle of the school year. He was younger and smaller than most of his peers. He didn’t understand the school system. He talked funny. Everyone else already had their new friends and had found their Sense of Belonging. He became the target of mocking from school bullies. I watched my confident Jamaican boy begin to stumble. Visits to his school for meetings with his teacher and the guidance counselor yielded strongly supportive conversations but little follow-through. Thankfully, there was always a teacher or a coach who showed kindness and sensitivity. With the support of our extended family and church community, our son made his way successfully through that difficult period. Today, Jonathan is pursuing an advanced degree in School Counseling. I have no doubt that he will prove to be an exceptional counselor. This work of fiction is based on his experience.

Perhaps, you are an immigrant. You may have family members who are. If not, immigrant children live in your neighborhood and