Can This Be Me

By Margaret Teegarden

Every moment can be our last. Therefore, every breath we take is a miracle. But when death stalks you from a tender age to your adulthood, you might need more than a miracle to at least keep your sanity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Great Writers Media, LLC
• Release date: May 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781960939760

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Copyright 2023 by Margaret L. Teegarden

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotation in a book review.

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Great Writers Media

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ISBN: 978-1-960939-77-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-960939-76-0 (ebk)

Contents

Chapter One Family Tragedy

Chapter Two The Voices Are Calling

Chapter Three The Problems Start Again

Chapter Four No More Secrets

Chapter Five A Face In The Water

Chapter Six Another Place Another Life

Chapter Seven Finding Lizzy

Chapter Eight Losing All Hope

Chapter Nine The Final Chase

Chapter Ten A Miracle In The Making

Chapter Eleven A New Beginning

Outline

Chapter One

Family Tragedy

It is a cool crisp early spring morning in March. All the farm hands are out in the fields making them ready for the spring plowing.

You can smell the fresh fertilizer as they spread it across the fields and gardens. The men working the fields are sharecroppers. They help plant and harvest. At harvest time, they share the crops and the profits, if any are made. The men do not always get along, sometimes causing fights. Some are lazy and try to push the workload on others. While some work their fingers to the bone to get the job done. The ones who work the hardest have families to feed. Jake is one of the hardest of the workers. He has a wife and two children to feed with another due any day. Jake’s mother lives with Jake and his wife, Ellan, since Jake’s father was killed in an occupational accident.

Jake’s father worked for a mining company stripping coal. Jobs were Scarce and times were hard after World War II. Everyone had to live on rations. They used ration stamps for gasoline, sugar, flour In addition, many other items of survival. The people did what they had to do to get by in this time of depression. It has been almost four years.

Since Jake’s father died. Jake remembers the day very well. Jake and his brother Tom stayed up all night helping their father fix tires for their old car, so Jake’s father, John, could get to work the next day. John left for work the next morning at about five o’clock, he had to be on the job at seven and the car did not run very well so he had to leave early. The three guys were all tired the next morning. They did not get any sleep, but they did what they had to do. Jake and Tom watched their father go up the lane and out of sight, the old car spit, coughed and backfired as he went around the turn at the top of the hill. The boys were tired and hungry, so they went to the house.

The boys went to the kitchen to see what their mother was fixing for breakfast. Mary had homemade pancakes and syrup on the stove. She also had fresh sausage from the pig they butchered the day before. Breakfast was great. Mary was an excellent cook. After breakfast, they had many chores to do. It’s late October and the days are getting Shorter. Therefore, the work needs completed while the sun is still up. Besides that, Jake has plans for the evening. He asked the girl who lived in the next farm to go to the local dance with him. Her name is Ellen she is a real beauty. Long dark hair, big blue eyes and a beautiful figure. Jake fell in love as soon as he saw her. He found himself wishing he could do more than just take her to the dance, but he could not because he did not have the money. He just had enough to get them to the dance. Jake decided not to worry about that now; they had a lot of work to do. Therefore, they had better get started or they will not get their work done. Jake and Tom went out the door towards the barn.

They started with the milking, that took the longest, and by the time they round up the cows and get the milking done, it would be around noon. After the milking was done they worked in the stalls, they all needed cleaned. In addition, that was quite a job. They were about half way through and Jake took a little breather. He went to the barn door and leaned on his pitchfork, he stared out over the back meadow. The scenery was beautiful this time of year. Late October in southwestern Pennsylvania is a good time to appreciate Mother Nature’s gifts to us. The trees are a magical sight, brilliant reds and oranges, funny Jake never paid much attention to them before, and he must be in love. Jake was in another world, he did not know what was going on around him. He had Ellan on his mind and the dance. Jake simply forgot how tired he was. He just stood there and gazed out the door. However, he came back to reality, very quick. Because in his absent-minded state he forgot to close the stall door, he had just cleaned. One of the workhorses had gotten out. And almost ran Jake down. The horse feeling frisky wanted to run and that he did. He ran across the pasture and jumped the fence leading to the meadow with Jake in hot pursuit; the young colt was enjoying his freedom. When Jake has to close to him, he ran harder. The horse wanted to play and the more Jake chased the faster he ran. Jake was very tired and frustrated, but finally after a long chase, the horse had enough and came to Jake on his own. Jake got him back in the stall and gave him his hay, now its lunchtime, Jake called to Tom and they headed to the house.

Back in the house, Mary was baking homemade bread and pies. Apple and cherry, Jake’s favorite. While Mary was working, her mind began to wander, she was feeling a little depressed. They had saved thousands of dollars in a local bank, but lost all of it when the bank folded after the war. Before the bank closed, they were feeling secure; they had money in the bank. After that, they lost the farm and all. Now they live in this run down place and if they do not work very hard to keep things up it just might fall down around their ears, but Mary was content. She knew that John would take care of the things that needed repaired. He would never let her down without good reason. John was a good man and Mary just wished she could do more to help but she had her hands full with the farm and five children. Mary smiled, as she thought of her husband and felt a great sense of pride for him. She loved him very much. Time to get back to work she thought, the day was getting shorter and there is many things to do.

The day wore on it came suppertime. Jake is really getting excited now about the dance. In a little while, he will be getting ready to pick up Ellan. Tom and his sisters teased Jake about his date. Jake got angry and Mary had to settle the argument. She said it is Suppertime and your father will be home soon. Girls set the table, Jake and Tom bring in some firewood and they did, Mary was angry about the argument, but it’s settled now.

The time is about six o’clock and John is about a half hour late. Mary did not worry much; she knew the old car was contrary and sometimes did not start without a jump-start. Time has passed it is dark now, about seven o’clock. Jake is getting nervous he needs the car for his date, so he and Tom went out on the porch to wait for their father. About fifteen minutes went by when they saw car lights coming down the lane. When the car got closer, the boys realized it was not their father; it was the sheriff of Hickory. Tom and Jake feeling weak, and a little sick at the stomach, knew something was wrong. They stood and watched two men get out of the car. The men, being Police offices. Came to the porch and ask the boys if they could speak to Mary. Jake invited them in while Tom went to get his mother. In the doorway, the two men waited to see Mary.

Tom came in and said his mother would be right with them. In a few minutes Mary came through the hall, she looked pale, she knew something was very wrong. The sheriff said, hello, and tried to ease the uncomfortable situation as best that he could. Then he finally decided to go on and bring the bad news. I’m so sorry to have to bring you so bad news but there was an accident this afternoon, and your husband was in an accident and he did not make it. Mary gasped and fell to the floor. The men helped the boys get Mary to the couch. While the girls brought towels to wipe Mary’s face. She finally came out of her state of shock and started to cry. Her heart was breaking. You must be mistaken. My husband will be home soon. She said, It is that damn car, It does not run right you know. The sheriff came over and sat down beside Mary and said, No ma’am, we are not mistaken, Your husband is dead, I am terribly sorry.

John was about to wrap things up for the day when the shift changed. He was walking to his car and he noticed the steam shovel started, he did not pay much attention to it because he had to work around it all day. John stopped to talk to the shovel operator for his shift. He told John he was glad to be going home and that John should be too. He asked. Why? The man said the shovel operator was an ass and that he was in a drunken stupor. That someone was going to get hurt. The man said good night to John. And said I am out of here, See you tomorrow. John said good night and headed for his car. He was almost there and noticed he had forgotten his shovel and pick and went back to get them. He needed them to do his job. They were stripping coal, the job would be impossible without his tools, and he could not afford to lose them. John had just picked up his tools when he noticed the Steam Shovel running faster. The shovel operator passed out over the controls. He fell on the throttle, the shovel turned at a terrible rate of speed when it stopped; it jerked the shovel in the air. The machine turned faster than it was capable of, when it came to an abrupt stop the cable snapped. The shovel flew through the air. It was heading in John’s direction, John tried to run from it but the speed of the shovel was great. John could not out run it. The shovel landed square on top of John. He was pinned. The men ran to him to try to help, John looked at them with pain on his face. One of the men who was John’s friend screamed, get an ambulance this man needs help. John looked up at his friend and the man watched the life go out of John.

When help got to John he was already dead, they told John’s friend that he could not do anything for him. He had been crushed. From his chest down. The men went to the shovel to get the man who was operating it.

They wanted to kill him. The sheriff got there before they had a chance to hurt him. The operator, went to jail for involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment. However, they really did not have to punish the man. He had to live with what he had done, he had another man’s blood on his hands and he could not deal with the guilt, he lost his mind. However even at that, there is no way, to right the wrong that has been done to Mary and her family.

Chapter Two

The Voices Are Calling

Mary now faces the most difficult time in her life. She thought John would be there forever. She thought, My God! What do I do? I have no idea where to start. Mary went to her mother and father’s. They were elderly people but they stood by their daughter all the way, in her time of need. Mary had no money to spare, what she had she needed to feed her family. The coal company helped by paying for the funeral and the gravesite. Mary chose the cemetery that both their Grandparents are buried at. Now to get ready for the ordeal of getting, five children ready to bid farewell, to their father.

Jake and Tom were the eldest of the children. The younger ones were girls. The boys had a terrible time trying to help get things ready for the funeral. The children had to deal with their loss and help Mary deal with hers. It was not easy in this tragic time. Jake in total despair. With everything that happened, never got to see Ellan. He hoped that she did not think that he just stood her up. However, he did not need to worry. When Ellan heard the news, she was there through it all. She helped with the younger children and stuck right by the family through it all. Ellan and Jake’s families became very close. Jake was definitely in love.

After the funeral, Mary had to try to keep things together. After two or three months she had to let the farm go, she just could not make it without John. Although she gets a small pension from the coal company, it is just not enough to make ends meet. Mary thinks about John every day and her heartaches. She misses him so much. However, she has to get on with her life, for the children’s sake. Mary went to see her parents. She needed their help. They told Mary not to worry; she and the children could come and live with them. They told Mary if she did that, she would be helping them too. They needed some young people around the place to help anyway. The boys could help on the farm and Mary