Time At My Hands: A Historical Novel

By Frank T. Cadicamo

This is a historical novel about a person who finds a way to travel through time. He starts out mainly to observe various eras in the United States but somehow gets involved which creates time deviations and changes future events. It is a very fast pace adventurous novel that will be hard not to read cover to cover. A must read and you will be compelled to read it several times.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: Feb 24, 2024
• ISBN: 9781977272904

Frank T. Cadicamo

I am a person who loves history and enjoys sharing and commenting on all past occurrences. In my spare time, I like to read, write, do crossword puzzles and walk outside in nature. 

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Time At My Hands

A Historical Novel

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2024 Frank T. Cadicamo

v4.0

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Cover Photo © 2024 www.gettyimages.com. All rights reserved - used with permission.

Outskirts Press and the OP logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

I dedicate this publication to:

My wife Millie

and

To my father Victor who was taken at an early age

Table of Contents

About the Author

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Testing Phase

Chapter 2: San Francisco

Chapter 3: The Explanation

Chapter 4: The Search

Chapter 5: The Effects

Chapter 6: A Short Trip

Chapter 7: Possible Alterations

Chapter 8: Additional Alterations

Chapter 9; Plymouth Massachusetts

Chapter 10: The Possibility

Chapter 11: More Time Alterations

Chapter 12: The Aftermath

Chapter 13: The Relocation

Chapter 14: The Conclusion

About the Author

I have always been intrigued by the thought of time travel ever since i read and then saw H.G.Wells The Time Machine. I am currently living in New York State and have many clocks, all are in working condition except for a few still in need of repair. Most have wind up movements and chime as well. Although I am not as active as I used to be due to back and knee injuries, I still enjoy walking in the woods as I love being in nature. I am reiki certified and am an avid collector of healing crystals. As I am a history buff, I decided to compose a novel regarding a character who can travel through time. I am a stickler for dates and occurrences however some may be slightly altered to fit into the story. Historical events are based on various facts that I have learned since I was a child and not from any particular publications and all characters and names are strictly fictitious. Anyone reading this publication that has a similar name is merely coincidental. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing it.

Frank T. Cadicamo

Introduction

My name is Thomas Amato, I’m just an ordinary guy living in Branchville, New Jersey and working as a draftsman in New York City in the mid 1960s. It’s a job and its income. I have always wanted to see what it was like living in the past and was obsessed with the thought of time travel. I was too young to have fought in World War I and a bit too old to have fought in World War II. Then I thought, what if I could go back to 1865 and stop John Wilkes Booth from killing President Lincoln or back to 1881 and stop Guiteau from killing President Garfield. These are just two incidents as there are many changes that could be corrected. If it were possible, altering occurances of the past could change our current timeline and who knows what other ramifications it would have today. Then I thought, what if I could go back to figure out a way to bring my father back as he died of cancer at an early age. What possible negative ramifications would that have other than keeping our family together. However, I still wanted to figure out a way to travel to the past just to actually see how things were in the various centuries but only as an observer.

1

The Testing Phase

It took me two years to construct what I will call a portal. It was a room about 6 by 6 with two doors, two lockers and a bench. It had a dial on each door, one to exit the time you wish to go to and one to return to your present time. They were dials like a combination lock on a safe. In the ceiling were the sensors with a keypad on the wall similar to a calculator to plug in your location to travel to. The sensors are used to pulsate your body molecules to transport you through time and space. I also created a hand held portable dial to transport me back to my portal. As my home was built in 1889 and is off the road by at least a half a mile and is wooded all around, I felt safe building it behind my house as nothing has changed there for over a century. The lockers were for clothing, accessories and money for the time period you wish to travel to. I don’t know how I would feel or even if it will work. Well, there’s only one way to find out.

THE EXPERIMENT

I thought to keep my first trip relatively simple so I chose September of 1900 to see the house I was born in when it was fairly new. I had all the proper cash on me, a few large dollar bills from 1899 and some liberty head nickels, dimes and quarters all dated prior to 1900. I had on a pair of flannel lined jeans, a flannel work shirt and a pair of work boots. Okay, I set the dial and turned on the sensors. The pulsations only took about 2 minutes but made me dizzy, nauseous and off balanced. When I settled down, there I was, in front of my house which was fairly new as well as the other four nearby homes. They were all single family homes. Across the street was a paper baling company and a small woodworking factory. On the street were ash cans. They were called that as they held the ashes from the coal and wood burning stoves that heated the houses. Around the corner was a bar and grill, next to that a soda fountain and candy store and a barber shop adjoining the candy store. On the street, there were horse drawn wagons with vendors selling their wares from them. The streets were cobblestone and the elevated trains had open gated wooden cars and the elevated railroad station was constructed of wood and metal. Okay, my experiment worked now to get back home. I had to set my portable dial to the present time and location which should transport me back to my portal. Once again, I felt dizzy, nauseous and off balance for several minutes. I found myself back in my portal and once I settled down I opened the door to my present time and I was back. Okay, I know it works so now I can travel somewhere to witness a historical event.

THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE

As I am a bridge fanatic, how about the opening of the Brooklyn bridge. I changed into clothing of the era, suspendered wool pants, a white buttoned shirt, laced ankle high shoes and a derby hat. I set the dial for May 24, 1883 and the location on Fulton and Broadway as St. Paul’s chapel has been there since 1766. Once again, I was dizzy and off balance but the nausea was eliminated by simply taking a dramamine. After several minutes, I settled down and I was in the midst of a crowd of spectators. Most of the men had beards and mustaches and the women had hats and long bustle type dresses. I stood out like a sore thumb. On Park Row was the new post office and printing house square which consisted of the NY Times building, the Tribune, the Sun and the newly constructed fire proofed Potter building which is where the newspaper building, the World, stood that was consumed by fire the previous year. The Potter building was deemed fire proof as terra cotta tile was used as the method of protection. Since it was early, I decided to go over to the Bridge cafe for a bite to eat as it has been in existence since 1794. Amazing what you could get for a quarter. I had a bowl of soup and a ham sandwich. I of course had a seated liberty quarter to pay with and a shield nickel for a tip. After I ate, I walked back over to Park Row by the bridge for the dedication. President Arthur was there to dedicate the new bridge prior to the festivities. He gave a very detailed speech commending all those involved in the construction of the bridge including the late John Roebling. Also standing alongside President Arthurt were Washington and Emily Roebling who were instrumental in the completion of the bridge. Since Washington suffered a severe case of the bends from being down in the caisson for too long a time, he supervised from their residence in Brooklyn Heights and Emily was mainly on the construction site. I stayed to watch the fireworks later that evening. They were awesome and to see the bridge lit up with the new Edison light bulbs was just amazing. After the fireworks I needed to rest so I walked over to the northwest side of Battery Park, by pier A, and sat down on a bench and must have fallen asleep as I woke up lying on the bench the next morning. That morning I thought I would take a stroll on the bridge. Wrong again. I couldn’t even get near the bridge, it was so crowded with spectators. It was interesting to see that the bridge had only two lanes for horse drawn vehicles and two tracks for trolleys and cable cars. The cable cars were replaced with open gated cars serviced by an electrified third rail in 1898 and continued service until the spring of 1944. Trolleys from various companies continued service from Park Row to Brooklyn until 1950.

THE FINANCIAL CENTER

I decided to walk over to Wall street. It in no way resembles Wall street today, there were all residences with some law offices and some smaller establishments on the lower levels. The windows were shaded with awnings and the street was just as narrow as it is today however, it was