Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Bookends (01/30/14)
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TITLE: Little Jimmy's Shoes | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lisa Gavin
02/06/14 -
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They belonged on his little feet as he ran around the yard, chased the family dog, and followed his older brother everywhere he went. Instead, they sat dipped in bronze, laces neatly tied in permanent bows, a tribute mounted on copper weights. For seventy-seven years, they have supported all manner of books from the family bible, to dictionaries, and even the classics.
The blond-haired, blue-eyed owner of the soft leather shoes was only with his family for thirty months, the obituary read. His older brother would someday be my dad. I know well the story of that cold February morning when a caring neighbor picked Dad up from school to take him home…Jimmy had died from a sudden, mysterious illness.
Jimmy owned few possessions, like most children during the Depression. Now, there is nothing left of his life except a few faded photos, and the little shoes turned bookends.
I have one of those bronze-dipped shoes. It sits among my books, made more fragile with time, reminding me of the brief life of a boy I never knew. Little Jimmy’s shoes bring both sad and happy thoughts to my mind. There are sad thoughts of a little boy who never went to school, never left his hometown, served his country, or had a family of his own. Then, there are thoughts of that same boy waiting excitedly every afternoon for his older brother’s bus to come down the lane, chasing the family dog around the yard, and reading from a first grade reader at two years old.
Tucked in with my keepsakes is a poem my grandparents had published in their small town newspaper after they lost jimmy. About a rosebud that never fully opened, the poem was about faith in God; hope in eternity, and the comfort of knowing their child was with Him.
Although Jimmy’s life was short, he was happy, loved, and curious about the world and he brought joy to his family. Little Jimmy’s shoes were well worn.
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Separation between paragraphs can make your story easier to read. Sometimes your format gets messed up when submitting. I always double check before submitting. Just a suggestion.
Nicely done. Thanks for sharing.