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| Story ID: | 2144 |
| Written by: | Donald L. Jones (bio, contact, other stories) |
| Story type: | Family Memories |
| Writers Conference: | $500 2007 Family Memories Writing Project |
| Location: | Norfolk Virginia USA |
| Year: | 1951 |
| Person: | Donald Jones |
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The Garage By Donald Jones The Garage was just down the street from our house. Compared to some garages, it was small. This one caught the attention of every kid on the block, probably because it was painted black and it was situated along the edge of the sidewalk on the corner. The windows on the side were dirty, and you could almost see inside an outline of some things outlined in the darken interior. Tales floated about the neighborhood, as all the kids speculated on what the images were. Most of the kids decided that some criminal owned it, and that he would go there to make plans for his next crime. One day I met the owner of the garage. He was a very kind man, probably in his 40’s. When I ask him if he was a criminal, he laughed, and ask me why I said that. I explained to him what some of the kids had been saying about the garage. Then he opened the door, and invited me to look inside. It was better than I had imagined. It was his workshop. There were all kinds of things. Most I did not recognize. Then I spied what I recognized as a small black telescope sitting on the workbench. There were test tubes and lab equipment and a radio transmitter. The mystery was solved I thought. Now, I knew the great secret that had held this black building in awe of all the kids. After the man was satisfied that he had cleared up the mystery for me, he ushered me out the door. He picked up some items, closed the door, put the pad lock back on it, and said good bye. I went on my way. A scientist, I said to myself. He’s a scientist. From then on I felt very proud of myself for discovering the meaning of the garage. With great pride, I was able to awe the kids on my street, when I would tell them of my chance encounter with the man who worked in the garage. To the mind of a child a scientist would do just fine. Looking back I realize it was just a garage full of collected things that had fallen to disuse that someone had stored out of the way. To a child it was a secret lab of a very nice mysterious scientist. |
