Wonder what ever happened to the Mummy?
Nov 29, 2022 15:36:14 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Nov 29, 2022 15:36:14 GMT -5
Wonder what ever happened to the Mummy?
By
Radrook
By
Radrook
The summer of 1963 was going as usual. As young teens, we were once again hanging out at Newark New Jersey's Branchbrook Park entrance area which was interspersed with benches, see-saws, swings and sandlots. Most of us lived in the now demolished Columbus Homes projects. But the Park that resembled an oasis of nature within the surrounding asphalt buildings and machinery, drew kids from other areas of the city to converge there.
Well, that summer, there was the usual bantering and boastings. The petting on park benches with girl-friends. The joking, the drinking of beer and wine. In short, an irresponsible squandering of precious time because time then seemed interminable and social success was deemed reserved for those luckier others of privileged pedigree..
But then, suddenly, as if out of nowhere, the kid that we eventually tagged as the Mummy appeared in our Newark New Jersey neighborhood out of seemingly nowhere. The Mummy, as we referred to him among ourselves, was this short, slim, extremely ugly Afro-Puerto Rican kid with a cratered face like the moon's, who always moved in a weak, almost-about-to topple-over fashion.
All we ever managed to find out about him was based on what he told us. That he had been rejected by his mother and two sisters, and had nowhere to stay and no means of sustenance. So we allowed him to stay at our clubhouse located in the basement of a inner-city row-house building owned by one of our club-member's mom. Unfortunately, it was without her permission, and that would eventually prove problematic.
We also attempted to help as best we could by inviting him to have dinner at our homes with our parents' permission. I described his dire situation to my mom, and she agreed and received him hospitably. He was served a good dinner of pork chops, mashed potatoes and vegetables. He ate it with a slow dignity that surprised me. You see, I imagined him on the verge of starvation and so I expected him to dive into the meal ravenously. But instead, there he sat with almost regal dignity, calmly and slowly consuming the meal. Then, with the same dignity, he thanked her effusively, and then headed back to his basement hideout.
For a while, I honestly thought my mom had not noticed his unusual appearance since she had seemed totally unaffected by it and had remained enigmatically silent after he left. I honestly wondered why. However, after approx. half-an hour, she suddenly asked me how I had managed to find such an unusually hideous kid, as if I had been searching for one in order to shock her. What was I supposed to say? She also asked why he was not availing himself of public agencies that are available to assist citizens in distress. I really had no answer to that question. I thanked her and promised to relay the information to him. He said he had tried but had been rejected for lack of identification documents such as social security card and birth-certificate.
Strange that he didn't persist. Perhaps it was just the lack of willpower to try. Sometimes, such extremely humiliating and bitter life-events tend to have that demoralizing effect on the victim and they prefer to up his their hands and simply give up. I guess only he and God knew.
No, of course the kid didn’t like to be either considered, or to be called the Mummy. After all, who in his right mind would? In fact, he would vociferously threaten to stab and kill anyone who did. Curiously, he would pursue the person who had dared to ignore his warning exactly like the mummy in those Karloff films did, at calm, and slow walking pace while evading any projectiles, such as bottles and rocks hurled his way.
I never did see him overtake his intended victim. However, they didn't stick around or come back to the park either. So it was something that was always whispered behind his back and with great caution lest he appear out of seemingly nowhere from the twilight park shadows with murderous intentions.
Apart from the moments when he was threatening to attack anyone making fun of him, he usually remained very broodingly silent. Just as those mummies were in those old-time films starring Boris Karloff. But when he did decide to converse, it was always about how very intensely he hated his mother and sisters who had callously abandoned him. Claimed he would not defend them if he were to see them being physically attacked, and that he would join the attackers instead. We told him he must be joking, but he swore that he genuinely felt that way.
He Never told us exactly what they had done for him to feel that way Of course, every story does have its two sides, but we, preferred to take his family's guilt and his innocence for granted and didn't pursue the matter. Her in turn would go back into his brooding silent mode.
Well, for a while all went smoothly. The place that he was sleeping in was little more than a closet. But it was sufficient and he didn't complain. Seemed quite contented actually. Unfortunately, his hideout at our basement-club meeting-place, was soon discovered, and he was forced to vacate. Which for him meant that he was once more homeless.
I really don't know where he went from there. The last time I heard of him, after I had asked, he was described as sniffing model cement deposited in a bag, after drinking alcohol, and then walking into the Newark New Jersey's Branchbrook Park Lake as if he wanted to drown himself.
It's a real pity that a human being should reach such a state of desperation after being on Earth for such a very short time. After all, he was just a kid. Wonder what ever became of him, and what his real name was. We never even asked him, and he never told us.