SPENCER'S GHOSTS (eBook)
212 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-9904775-0-6 (ISBN)
A.L. Cooley was born and raised in Warren, Ohio, a community nestled between Youngstown and Cleveland. Alton, the oldest among his siblings, is also a husband of 47 years to his wife Emilia, father to Natalie and Michael, and grandfather to Carmen and Norah. As an accomplished musician who has shared the stage with hundreds of musicians, Alton has opened for Bootsy Collins, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Steppenwolf to name a few. Among his many talents, Alton plays and writes music, songs, and poems that have become part of poetry anthologies. Over the past 40 years, Alton has had many of his songs released. Cooley produced an award-winning documentary in 1998, 'Ghosts in the Valley,' and hosts the award-winning podcast, 'Ghosts in the Valley.' 'Spencer's Ghosts', A.L. Cooley's first book, took over 50 years to write and is based on his real-life adventures growing up in a haunted house, like being shot at point-blank range and living to talk about it!
In the basement of the house that Lee and his family just moved into, a hand grabs the back of Lee's calf. This mysterious hand keeps Lee from tumbling off a cement block that he is standing on while changing a burned-out light bulb. Earlier that day, Lee noticed a young girl peering out the second-floor window. A short time later, the same Ghost Girl says hello to Lee in his bedroom. He tries to locate the mystery girl, but she's nowhere to be found. Over the next four years, Lee and his friends hop a train to New York where they encounter Boxcar Billy Baxter. Is Boxcar real or a ghost? You will come to know and love Seven, a spunky and foul-mouth seventh grader. You will learn why Lee's seventh-grade teacher, Miss Finch, refuses to call Lee by his first name. Grandma Pearl also plays a vital role in Lee Spencer's life. She is full of ancient remedies and superstitions. Lee and his friends beat death on more than one occasion, while others close to Lee aren't so lucky. Lee Spencer finds out what the saying 'They Come in Threes' means. Everyone wants to know what's in the mysterious envelope left inside Lee's guitar case. Does Lee open the envelope or not? No twelve-year-old boy should have to live through what Lee Spencer goes through. Have we heard the last from Alice? Based on a true story, "e;Spencer's Ghosts"e; has its readers believing the unbelievable!
Chapter 3
The Club
My mom marries Shorty when she is fifteen in 1954. I am born in the same year. Shorty is a nice man when he isn’t drinking. Unfortunately, that isn’t very often since he is an alcoholic and an abusive husband and father. Because of this, I have a hard time calling him Dad. My mom endures Shorty’s abuse for more than ten years, but she moves us out before he can hurt Blaine.
Our family of four relocates many times. The definition of “Home” to my mom is the most affordable housing for a single parent with three children. Mom makes sure we are well-fed and clean.
Often she says, “It’s not a sin to be poor, but it’s a sin to be dirty.”
When I meet Tommy for the first time, naturally, I am very skeptical of him. Is he a nice guy or another Shorty? My mother is a beautiful woman, a real catch for anyone. With Tommy, I keep one eye open and the other squinted a bit. It’s my way of saying, “Okay Dude, I’m watching you.” I can tell my mother loves him.
Tommy is a carpenter, and my mother works at Packard Electric. We truly are a blue-collar family. Another thing I find out about Tommy is that he has four children and has been married twice. This is going to be a learning experience for all of us.
After dinner, I ask Mom, “Can I go to Grandma Pearl’s house?”
“Yes, you can, after you finish the dishes.” That is the deal; Mom and Tommy cook; Cheryl and I wash the dishes and put them away.
Grandma Pearl, Grandpa, and Uncle George live in a two-story apartment building three blocks from us. Grandma has eight children; Uncle George is the youngest and always gets into trouble with the law.
He continually says, “I didn’t steal it; I borrowed it. I must have forgotten to take it back.” I know Uncle George is a good person; He is just rough around the edges. My mother’s two other brothers, Uncle Eddy and Uncle Frank step in to help since Shorty left. They teach me how to ride a bike, fish, swim, and change the oil in the lawnmower. How lucky I am to have a council of Dads!
My best friend Joseph lives in the same apartment building as my grandparents. Since Joseph and I have been friends, he’s had a few sleepovers at our last house. Mom gets irritated when I ask if Joseph can spend the night. Not because she doesn’t like him, but because she has to drive into Warren to pick Joseph up and drive back to drop him off. Moving back to Warren is a blessing for Joseph and me. Cheryl calls Joseph our brother from another mother. Joseph and I can tell each other anything. I decide to let him in on the Ghost-Girl. He doesn’t say anything for the longest time. He must think I’m crazy too.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Lee, but you ever think that house is her domain, and you are invading her space?” Joseph asks.
“First of all, thank you for believing me. That means a lot. I think I lost you there for a minute,” I respond.
Joseph answers, “I’m just a little confused why Ghost-Girl doesn’t show herself to anyone but you. I’m like your brother man. I practically live at your house; so, why hasn’t she shown herself to me yet?”
“I don’t know, Joseph. What scares me is more and more events are happening. And I keep asking myself, why me? I’ve never seen a ghost in my life! On day one, I see her in my bedroom window; she says hello to me; and she grabs my leg and ankle. I am 100% sure she is the one who pushed Tommy down on that landing! Maybe she doesn’t like adults and likes only kids her age. I’m not making this shit up!”
“Calm down; I believe you. But what confuses me is why would she try to hurt Tommy, but help you. We all are about the same age; you, Cheryl, and me; so, that’s not it.” We sit there for the longest time without a word spoken. Silence. Complete silence. Joseph jumps up and says, “I got it! Ghost-Girl is only picking those she wants to connect with!”
“That’s it! That makes a lot of sense!” I shout. “You’re awesome!”
Joseph is a member of our inner circle. Our inner circle is “The Club”. In our club, we can say and talk about anything we want. What is said in The Club, stays inside The Club. One of the cool benefits of being a member is members can eat as much candy as they like and drink as much soda as they want. More times than not, we all go home with upset stomachs because we eat too much junk food.
Our club consists of four people: Joseph, Woody, Cheryl, and me. Woody is a good friend from my old neighborhood. He can only make the meetings when his mother drops him off since he lives out of town. We meet at the West Side Community Park which sits between my house and Joseph’s. We only talk about the Ghost-Girl in the club because it might be too risky to let other people know about her. I’ve already been grounded three times for talking about a ghost to my mother because she doesn’t believe me.
Today’s main issues are the Ghost-Girl and filling positions in the club. I am elected president because the club was my idea, and I’m the most outspoken. We appoint Cheryl as secretary/treasurer.
Cheryl says, “How can I be treasurer when we don’t have any money to start with?”
“I am glad you brought that up Cheryl,” I reply. “One way to generate money is by returning soda bottles and getting the deposit back. Any other ideas?”
Woody joins in by saying, “I will donate half the money I make cutting grass to the pot.”
I ask Woody, “Why only half?”
“Don’t get greedy, Lee!” Woody fires back. “I have to give half to my mother because she knows I will buy junk food with it. So I’ll donate the other half back into the club.”
Cheryl says, “I’ll donate the money I make from doing my chores.”
I ask Cheryl, “How come Mom doesn’t give me any money?”
Cheryl laughs and says, “Because you don’t do anything.”
After everyone had their laugh at my expense, I ask, “Okay, Joseph, what are you going to contribute to our club?”
“I don’t like money. Money is the root of all evil. I believe in peace and love.” Now everyone is cracking up, including Joseph.
Woody asks, “So, what’s my part?”
“Well, Woody, I thought you could be the head of our security,” I reply.
“I’m confused, Lee,” Woody says. “What do we need security for? I might be tall, but I’m not a fighter.”
“I know that,” I respond. “If someone from the outside tries to interrupt our meetings, you just ask them to leave.”
Woody says, “Okay, that’s cool; I can do that.”
Cheryl adds her two cents, “Everyone has a title except Joseph. My thought was to let Joseph name the club. Is everybody cool with that idea?” We all agree to let Joseph name the club.
Cheryl asks Joseph, “Okay, Joseph, what are we naming the club?”
“The Club!” Joseph shouts.
Getting a little irritated, Cheryl says, “Yes, Joseph, name the club!”
Joseph shoots back, “The Club! The name of our club is ‘The Club!’
Cheryl is the first to respond, “I have to tell you, Joseph, that is lame!”
“What the hell, Joseph?” All eyes are on me because I cursed.
Woody finally speaks up, “Lee, we all have agreed to let Joseph name the club. ‘The Club’ is our new name. Now, let’s move on.” Woody doesn’t say too much; so when he does, we listen. Plus, Woody is six feet tall; that makes you listen as well.
I say, “All in favor of ‘The Club’ being our new name, raise your hands.” All hands raise except Cheryl’s. Woody glares at Cheryl. Cheryl’s little hand raises, reluctantly. “Then, it’s final. ‘The Club’ is our new name.” Joseph is beaming from ear to ear. He is the only one smiling. The rest of us aren’t so thrilled.
I announce, “Before we close out the meeting, We have another matter to address. I suggest we name Ghost-Girl. It doesn’t seem right that she doesn’t have a name. I have a suggestion, but I want to hear yours as well.”
Woody says, “I like Samantha.”
Cheryl replies, “I don’t like Samantha. I like Gertrude.”
I say, “I don’t like either one of those two names. How about Alice?” Joseph agrees with me that Alice is the best name so far.
I close out the meeting by saying, “If there are no objections, Alice is the Ghost-Girl’s new name, and ‘The Club’ is our new name. All in favor say, Aye.”
Everyone in the group says, “Aye.” Our first meeting comes to a close. Possibly in the future, we will add new members.
I ask, “Cheryl, did you get all that down in writing? You are the secretary, you know.”
“As soon as I get home and get a pencil and paper if that is okay with you, Boss.”
Everybody’s cracking up as we get up from the picnic table. We celebrate by going to the Dairy Queen, which happens to be right next to the park. All four of us order the same thing, chocolate cones. The best part is, Joseph pays for all of us.
I look over at Joseph and say, “Thank you, but you say you have no money. You know, since money is the root of all evil.”
“Man, I am only joking. We’re in this together. Sometimes you take things way too seriously.”
“Yea, I know I do. Right now, I have a lot on my plate. This Ghost-Girl thing is driving me crazy. I know you guys believe me, but sometimes I feel like I’m on my own here. It’s hard to explain.”
“You’re not...
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 1.10.2024 |
|---|---|
| Sprache | englisch |
| Themenwelt | Kinder- / Jugendbuch |
| ISBN-13 | 979-8-9904775-0-6 / 9798990477506 |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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