Howza Bruthas, I wrote this story a few years back and I try and post it every Christmas. I wrote it with the thoughts of how much we shove values and worth on items. When all that really matters is being with someone or sombodies who care about you the most. I hope this Season is finding all is well with you and yours. Here is a small gift from myself to you. The Red Racer A Christmas Story This is a story about a toy. Not just any toy mind you, but a Cox Thimbledrome named Sebastian. Sebastian was made the day after Thanksgiving in 1946. Today, every toy is manufactured the same way, it seems . Someone comes up with a design and they pass it on to a group of people who study it. If those people like the idea, they make what is called a prototype. That means they make the toy so they can do all kinds of tests on it. If the toy passes all of the tests it has to go through, it gets to be put into production. The toy will be made by an assembly line of machines. The toy wont be touched by many people, until it is in the hands of its new owner. Toys werent always made in this manner. Back in 1946, toys were assembled mostly by hand, by human workers. People put a lot of pride into the toys they made, hoping to bring joy to many.. Sebastian, a Thimbledrome Racer, was made the day after Thanksgiving in 1946. Sebastian rolled off of the human assembly line surrounded by others who had just been built. Mostly, the other toys were powered by working engines. Real racers headed for the hands of older kids and young adults who would race the cars at parks, on their street or maybe a playground. Sebastian was a push car. He had no engine, but you couldnt tell by just looking at him. Sebastian had a cast side pipe and hand brake attached to his sides. In the front, he had a cast aluminum grille, and on his blazing red paint job, a gold #2. He rolled on aluminum wheels with real rubber front tires and knobby style dirt track rear tires. He looked like a real Kurtis Kraft Midget racer. All the toys were very excited. This is the season that they would be placed in the hands of real children who would play with them and love them. The toys were gathered up and packed into boxes, shipped from Santa Ana California to the far corners of America. Sebastian was sent to a place called Denver, Colorado. His shipping box was jostled about here and there. Then finally, one day his shipping box was filled with light as it was broke open. He and four other racers were pulled out of boxes, quickly polished and set out in the front window of a store. Sebastian was beside other Thimbledromes racers, which all had motors. They were on a shelf that over looked an American Flyer train set that had a real working whistle. There were other things around him, but he didnt have a clue what they were. Behindthem was a large old clock which chimed with each passing half hour. Outside the big area in front of him, he could see things happening and had no idea what they were either. Outside his window, Sebastian could see beautiful lights and dark figures rushing to and fro. As the day got darker, the hustle and bustle slowed down. Suddenly, a big voice sounded behind him. Hello new toys, and welcome. I am Grandfather Time, and you are in the front window of Daniels and Fishers Department store. All the things around you are toys. The fellow below us is Hermy. He is an American Flyer train. The best on the market! With that the train blew two short blasts from his whistle. We have Shirley Temple dolls and Charlie McCarthey dolls here as well. Said the old clock. Above us are a pair of airplanes and a spaceship.. The grand old clock paused, the toys were hanging on his every word. You are going to be adopted by a child or an adult. This is a toys purpose. To make those who own you happy. The people you see walk past the front window, will come in, buy you and take you home. You will never be fully happy until you find a home. Sebastian let the words of the old clock sink in and let it imprint itself on his memory. Home, he thought. That is what I want to find. He watched outside the window and waited for the daylight to return. The night gave way to day and people began to stroll pass the window again. Some were in a hurry. The smaller ones would stop, fogging up the glass, staring and pointing at different toys. Each had a wish and would focus on the toy that caught their fancy. It all began to happen as the clock said it would. The toys were picked up by people, one by one. Some were returned to their place right away, some disappeared altogether. The other toys were being sold off and others were placed in their spots in the front window. Sebastian did his best to earn the respect of the little humans hoping to get a home. He made sure he was in the best lighting (only when he could, after hours when know one was around) to show off his bright red paint. But still he sat as his siblings were purchased leaving him alone. The pace of humans out front grew to a maddening pace and then slowed. There was a sound in the air the day no humans came to the store. Great bells were sounding outside and a distant sound of singing. The Grandfather clock told him that maybe it was not his season, maybe next year. Sebastian did not understand and still tried to look his best for the humans that may happen to walk by. Then it happened. He was picked up and he was grateful. Could a home be in his future? Was this his day to revel in ? But it was just a store employee moving him from the front window to make room for a winter apparel display. Sebastian was placed in a box with decorations and moved to the back of the department store and put into storage. It must have been the wrong box, for the darkness the little red racer was in seemed to last a long time. What had actually happened was the box that Sebastian had been put in had been inadvertently placed on a cart for store records and that box had been rolled into long term storage. Daniels and Fisher merged with the May company and the big building in which Sebastian had first discovered the outside world was closed and set for demolition. Workers were assigned to go through the store and salvage any merchandise that could in return turn a profit. Some remaining toys were donated to a local hospital. A last minute opening of an old box discovered Sebastian. He looked like new and the worker who found him smiled. His first thought was to pack the Racer into his back pack and take the old relic home, but he decided to send it off to the hospital. The racer was put into a box and was jostled about while he rolled across town to Mercy Hospital. This was to be his new home. The box was opened and Sebastian was placed upon the floor and rolled across a floor. What a feeling!! He felt like screaming with joy as his wheels created a unique whirring noise on the hard waxed linoleum floor. Sebastian felt the still air turn to wind as his speed picked up. Then as quickly as it had been there it was gone. He wanted to feel that again! Free and fast he felt! But the worker picked him up and placed him into a box in which other toys had been placed. Sebastian waited and then saw the blazing light pierce the darkness as the lid of the box was opened. He was lifted out and placed on the floor. The hand gripping him felt different than that of the adult. It was smaller and seemed filled with care. A Child held the racer up and made some inaudible noises-bbbbbbbbbbbbb-and raced him across the floor. Again that feeling of bliss. Sebastian felt like this was his home now. He was going to be loved and things would be good from now on. Many different children played with him. He lost his side pipe with an incident involving a chair leg, but no matter. He loved his new life. His paint was chipped in places and he thought nothing of it. Then on one day a new boy arrived. He could barely make the noises the other kids made, but really attached himself to the car. In fact this child was able to take the car to his room when it was deemed rest time for him. One day a larger pair of humans came to visit the boy. Sebastian heard the larger say to the little boy, Son what do you have there? WOW!!- Sebastian was lifted out of the childs hands and the adult looked at the little red racer carefully. Now that is a really neat toy! Man, I have not seen one of these since I was a kid!! The adult smiled as he held the racer and then returned it to his sons hands. Sebastian felt special. Was this what it felt like to be loved? The boy was gentle with the Racer and seldom let it fly across the room. He and his Dad would play with Sebastian rolling him back and fourth always careful not to bounce him off the furniture. Then as things seemed normal, the boy went away. What had caused the boy to be ill, had been cured and it was the boys time to go home. He cried for the Red Racer. I want to take it home! He cried, but the boys Mother gently explained how other kids needed special toys to play with. That the little Racer was a great toy and would be best left here in the hospital where other kids could enjoy it. The little boy subdued his crying, but claimed he would never forget the Red Racer. Never. Sebastian remained in the hospital play room again experiencing the hands of new kids and adult alike. He would love it when a new kid would pick him up and cart him off to their room. A temporary home away from the other toys. As time slipped by, the other toys came and went more frequently. Most were more pliable than he. Plastic is what one toy Mustang claimed he was made of. Sebastian wondered where the other toys like him were. It had been a long time since he had seen another racer like himself. Were they happy in their homes? He wondered this one day as a concerned mother lifted Sebastian and took him to a nurse. Excuse me, just how is it that this dangerous toy is amongst our poor sick children? The nurse gave the concerned mother a blank look. Let me explain, this toy is made of metal! Another blank stare. Our children could be hurt on this toy! Does the term LAWSUIT mean anything to you?!? This the nurse understood and took the Racer from the concerned mother. That night a couple of workers rounded up any toys that could be considered dangerous and placed them into a box . Then the top was closed. Sebastians world was in darkness again. The darkness was long lasting this time. Sebastian did not know if he were actually still together or actually disposed of. What if this was his end? He had heard about The End one night while In the department store window. The Grandfather Clock had been answering questions from the toys when a Raggedy Ann Doll asked, Grandfather, is there an End? A strange quiet fell around the room. The wind howled outside and a swirling of snow flashed by the window. Grandfather sighed. This question he had answered so many times and each time it was never easier. He spoke .Yes. Yes there is. Some toys will be loved so much they have but no chance of survival. Be it a doll losing her stuffing or a trains motor failing to pull a load, the End for toys is sometimes inevitable. Many here will meet an end. Cast off to the side and forgotten. This is not the time for you to know of The End. Revel in life and enjoy what is ahead of you. Sebastian had taken these word to heart and feared The End. He wished for so much more, but began to think about his existence. The department store window, the smiles of children looking at him through the glass. The hospital years and especially the little boy who wanted to take him home. Home. A word that was larger than life itself. Sebastian wished for a Home. That was what he had always wanted. So, he rested in the dark. Him and a collection of other toys deemed dangerous for sick or recovering children in a hospital play room. And as before, the box was jostled one day and was suddenly being transferred across town. A Tonka Dune Buggy next to him screamed in the dark-ITS THE END! I KNOW IT!!! Sebastian was startled to hear this. The other toys remained silent. Each awaiting there own fait quietly. Remembering happy days outside of the lonely box. Then as before, the box was opened. Sebastian was removed from the box and though it was an adult who carried him, he was handled with the greatest of ease. The adult paused at an big workbench and proceeded to clean the old racer. He used a tooth brush and wax to bring the shine back to the red paint. Carefully he polished the aluminum parts and used some cleaner on the red racers tires. The adult gave Sebastian a final polish and gently set him on a very old wooden floor and gave the racer a push. Sebastians old wheels carried him a short distance and he stopped. Frowning, the adult lifted the Racer and sprayed something on the axles. Again he set the Racer down and gave a push. Sebastian felt the still air turn to wind as he sailed across the floor. The adult gave a great whoop and chased after the little red racer. Sebastian felt like he may have a second chance. A chance to find a Home after all. The adult picked up the racer and placed Sebastian in a small wooden case. He was next to an old baseball card(Joe Dimagio 1953), a set of Aviator glasses with the case and a Buddy L Corvair Pick Up truck. Across from him on the other side of the room was a big old Grandfather clock. Sebastian wondered if it was the same from the department store, but knew better because this one was still and the pendulum was not swinging. After dark, the conversations were exchanged and everyone spoke of their value and where they were from. Sebastian only knew the plant where he was made, the department store and the hospital. The term value meant nothing for him. A doll stood up and exclaimed how she was a first edition Barbie and had all of her accessories. She told the room she was very valuable, and that she was most likely to go for a huge amount. A stuffed bear told the room he was a very rare Beanie and that being handed out at the All Stars game made him worth THOUSANDS. The whole night went like this. Sebastian finally asked if anyone was just interested in finding a home. The room erupted in laughter. The Red Racer thought about this til dawn. He did not want to know his value. Just to find a home. The next day, the store opened with a flurry of business. There was a flood of people coming in and out. The faces were of older people and a few children wafted in and out. But none stopped to stare longingly at the toys. A woman stopped in front of the racers display case and soon was holding Sebastian. She carried him to the front and Sebastian sighed as he was put into a box again. But he had his hopes this time. The woman had spoke excitedly about how her husband had played with a car like this as a child and had been searching for one since. Maybe thought Sebastian, just maybe he would find a home this year. He sat in the darkness and waited. And waited. Until that fateful day when he was passed around and placed next to me some other boxes. He heard the muffled voices of people tearing paper and opening boxes. He hoped he would be opened and not set to the side like the other times in his past. The darkness that he had become so accustomed to was suddenly replaced with a bright light. The face was the same save for the years that had ticked by. Sebastian saw into the eyes of the boy who had played with him so long ago. The man smiled the same smile as the boy who had played with him years earlier in the hospital. Its just what I have always wanted! exclaimed the man. It was Christmas 1996, 50 years of waiting, but finally, Sebastian the Red Racer had found a home. -MarkSpooky Karol-Chik . 12/21/04
Great story as always. I read it every time you post it. Writing from Sebastains viewpoint was inspired. I started a similar longer'n a short story, shorter'n a book - call it a novella -about the life of a Model A roadster from the A's viewpoint It's a tough way to write, but you've pulled it off quiet well with your Red Racer story. The A based story needs some rewrites and finishing although I do know where it goes and where it ends. Kinda busy now with Christmas, the honey-do list, trying to get a rewrite done and somewhere in there get the 31 roadster on the road. I encourage you to write a book. Get the right short story going and many times they morph into a book. That's what happened with one of the books posted here on the HAMB. First saw light as a short story called The Red Roadster and it didn't take much to expand on it. Key thing is, don't force the writing. Some writers tell you to sit down and write every day. Works for some and not for others. You can see many times the part of the book where the author struggled through a section and it doesn't flow as well as the rest of the book. A lot of writers try to put beautiful and flowing prose on every line. Few can pull it off. They forget they're there to tell a story and the simple truth is, most books have only one or two memorable lines in the whole book. You have talent, just needs a bit of polishing.
The Jalopy Journal
