Lee K.

The class gathered around the teacher as she yelled at the top of her lungs, "come here children, we need to get going if we are going to be there on time". The children arranged themselves in some form of a line and they marched out to the waiting yellow school bus. The class was taking a field trip to "The Museum of Not So Well Known New Yorkers". Tommy Von New-Amserdamawitz took his seat on the bus just like the rest of the children. He was not very excited about the trip, his fish, Mr. Peepers, had died that morning. The bus pulled out of the driveway and fumbled its way down the avenue that would take it to the museum. In about twenty minutes the bus arrived at the doors of the museum. The class filed out and formed a massive blob on the side of the street. The teacher gathered them in and began to tell them about the museum. She told them that the museum commemorated the lives of those New Yorkers that everyone had forgotten. After about five minutes of pointless explaining the class stumbled into the museum. Each student had been assigned a group that he or she would wonder the exhibits with. Tommy found the four kids he would be working with and they went on their way. The first rooms proved to be relatively boring. They dealt mainly with the lives of housewives and maids. This went on for close to five rooms. The sixth room was one that grabbed the student's attention. This room was titled "The Room of Disasters". The five children sauntered into the room with wide eyes and bushy tails. Tommy slowly moved along the wall of pictures, carefully studying the immense amounts of burning stuff. As he was moving down the wall his eyes drifted toward the description of one of the pictures. As he skimmed over it his eye caught the name Von New Amsterdam. He quickly looked up and studied the picture again. The picture showed the scene of a great fire at the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Tommy thought for a second and he remembered his mother telling him a bedtime story about a relative that had been involved in a severe fire at a construction site. It was not only the bedtime story but the name that peaked his curiosity. He ran to the elevator on the floor and searched the directory. He found a listing for "The Hall of Further Learning". Tommy jumped on the next elevator and made his way to the hall. He slowly walked in and immedialty saw a table with computers on it. There was a sign that read "Type in name or place and the databank will further assist you". Tommy typed in the name Von New Amsterdam and the computer did its job. In less then ten seconds about 100 listings came up for the name. At least 75% of the listings were about a man named Johan Von New Amsterdam. Tommy clicked on the first listing he saw, "Arrival", and he was whisked away into a magical land, the past. It was a brisk day in the Netherlands. The birds were chirping, the wind was blowing and Johann Von New Amsterdam was awaking from his slumber with a terrible headache. Last evening Johann took it upon himself to get into a drinking competition with the town drunk. Needless to say Johann lost miserably and his only reward was the pounding headache that he woke up with. He rolled out of bed and immediately got dressed. He figured that the best way to shake this horrid hangover would be a tall mug of coffee at the local pub. Johann threw on his knickers and fell out of the font door. The sun beat down on his weary and tired eyes. He shuddered away for fear that his eyes would explode from the intense light. He allowed his eyes to adjust to the sun and then continued down the street. "Good morning Brunhilda" Johann yelled across the street, she did not acknowledge him. Brunhilda had been witness to Johann and his battle with the town drunk, she did not want to speak with him. Johan continued down the street dejected and sad. As he turned the corner something caught the corner of his eye. There was a large piece of paper nailed to the wall outside of the local pub. The sign read:

THE NEW WORLD COME ONE COME ALL ARE YOU TIRED OF YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE? IF YOU ARE, COME TO THE NEW WORLD, NEW AMSTERDAM IF INTERESTED BE AT THE PORT AT 7 AM SHARP TOMORROW MORNING, ASK FOR PETER MINUIT

Johann read this sign with amazement. He was bored with his everyday life, was this sign for him? He decided right then and there that he was going to be on that boat the next morning. At around 9 PM Johann returned to his home and got into bed. Dreams of the New World danced in his head all through the night. Light bounced off of the walls in Johanns room the next morning. It was 6 AM, one hour until he was due at the port on the other side of town. He jumped out of bed and threw on his clothing, he grabbed a small sack and began throwing his few belongings into it. All of the clothing he had in the world fit into the little bag. He made sure that he had everything and was out of the door around 6:30 AM, half an hour until the boat left. Johann ran as fast as his feeble legs could carry him and arrived at the port around 6:55 AM. He was not the only one there. There were at least fifty men with bags not much different from his standing on the dock. At 7 AM sharp a man of medium height stepped onto a small box and rang a bell. "I am Peter Minuit, I am the governor of New Amsterdam, the biggest little city in the New World. All of you are about to embark upon an adventure of a lifetime. Our task now is to separate you fine gentlemen into your respective patroons. Now some of you may be asking what a patroon is? A patroon is a plot of land that these fine gentlemen standing behind me have purchased. It is your job to live and work on these patroons when you arrive in the New World. Because of the work that you will be doing when you arrive in the New World your passage of the ocean will be free of charge. I welcome you all to the adventure of your lives. Let us begin our journey. Please form a straight line to the right of the rope and tell your name and age to Mr. Vonhausen". Johann did as he was told and got in the line. When he reached the front of the line he told his name and age to Mr. Vonhausen and then continued walking right onto the ship. He was told that it would be a long and tiresome journey so he should find a comfortable place to sit and stay there. Johann did just that. He found a small corner on the lower deck of the ship and closed his eyes, he was asleep before the ship even moved out of the port. Days past and Johann continued sleeping. Was it fear of the unknown that was on his mind? Was he simply sea sick? Whatever it was Johann remained sleeping until the ship reached the port of New Amsterdam. "OK boys, time to get up, we're here". Johann got up and rubbed his eyes. He stepped off of the ship and looked around. All of the men were being separated into small groups according to the patroon that they would be working at. Johann was assigned to the largest patroon located on Manhattan Island. The man he was assigned to read off the list of names that he had and checked to see that each man was there. When he saw that they were all there he introduced himself as Rubarb HanShmeal. Rubarb lead the man out of the port and into the city. Johann knew that he had made the correct decision. He was in the New World and he knew that he could make a difference here. About thirty years later······ The faint sound of a bugle could be heard throughout the camp. The sound came every five minutes, soft then louder and louder. Fires were slowly going out as night fell upon the camp. The days battle had been a costly one, nearly 1000 men were lost. The horrid moans of wounded soldiers could be heard up and down the camp. Johan settled into his make-shift bed in his make-shift tent. The next day would bring more death to the American revolutionaries. Johan was in the third musket unit and he was glad. Most of the fatalities occurred in the infantry. As he fell asleep the moans and screams of fallen countrymen echoed in his head. After countless nightmares Johan was able to experience some minimal type of sleep. The next morning Johan awoke to the sounds of screaming horns and trampling feet. He jumped out of bed and grabbed his shirt and pants. He quickly got dressed, took his musket and ran outside. Just as he threw aside the tent opening a rush of wind came across his face. A line of soldiers brushed past Johan as he stepped out into the path. "Johan, we need you at the front, get your musket, there aâ comin". Johan ran as fast as he could all the way down the path to the clearing. As he looked over the side of the hill he could see what his commander was talking about. All that he could see was a sea of red. The English had come out in full force that morning. As he ran through the woods to get to the bottom of the hill he past the awaiting cavalry. He made it all the way down to the front where his army awaited him. "Johan, get over here, we are getting ready to fire the first shots". Johan quickly got himself into position in the third line of musket-men. As soon as he took his place the general got on his horse and slowly rode along the first line of soldiers. When he reached the end of the line he held up his sword. "First line! Load! Hold, hold, hold··FIRE!!!!!" All at once 100 muskets fired their deadly metal balls. As soon as the shots were fired Englishmen began to fall. About 50 men fell at the sound of those muskets. Now it was the other sides turn. As Johanâs comrades were rushing to reload their muskets a roar came from across the field. A man standing directly in front of Johan fell to his knees, "freedom" he cried as his face met the dirt. Johan was taken from his momentary day dream by a scream. "Third line! Load your weapons! Johan grabbed a small pellet from his bag and shoved it down the barrel of his gun, now a dip of gun powder and he was ready to shoot. "FIRE!!!!" 100 more muskets unleashed there fury across the field. Another line of men fell. It did not seem like the onslaught was working in any imaginable way. Every time they fired at the English one line fell and another one stepped right up prepared to shoot. This time proved no different. A crash from across the field jarred Johanâs body. He felt like a dog had bitten him on the ankle, it was a musket pellet. He yelled in pain and fell to his knees. As soon as he fell two men grabbed his arms and began to run with him. "RETREAT! Get out of here, back to camp" Johan slowly opened his eyes and attempted to collect himself. He looked around the room that he was in. He saw tattered green walls, small wooden tables with tools on then and other stretchers with wounded men sprawled over them. He looked down at his own leg and observed a large bandage wrapped around his ankle. He winced in pain as he tried to lift his leg up. Just as the pain receded a gush of wind entered the small medical tent. He could not see at first but he could just make out the silhouette of women, no more then 5 and a half feet tall. As she came closer her overwhelming beauty became crystal clear to him. She had the hair of an angel, bright green eyes and skin as smooth as a babies bottom. She came to his bed and Johan gulped down the saliva that had been welling up in his mouth. "How are you doing? Do you need anything?" the women asked in a voice only matched by the harmonic tones of a symphony orchestra. "I am fine, my ankle hurts a bit, other then that fine. I hope you donât mind my asking but what is your name?". She began to blush and replied very softly, Layla. She looked back at him with her bright green eyes and he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. About a month passed and Johan was long recovered from his injury. He was still stationed at his camp where he spent his time in the medical unit. He was gingerly walking down the main path in the camp when he saw her. She came out of a tent about thirty paces ahead of him. Johan called out to her, "Layla, wait up, remember me ?". At first she had a look of confusion on her face. As Johan came closer she began to remember him. In the next ten minutes he told Layla how he thought of her night and day. Her cheeks turned bright red as he confessed his love to her. As soon as he finished he lowered to one knee and asked her to take his hand in marriage. She thought for a second, then looked down and saw the soulful eyes looking up at her. "Yes, yes I will marry you!". The war ended and the United States of America was born. The evil English soldiers retreated back to their home off of the coast of Europe and life began to return to normal back in the colonies. The one thing that was left to do was to rebuild the immense damage that the land had endured. Cities needed to be rebuilt, roads had to be repaired, mothers had to deal with the deaths of their loved ones. The next step in Johanâs life was to build a family with his new wife to be Layla. The first thing that the couple did was find a priest and make their marriage official. They did this with not much trouble and were married within a week of the independence. Now they had to find a place that they could call their home. Johan decided that his first home with his new wife was going to be built by his own hands. He began gathering wood and mortar and whatever brick he could get his hands on. Months past and Johan worked diligently on his creation. The 5th month came to pass and Johan was standing in front of a new, one story home. It had two windows on either side of the door. A small three step stoop and an indescribable feeling of accomplishment. The next day Layla and Johan moved into that new house and they could not have been more comfortable. Inside the house there was a small kitchen with a wood burning stove, a very small sitting area and a bedroom in the back. A few weeks past and Layla became pregnant with the couples first child. The next nine months were filled with food cravings and morning sickness, but at the end of those nine months it was all worth it. The couple had a beautiful baby boy. They decided to name their child Johan Jr. More then 100 years later····. The sun came up around 5:30am. The smell of fresh bread and butter wafted into the room where Johan slept. He cracked his eyes open and slowly got out of his relatively comfortable bed. "Time for work!" his wife yelled from the small closet shaped kitchen. He quickly pulled on his knickers and threw on his working shirt. Into the kitchen he ran, grabbed a piece of bread and ran out the door. Johan came running out of the building at full speed. He ran by the crowds of people gathered on the corner and did not lose a step. He turned the next corner and he could see the banks of the river where the construction was taking place. He entered the work area and he could immediately hear the shouts of work foreman barking orders. "Get those bricks over here", "Get down that caisson", Stop your whining".. Johan ran as fast as he could until he reached his designated work station. He got on the elevator with a few other workers and made his way down to the caisson. It started as any regular day down at the bottom of the river but soon things would take a turn for the worse. Because of the depth that the caisson was located fire was an extreme hazard. Johan was working in a rather dark part of the caisson and he decided he needed more light. He began to dig through the pocket of his dirty knickers. He pulled out a match and dragged it across the matchbook. As soon as he lit the match a flash of light surrounded the room. A huge fire ball ran through the caisson killing nearly everyone, if they did not die they were severely burnt. By some miraculous event Johan survived the initial blast from the match. The deaths were an acceptable tragedy however the fire was not. The huge fireball that Johan created made a large hole in the wall of the caisson. As soon as the fire broke through the wall water began to rush in. The remaining men in the room ran out as fast as they could and sealed up the room. Up at the surface smoke came rushing from the opening of the caisson. Down below men began rushing onto the elevator to go up to the surface. Luckily Johan made it onto the first elevator and made his way up to the surface. There were men waiting at the surface to help the injured souls coming up from the smoky depth. Johan was immediately grabbed and brought into a small tent where Mr. Roebling was waiting for him. "Are you the one who began this fire?" Mr. Roebling asked in an earth shattering voice. Johan began to quiver in his knickers and replied slowly, "yes sir, it was me". Mr.Roebling whispered into the ear of the man standing to his right. Johan was brought out of the tent as quickly as he was brought in. A few months past and the affects of the bridge accident began to wear off. Johan suffered minimal injuries in the fire. This was surprising because Johan had been the one that was holding the actual match. Whatever the case was Johan was lucky to be alive. One Monday morning Johan found himself to have no job and absolutely nothing to do. He decided that he was going to go out and find something for himself to do. Johan said goodbye to his wife and wandered out the door to his small tenement in the famous five points. Johan began to walk along the street with a glimmer in his eye. He was intent on finding something to do to occupy the long and hot summer days. He walked by Paradise Park and observed the gang members plotting their next public debauchery, he walked by the little old Russian ladies in their rocking chairs. As he turned the corner he stumbled upon a small park that he had never seen before. There was a medium sized patch of dirt in the middle and a grassy area surrounding it. On the patch of dirt there were men playing some sort of game. Johan observed fours bases set up in a diamond like shape, there was a man standing at each of the bases. In the middle of the diamond there was a man with a small ball. Off to the side of the diamond there were men just standing around and at the base directly in front of the man with the ball some sort of a batsmen was standing at attention. The man with the ball began to move his leg and then as his leg came down to the ground he hurled the ball towards the man with the bat. The ball traveled at a rather fast velocity towards the plate. As soon as the ball was on its way to the batter it was hit hard straight up the middle of the field. Johan watched as the man in the field grabbed the ball and through it towards where the action was taking place. The game began to die down and the participants sauntered over to the side of the field to gain their composure. Johan saw this as his opportunity to make his presence known to the men. He gathered up his courage and marched right up to the man who seemed to be running the game. "My name is Johan Von New Amsterdam and I would like to join your game" he said. The man was middle aged, about 5'10" and had a beard from ear to ear. He looked Johan over and then answered him, "Sure my good man, have you ever played the game before? It is called baseball, we are some of the first men in this city to be playin the game". Johan told him that he had never heard of the game however he was a fast and eager learner and was very interested in learning the game. Johan was designated as the "pitchers helper" (he may have been the first pitcher's helper ever). His job was to make sure no balls got by the pitcher. Johan proved that he was a fast learner and within a week he was playing in the field. Every afternoon Johan would eat lunch with his wife and then head off to the field. One afternoon the boys were playing their usual game when a gang of neighborhood street toughs lingered onto the field. In the front of the pack was a small man with a dirty white shirt on, behind him came eight rather large men, all wearing dirty trousers and blue shirts. The small man walked right up to Johan and gave him a small shove. Johan, not being the most powerful man, fell directly to the ground. "Ma name is Tiny Johnny and this here is ma gang, the Street Sweepers". Johan looked at the small man and then turned to the rest of the boys. They looked as if they did not care one bit about the imposing figures looming in the outfield. Tiny Johnny walked slowly over to the main area of the field and addressed who he thought to be in charge, "me and ma boys here want to challenge you's to a baseball game, we are the local baseball club from Brooklyn". Johan and his team gathered around and discussed the matter at hand. One man said that they should play the game and send them back over the Brooklyn Bridge where they belonged. Another man added that the boys from Brooklyn tended to be mean and rather physical in their style of play. The team decided that they would play the boys from Brooklyn in a game the following Saturday. The week went by quickly and the day of the game arrived. Johan woke up and had a hearty meal to prepare for the game. At 1:00 o'clock Johan left his small apartment and headed over to the field. As he got closer to the field he noticed that there were other people on their way to the same place. He entered the field and saw crowds of people lining the base paths. Johan walked over to his team and immediately began warming up. The Brooklyn team was already there getting ready for the game. The game began with the Brooklyn team in the field. Inning after inning the Brooklyn boys struck out and the Manhattan boys scored runs. The final inning came around and the score was 10-2 Manhattan. The game ended on a routine hit to the infield. As soon as the final out was made a man came running out of the crowd with what seemed to be a metal pipe. He came right towards Johan and took a swing at his leg. The pipe connected with Johan's knee and made a horrible noise. The man continued running and left Johan writhing in pain on the floor. His teammates quickly came to his aid. They carried him off of the field and to a bench where he could lie down. The Manhattan boys accused the Brooklyn team of committing the dirty crime, they denied all of the accusations. As the team huddled around Johan one man muttered under his breath, "these two cities will never be one". Needless to say Johan's baseball career was over and so were his days of playing any sport. His knee was completely shattered, the doctors had no idea how to fix it. Johan was doomed to a life of bed rest and hobbling around. Back in the 21st century··. "Time to go class" the teacher yelled down the hallway. Tommy heard his teacher and came running down the hallway. He began to discuss with his friends what he found at the museum. He told his friends that he discovered he had a relative who was involved in many historical events. His other classmates spent all of their time in the Hall of Disasters. Tommy discovered that his last name was involved in the construction of the greatest city in the entire world. As the class filed out of the museum Tommy glanced across the street and noticed a man walking with a slight limp. The man looked back at Tommy and winked.