Jump to content
    CLJobe
  • Author
  • 1,297 Words
  • 1,546 Views
  • 22 Comments
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

ARROW - 64. Chapter 64

Saturday morning, after breakfast, we went shopping., we had a son to clothe. Colin and I had a great time, under wear, pants, shirts, new shoes, socks, a jacket and a cap. Lunch was pizza, dressed in new clothes, we headed to the gallery to show grandmother.

When we arrived, Thomas went to where his painting was hung. It wasn’t there. Walking into the office, Thomas was crying.

“What’s wrong?”

“His painting is gone.”

“Yes, the artist sold it to an older couple.”

“Thomas, I’m sorry.”

“Dad, the painting reminded me of my mother and dad. When I sat there, it reminded me of them.”

“Do you have a picture of your mom and dad?”

“Yes, but it is all wrinkled.”

“Let me see it.”

He pulled a photo out of his pocket. He was right, it was difficult to even make out who was who.

Colin looked at me, I knew what he told me to do without saying a word. I would paint a portrait of his mother and father. It will hang here in the gallery.

When we took Thomas back to the orphanage on Sunday evening, I asked for his parents name and if the had a photo of them. They had their name, but no photos.

That evening the apartment felt empty. “Colin, I need a picture of his parents in order to paint them.”

“I’ll call my friend at the newspaper and see if he can find a photo. Do you have a date when Thomas entered the orphanage?”

“No, but I can get it tomorrow.”

“Call me if you have it. I’ll start preparing the canvas and I’ll see what I can get from his photo. I’d like to have it finished for this week-end.”

Monday morning I went to the Orphanage and asked about a photo of Thomas’s mom and dad. That, they didn’t have but they did have the date when Thomas came to Orphanage. I asked would it be possible for him to arrive the same time as his parents death. “Thomas has a photo but it is in bad shape. I want to paint a portrait of his parents for him. He use to come to my gallery and sit in front of a painting of a man and woman. He said it reminded him of his mother and father. The painting was sold, and I want to paint one of his parents.”

“Are you planning on adopting him.”

“Yes, but there is some things that need to be done before I’ll be in a position to start the adoption process. In the mean time, I need to give him a painting to remind him of his birth parents.”

“I’m sorry, we don’t have a photo.”

Leaving, I phone Colin and gave him the information I received at the orphanage.

“Do they have any idea of when the accident occurred.”

“No we have nothing except the date he was enrolled.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can find out. What is his last name?”

“Wait, his last name is Chase.”

“Okay. I’ll give you call when I get the info.”

I went home and started to prepare a canvas for painting.

Colin came home but didn’t have the information, he said his friend at the paper said it would take a while to go through the back log.

“I wonder if the library would have old copies of the paper.”

“You can check that out tomorrow.”

In the morning after Colin left for work, I headed to the local library. Arriving, I told the woman at the desk what I was looking for. She sent me to a desk with microfiche reader.

I had used one at Yale, so I wasn’t completely ignorant but I needed help. I went and asked her to help me. She wanted to know exactly what I was looking for, I told her. She came to my desk and soon I had copies of the local paper starting at the year that Thomas went to the orphanage. Watching her, I was able to move the time frame to an earlier date. I estimated that the accident must have occurred within a month before Thomas was admitted to the orphanage.

Leafing through the paper, page by page, was slow work. I had to read each line, look at every photo. The first two weeks, nothing, then I saw a head line about an accident involving a car and a semi on Interstate 95. According to the article, the semi was pulling over into the right lane and didn’t see the car driven by Mr. Thomas Chase. Mr and Mrs Chase was killed and a young boy sleeping in the back seat wasn’t hurt. This was the accident that killed Thomas parents. Now for a picture.

I asked the librarian if I could print off the article. She came over and pressed a few buttons. “The photo copy you can pick up at the desk.”

I continued to scan the paper and now I had to include the obituaries. I found out the name of the mortuary that handled the burial. I had the librarian print that page off. I continued to read but there was no more information.

Going to the desk for the copies, I knew I had to pay something, it was 2 dollars. I gave her 20 and told her to add the change to their collection box.

As soon as I got home I called Colin and told him what I found. I put another coating of sealant one the canvas and the left to go to the mortuary and see if they had a photo of Mr.and Mrs. Chase.

I knew some Mortuary’s took a photo of the individual so that they can make the individual appear normal. I wasn’t sure they did that with accident victims.

Arriving at the mortuary, I went to the office. I had my photo copies with me.

Knocking on the office door, a young lady open the door. I introduced myself and asked to see the director. She said he wasn’t in could she help. I showed her a copy of the newspaper stating that the Chases were sent to this mortuary for burial. I further explained that their son was in an orphanage and wanted a picture of his parents.

She went to a book, looked up the date and name.

“Yes, we did do the interment.”

“Do you have photos?”

“I need to check the files which are in the basement.” I had Thomas’s photo so I could make a judgement call.

I waited about 30 minutes when she came back. “These are the only photos we have of Mr. and Mrs. Chase. It was a closed casket.”

I looked at the photos she had, I pulled Thomas’s photo and made a comparison. With the two, I had a good idea of what they looked like.

With the photos she had and Thomas’s photo, I thought I could paint a likeness that would satisfy Thomas.

“Can you give me a copy of these photos?”

“You can have these.”

“Thank you. If you would like to see a final painting of this couple, go to the gallery across from Yale. You can’t miss it.”

Now I had everything I needed to start painting.

Colin came home, “The paper didn’t have anything but I had some names of their friends. He said when the accident was reported, people called when they heard who was involved.”

“I have these photos from the mortuary who was responsible for their interment.”

“Is that enough?”

“To start yes. I think with his photo, I can come fairly close.”

I put another coat of white paint on the canvas. Tomorrow I’ll start painting.

Copyright © 2022 CLJobe; All Rights Reserved.
  • Like 26
  • Love 27
  • Sad 3
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
You are not currently following this author. Be sure to follow to keep up to date with new stories they post.

Recommended Comments

Chapter Comments

I wonder if Thomas had explained earlier about why he looked at the previous painting if they would have let it be sold. This story must be set in a somewhat earlier time if Armand had to use microfiche .

Something I never gave much thought did Tommy's parents ever take a family photo?And if they did would an orphanage allows a kid to bring it with him or her.Anyway what an incredible gesture by Armand and when they inquire about adopting Tommy if their caseworker finds out about this I could see that working in their favor. BTW I don't remember did GG say anything to Armand about this?

Edited by weinerdog
  • Like 4
  • Love 1
Link to comment

No wonder Thomas is devastated with the only reminder of his deceased parents, the gallery painting, sold. 😢 

Unthinking CPS and orphanages don't allow to children to keep photo albums or other 'reminders' of what they lost / had taken from them. They want to "create a (false) 'clean slate' so children are easier to 'place'". Tommy's parents would have had personal items, otherwise where did Tommy get the old faded photo?

Hopefully Armand and Colin can find a better photo, perhaps from an employer of Mr. and Mrs. Chase, or their Driver's license photo!

BTW, this 'wiping the slate' / deleting connections to a child's previous family (if there was one), continues to this day, including separating twins and other siblings!

Edited by Anton_Cloche
  • Like 1
  • Wow 4
Link to comment

Glad to see that Armand will paint the picture of Thomas's parents and was able to get a photo...another place is to look at their obituaries, were they college educated or high school graduates? Both would be another source but as @dutch woman indicated, let's hope GG makes an appearance!!

  • Like 1
  • Love 4
Link to comment
10 hours ago, mikedup said:

Wow I never expected Arrow to paint that picture but I am glad that he is busy with it , it will tie Tommie to both of them in such a meaningful way, another awesome chapter 

Thanks. Armand will do what ever he can to make sure Tommy is happy 

  • Like 4
  • Love 1
Link to comment
9 hours ago, Clancy59 said:

Not necessarily.  It can be expensive to convert all those files into digital format.  Depending on the finances of the community, I can easily see some smaller Libraries hanging on to some microforms, despite the space issues.  They can convert them over a period of time, as budget allows.

If Thomas had no relatives to take him in, why would strangers think to save family mementos for him when sending him to the orphanage? Even if there was such a photo, they wouldn’t think to keep it for him and he wasn’t old enough to know to ask.

Some of the old libraries continue to use microfiches. Once you have the equipment, there is no incentive to chuck it for a different system.

  • Like 4
  • Love 1
Link to comment
5 hours ago, chris191070 said:

Armand is giving Peter a wonderful gift by painting his parents 

Yes he is, but I think Tommy has a devoted adult. Armand will give him anything he wants if Armand can do it.

  • Like 4
  • Love 1
Link to comment
4 hours ago, dutch woman said:

I expect a dream of GG to Armand with a picture of Thomas’s parents.

I thought about that but using photos makes sure that the image GG gave him has those little nuances that Tommy will recognize

  • Like 4
  • Love 1
Link to comment
3 hours ago, drsawzall said:

Glad to see that Armand will paint the picture of Thomas's parents and was able to get a photo...another place is to look at their obituaries, were they college educated or high school graduates? Both would be another source but as @dutch woman indicated, let's hope GG makes an appearance!!

He has their photo from the mortuary and with Thomas's photo.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
2 hours ago, CLJobe said:

Some of the old libraries continue to use microfiches. Once you have the equipment, there is no incentive to chuck it for a different system.

That’s what I meant.  However, time means that the microforms can deteriorate through rot or simple fading.  Many preservationists are racing the clock to preserve as many historical documents as they possibly can before they disappear altogether—which was why they were put on microforms in the first place!  To preserve the information from those documents (usually newspapers and magazines) without taking up the space.

In addition, the machines used to read the forms are aging as well.  Things break down, whether through simple aging or misuse (and there is a lot of misuse, accidental or otherwise, from patrons who don’t know what they are doing). Parts are no longer available or become cost prohibitive in themselves.

So, yes, smaller, older Libraries are, indeed likely to retain these older formats, but any modern Libarian with common sense can see the writing on the wall for this format and will be budgeting to transform these to a digital platform as soon as possible.  

I was just trying to point out that the story could still be set in relatively modern times after @weinerdog’s comment.

  • Like 3
  • Love 1
Link to comment
7 hours ago, Clancy59 said:

That’s what I meant.  However, time means that the microforms can deteriorate through rot or simple fading.  Many preservationists are racing the clock to preserve as many historical documents as they possibly can before they disappear altogether—which was why they were put on microforms in the first place!  To preserve the information from those documents (usually newspapers and magazines) without taking up the space.

In addition, the machines used to read the forms are aging as well.  Things break down, whether through simple aging or misuse (and there is a lot of misuse, accidental or otherwise, from patrons who don’t know what they are doing). Parts are no longer available or become cost prohibitive in themselves.

So, yes, smaller, older Libraries are, indeed likely to retain these older formats, but any modern Libarian with common sense can see the writing on the wall for this format and will be budgeting to transform these to a digital platform as soon as possible.  

I was just trying to point out that the story could still be set in relatively modern times after @weinerdog’s comment.

You are absolutely correct. no modern library would have microfiche. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
6 hours ago, CLJobe said:

You are absolutely correct. no modern library would have microfiche. 

Not if they can help it.  There are dozens of online database subscriptions available that are much less expensive in the long run.  

However, in terms of this story, as he did, Armand would be much more likely to find this kind of information in the local Library or news media archives where the accident occurred.  This particular, relatively minor story would not really be the kind of thing that would be snatched up into a national database, unless it is the kind to retain every bit of the issue (i.e.; ads, weather reports, crop reports, etc.). Some do.

So, all in all, his search for the photos was logical.  Maybe he could try the local high schools to see if they had been students.  Many HS Libraries keep copies of the yearbooks.  We did.  When I got there, they were stuffed in cardboard boxes {{shudder!!}}.  We took them, organized and cataloged them and stored them in a filing cabinet.  Not only did students enjoy looking through them, going back to 1938 (they giggled a lot at those!), although not all of them were there.  But we were able to help a few reunion committees and a couple of people doing family trees! We even helped one family planning a memorial for their loved one.  He’d have to get permission from the Office to use the Library, however, but the Librarians are usually quite willing to help.

  • Wow 3
Link to comment

Between the photos and GG, I'm sure the portrait will be exemplary.  Thomas will be so happy.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
View Guidelines

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Newsletter

    Sign Up and get an occasional Newsletter.  Fill out your profile with favorite genres and say yes to genre news to get the monthly update for your favorite genres.

    Sign Up
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Our Privacy Policy can be found here: Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..