O Wow
By Ilse Kramer
One time in the winter Joe, a cabinet maker who was doing quite well for himself, went to the City of Providence which goes all the way back to Roger Williams. He, Joe, was going to check out some very old furniture at an auction.
With him was his wife, Mitzi, still a teenager and pregnant. Joe was not the child’s biological father, but he loved Mitzi and wanted to take care of her.
It got to be dark, and the two of them needed a place to stay. As it turned out, there was no empty room anywhere, not at the Biltmore, not at Days Inn, not even at the Edgewood
Manor Bed and Breakfast.
In the end, after seeing many, many “No Vacancy” signs, they discovered a church which had recently updated their kitchen and left some big, empty cardboard boxes piled up on their back lawn. Joe and Mitzi made do by spreading the clothing from their suitcase on the bottom of the largest box.
There Mitzi went into labor, and her son was born. She saw that he was healthy and strong, and she wrapped him in a fresh towel, closed her eyes briefly and said “Thank you, Father.”
At the same time there were two young farmers in Little Compton who were feeding the cows in their great big barn. Ezra turned on his I-pod, and he and his brother Tom heard a voice they had never heard before.
It said “Don’t be scared. I am supposed to tell you that a good thing has happened which you should know about. A really cool little baby has just been born in Providence. Why don’t you go and visit the little guy and his parents? You’ll find them in a cardboard box, and he is wrapped in a towel. You’ll be surprised at how he will make your heart feel warm and your eyes see much more and much better.”
And all of a sudden Tom and Ezra heard beautiful music, at first it sounded like Madonna singing, then like Celine, then a little like Claudia and a little like Caroline.
Tom said “Wow.” After that there was no more sound coming from the I-pod, and Ezra could not get it to work any more.
So the two brothers got in their truck and drove all the way to Providence. They finally found the right box, because a black German shepherd dog was sitting right in front of it singing what sounded like a soothing lullaby.
There was not enough room for Ezra and Tom to go inside, but they had brought their flashlights, and they could see Mitzi and Joe and the little one who was only a few hours old. And they both knew that from then on everything would be all right.
Tom reached into his pocket and found a Rhode Island quarter which he gave to Mitzi for her child. Ezra only had a packet of chewing gum with him, and he gave that to Mitzi, saying “For when he has teeth.”
So the brothers went to Starbucks and to Au Bon Pain and to the liquor store at the Square where they told everybody that there was an awesome baby boy who would save them from everything bad. “Even my credit card debt?” one man asked. “I don’t know,” Tom the farmer said. “I’m sure he could, if he wanted to.”
The brothers led a group of people to the family in the cardboard box. The dog was still singing softly, and Mitzi was smiling a happy smile with a little bit of sadness mixed in.
Back in the truck Tom said to Ezra “You know how I always worry about things? I don’t think I am going to do that any more.” Ezra nodded and answered “And I am not going to laugh at that girl with the big head any more.” Tom said “Yeah.”
They stood outside the barn for a while and looked up. There was a huge plane crossing the sky. Ezra looked again. “It’s not a plane at all, it’s a great big star, way bigger even than the bonfire on the Fourth of July.”
“O wow,” said Tom.