Not on Fifth Street by Kathy Cannon Wiechman

Author:Kathy Cannon Wiechman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Published: 2017-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

After lunch, the men followed the five trucks they’d filled with sandbags. The trucks stopped at the low end of Second Street, not far from the riverbank, where water surged past, the mighty Ohio running at full speed.

The rain lashed the river, whipping it into an angry monster that threatened to consume Ironton’s West End. This wasn’t about being with Dad now. It was about defending people and property from the river’s clutches.

Men climbed to the beds of the trucks and tossed sandbags to those on the ground, like a strange game of catch. A man tossed a sandbag to another man, who tossed it to another, who lined the bags along the curb. When the line reached the end of the block, the tossing continued, and another row of bags was heaped on top of the first.

Blood seeped through Gus’s glove where another blister had broken open, but he had no time to stop. As soon as he draped a sandbag on the pile, another was tossed to him.

When every sandbag was unloaded and stacked, the men followed the trucks back to where they’d started. Gus was tired and his feet felt like blocks of ice, but he had done the job. In spite of pain, rain, and cold, he had battled the mighty river.

He wanted to climb into the Buick and eat another sandwich, or better yet, go home for Mom’s hot vegetable soup or meatloaf. He couldn’t wait to hear Dad tell Mom he was proud of Gus. Gus was proud of himself. He was sure Pete couldn’t have done better.

Before he had time to walk to the Buick, a noise broke through the constant sound of rain on the brick street. Gus looked up through raindrops still clinging to his eyelashes. A dump truck chugged down the street with another load of sand.

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