Presidential Shadows

by Michael Cantwell

The morning after Christmas, Steve woke me up with his snoring again. It was nice having him home for the holidays but I needed sleep. With my belly grumbling, breakfast was calling. I maneuvered around a sleeping Star and into the kitchen. Dad was already there reading the morning paper and eating the pancakes Mom had made for everyone. Dad told me Mom was upstairs getting dressed. I inhaled a few blueberry pancakes and a tall glass of orange juice.

  Dad and I talked about the NFL playoffs. As well as how pleased he was that his entire family was together for a few days. He tried to hide it but I think his eyes welled up with tears. Star joined us.

  “Good morning, Schuler men,” she said. “That’s the best I’ve slept in months.”

  “My eggnog does that to people,” Dad said. “I have to tell you, Stargazer, when you first arrived, my wife and I thought maybe you were a bad influence on our boy. He has changed so much since the last time we saw him. Now, I am concerned the opposite might be true.”

  I sat quietly not wanting to get in the middle of that conversation. I knew Dad was right. I had spent a lot time with Star. She wasn’t a bad influence on anyone.

  Star lit up like the tree in the other room. “Thank you. That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. I think. However, Stevie is an awesome soul mate. He’s struggling to discover what the universe has in store for him. He’ll find it soon. You should be very proud of him. I know maybe it looks like we’re floating right now, but there’s always a plan.”

  Dad scratched his whiskers. “I hope you’re right. I’m not a man who knows how to sugar coat his words. Let me just say, I for one am pleased you found each other. You and I might not agree on everything, but I believe you’re good for Steven.”

  Star got up from the table and found a napkin. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose before giving Dad a big hug around his neck from behind, while he was sitting in his chair. Dad reached around with one arm and patted Star on hers. Sometimes, Dad was grumpy the day after drinking his special eggnog but Star was good at making most people smile.

  She sat in a chair across from Dad. “So that you know, Mr. Schuler. Stevie hasn’t changed as much as you might think. He is more like you than you realize. He did ask me to marry him. I’m not against getting a piece of paper to make him happy, but we weren’t ready. He didn’t have a good job. I wanted to go back to school. The timing wasn’t right. It’s one reason why we’re planning on hanging with the Dead this spring. After that, we realize it will be time to get serious about our future. Mother Nature only has so much patience.”

  Dad shuffled the sports section my way. He took a sip of juice. “I know Steven has always been a free spirit. It’s obvious you are too. I imagine that was the attraction for the two of you. My wife and I worry, that’s all. He graduated seven months ago and doesn’t seem to have a strong footing in life right now, yet he refuses to move home.”

  “He’s a hard worker,” Star said. “He waits tables. He works part time at a parking garage collecting money. We get by. Once I start school in the summer, I know in my heart he will come with me. Don’t worry, my parents are paying my tuition. Plus, I got a partial scholarship. If Stevie finds work when we move, all will be good. I promise. The universe watches out for all of us.”

  Dad smiled. “Let’s hope you’re right.”

  The phone rang. I jumped to get it. Bruce was on the other end all excited about the new bike he received for Christmas. He asked me to come over and check it out. I agreed and ran to my room to change. After stepping over my snoring brother to get to the dresser, I threw on some jeans and a winter coat. I headed up the street.

  The snow was starting to melt. There were still a few patches of yellow in the snow from when I walked Mrs. Macy’s hound the day before. My hands were in my pockets and my New York Rangers knitted ski cap was keeping my head and ears warm. I was trudging along when I heard a voice from behind.

  “Slow down if you please, Alex. I am not a young man.”

  “I don’t have much time, mister. I’m on my way to Bruce’s house to see his new bike.”

  The man picked up his pace. He was breathing heavy. He didn’t appear to be a man in great shape. I slowed down to allow him to catch up next to me. “I’m guessing from your odd looking overcoat, you aren’t from around here, or you are a president. If, you are a president, why are you here?”

  “My name is Chester A. Arthur. I took over the presidency after the President Garfield was assassinated by that disgruntled fool Charles Guiteau.”

  “Yeah, Stargazer told me about how her great great grandfather was shot in a train station. What’s your name again?”

  “Chester Alan Arthur. I am the twenty first President of these United States.”

  “Jeesh, I thought Rutherford had it rough with his name. I hope you tell everyone your name is Chet or Chuck. Maybe you can be like Tommy Wilson and use your middle name. Everyone called him Woodrow. He shoulda stuck with Tommy.

  The rotund man laughed. “Chester’s not so bad. Have you met Millard or Ulysses yet?”

  “Nope. I guess I’ll have to find nicknames for them too. Mr. Garfield seemed like a nice man. Why do bad men go around wanting to shoot you guys? I know President Lincoln was killed because he tried so hard to keep our nation as one union. What did Mr. Garfield do that made someone wanna shoot him?”

  We stopped walking. I told Chester to be careful and not step in any yellow snow.

  “It was not what President Garfield did; it was more what he didn’t do. After his election, there were more than one hundred thousand government jobs. Many of the government jobs were favors or paybacks for deeds done to assist our party or elections. Some call it the ‘spoil system’. President Garfield wanted to reform how these men and women were allocated government positions.”

  “He got shot because he wanted to make things fair?”

  “Not exactly. The man who shot the President wanted a government position. However, he was denied. Guiteau, feeling rejected, became a murderer.”

  I was shocked. “I know this kid Greg. He used to keep me from playing on teams in school during recess. I never wanted to murder him. I wanted to make him eat a cupcake he was allergic to once, but that was all.”

  Chester smirked. “I had a different idea. A Senator by the name of George Pendleton sponsored legislation that would make sure civil service jobs were awarded based on merit. Employees had to pass tests rather than presidents and their staffs handing out jobs as political candy. It was called the Pendleton Reform Act. It passed in Congress in part because of President Garfield’s assassination.”

  I could see Bruce pulling his bike out of the front door of his house. I knew I had to end our conversation. I wanted to see Bruce’s bike and other presents.

  “I guess that’s a happy ending then,” I said. “Everyone gets a job because they deserve it, not because they did something nice for you and thought they should get a job for doing it.”

  Mr. Arthur kicked snow into the road. “Well, not exactly. Some people were very upset over the law. Political paybacks were commonplace. This law was designed to put an end to them. Republicans in particular were against the reform while Democrats supported it. Republicans lost seats in Congress in the next election partially for not supporting the reform. The political machines gained power in being able to offer jobs as paybacks.”

  Mr. Arthur stared at the street. “What are these contraptions with people in them that keep passing us?”

  Bruce waved at me. I didn’t have time to explain cars to Chester and he wasn’t going to have time to explain why political machines needed jobs to give away. Harry Truman tried to explain it, but it still was not making sense.

  I pointed a few houses away. “That’s my buddy Bruce. He called me to come over and see his new bike. I’m going to hang out with him now. Maybe later you can come back and tell me about why machines need government jobs?”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  I nodded. President Arthu
r turned and headed in the opposite direction. Bruce was on his bike approaching me. I moved out of the way so Bruce didn’t get his new bike tires in dirty snow.

  “Cool bike, Bruce,” I said as he peddled next to me on the sidewalk. He shrugged. It was a blue Raleigh 12 speed. Bruce could barely reach the pedals. His legs stretched to the bottom while riding it. Either his parents were expecting him to grow soon or his dad was going to have to lower the seat. I didn’t ask Bruce if I could take it for a spin. It was too big for me. Besides, if I cracked it up on an ice patch, I could lose a friend and money for repairs.

  Bruce and I talked about Christmas day in the cold air. A few neighbors drove past in their cars and waved or gave Bruce the thumbs up. We talked about riding around on our bikes but Bruce decided he didn’t want all the melting snow and gunk from the road getting on his shiny gift. We headed over to his house when Wendy came bouncing down her front steps.

  “Hey guys. Merry Christmas. Thank you for the pen with the pink ink, Alex. I’ll keep it in my room forever.”

  “Use the pen, Wendy. If it runs out of ink, I’ll buy you another one for your birthday.”

  Wendy shook her head and gave me that face she makes when I did something wrong but didn’t know what.

  “That color is so yesterday. Don’t you know that purple is my favorite color.”

  I looked at Bruce. He shrugged.

  “Purple? Wendy, ever since I’ve known you, pink was everything. Pink, pink, pink!”

  “Boys are so stupid, Alex Schuler. Next year we will be in high school. I am thirteen, which is practically a real teenager. My mother told me when I graduate middle school; she will allow me to get my ears pierced. Grandmum gave me the cutest purple earrings for Christmas. I have decided that purple is the adult color of pink. It’s my new favorite color.”

  Bruce and I looked at each other. “Wendy,” I said, “purple is red mixed with blue. If you want a bright purple you add white. Don’t you remember that from art class last year when we did the color wheel? Pink is not baby purple.”

  “Oh, what does a color wheel know, Alex? I still love the color pink. It’s my second favorite color of all time, but I have to think like a high school girl now. In five months, I will be wearing my new special earrings and soon after that, Lip Gloss. Grandmum Joan told me that I’m becoming a woman of the world.”

  I began to think that Star made more sense than Wendy did. At least Star was a woman of the universe and not the world. I didn’t want to be Alex of the galaxy. I had a hard enough time being Alex of Ewing Township.

  Bruce invited us inside his house. He showed me all the dumb shirts and sweaters he got too. The bike was his only good gift. It was cool though. We watched television. Bruce’s mom said she would feed us, but Wendy wouldn’t stop talking about how she was super mature because she had earrings that weren’t clip on. I never knew how Bruce could listen to her babble on most days. She was getting on my nerves, so I left.

  The snow was melting fast. The sky turned from gray to a soft blue. The clouds were puffy, not snow clouds. A man was standing at the edge of the street. It wasn’t President Arthur. I didn’t recognize the man holding a handkerchief to his nose. He was losing his hair in the front of his head but what hair he did have parted in the middle. It was as silver as grandpa’s but hung way over his shirt collar in the back. He blew his nose and slid his hanky into his coat pocket.

  He greeted me as I reached the street to turn for home. “Greetings, Alex. Do not be alarmed. My name is President James K. Polk. I am the eleventh man to hold the title of President of the United States at your service. And before you ask, the K stands for Knox.”

  “Hello, Mr. President. Did Sam Wilson send you?”

  “Why yes, he did. Mr. Wilson stated that you are a quick learner. He asked me to speak with you about our expansion to the west. I overheard that young woman earlier telling you how she wants to travel the world. I am the President who pushed the expansion of our country from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.”

  “Whaddya mean? California wasn’t a state when you were President?”

  “California?” James asked. “One of my first acts as President was to grant Texas statehood. This angered the Mexican government. I offered to purchase the land west for more than $20,000,000. The Mexican officials refused my offer. The Mexicans should have realized that I would never allow any European or Asian nations to capture or purchase the remaining land between Texas and the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, the United States and Mexico went to war over the territory.”

  We started walking towards home. James blew his nose again. His face was pale with a runny nose. He sniffled a lot. “Did you send somebody out there to go all Rambo on the Mexicans?” I asked.

  “All what? No. I made an agreement with General Santa Anna who was deposed the leader of Mexico. I gained him safe passage back to Mexico with the understanding he would negotiate peace and Mexico would offer the western territories to America. Once back in Mexico, the general went back on his word. He attacked us from the south. Our forces beat him back all the way to Mexico City. Some in Congress wanted me to annex all of Mexico. I refused. We came to an agreement with Mexico where our annexation of Texas was no longer disputed nor was our annexation of the western lands to the Pacific upwards to Canada.”

  “That’s awesome. So you got all the land for nothing?”

  “War is never nothing, Alex. We lost close to twenty thousand American soldiers along with the enormous cost of the war. The United States paid Mexico $15,000,000 for over 1.2 million acres of land. The agreement with Mexico came with a cost to me as well. The Whigs nominated my own general, Zachary Taylor to run against my party, the Democrats in the upcoming presidential election. The general is an honorable man. He refuses to speak poorly of me, or the war. I heartily rejoice my term is so near its close.”

  We continued to walk towards my house. I pulled down the zipper on my jacket. The sun was warming the day and my face. Mr. Polk was coughing. I asked him if he wanted to rest. He refused.

  “I don’t feel my best, Alex, but it will pass. As a youngster, I was often ill. You would never know it, but I was the youngest man to become President at the time my term began. However, I was not new to politics. My first election to the House of Representatives came when I was twenty-nine years young. One of the reasons for wanting to be a member of Congress was because a close friend, Andrew Jackson, won the popular vote but didn’t garner enough votes in the Electoral College. I want the Electoral College abolished.”

  “Yeah President Jackson told me he got ripped off, but he got to be president in the next election. I read where you did lots of good stuff as President and stayed busy, Mr. President, but I don’t remember reading about you ditching the Electoral College.”

  Polk slowed his pace. “No President who performs his duties faithfully and conscientiously can have any leisure. During my time, we started the Naval Academy and the Smithsonian Institution. We broke ground on the Washington Memorial and issued the first postage stamps. We avoided war with Britain and negotiated to make the 49th parallel the border from the Oregon territory with the lands to the north.”

  “Oh, no wonder the border with Canada is almost a straight line.”

  President Polk smiled. “My legacy will be joining this great land from one ocean to the next. My own party, the Democrats, were not always pleased with me, yet neither were opposing party, the Whigs. I must have done something right for this nation.”

  “My history teacher Mr. Weadon never told us all the good stuff you did. I read a lot about you from your notes. You wrote that you were the first President to have his picture taken while President. Plus, the song I hear when the President is introduced ‘Hail to the Chief’ started when you were the boss. That must have been super cool to have your own song.”

  President Polk stopped walking. “I need to rest, Alex. It was my deepest honor to have served this nation. I took power with one guiding principle. The Chief M
agistrate must almost of necessity be chosen by a party and stand pledged to its principles and measures, yet in his official action he should not be President of a party only, but of the whole people of the United States.”

  “My friend Wendy told me she wants to be the boss of everyone. I don’t think the president is the boss of the people but should represent all the people of the United States. President Lincoln once said ‘We are a government of the people, by the people and for the people.’ I am starting to understand now.”

  President James Knox Polk smiled at me. “Sam Wilson told me you were the one, Alex. I believe he is correct in his assessment. However, brush up on your history, there has yet to be a President Lincoln. You must be confused. It was my pleasure to tell you my story. Be well, my young friend.”

  “Go see the doctor for that cough, and have Sam Wilson catch you up with your history, Mr. President.”

  ~~~*~~~

  Chapter Nineteen