Harlem Renaissance Time Traveler's Diary

by Lashonda Beauregard

  He said, “I’ve got an apartment that I own that was left to me by my uncle. I don’t have anyone to rent it right now. You’re welcome to stay there until you figure out what’s going on.”

  I told Carl, "Thank you, but I hope my stay here won’t last for much longer. I have to get back to 1927."

  He said, “I’ll give you a ride. My truck is parked right over there.”

  We pulled up to a light blue house with a white fence.

  He said, “This is my house. The apartment I told you about is in the back, follow me.”

  He showed me to a small studio apartment. It had a bed, a table and chair, a desk, a two burner stove, a refrigerator, and a stand with a large black box on top of it.

  I said, “What’s that?”

  Carl said, “What?”

  I said, “What's that large black box that’s sitting on top of the table stand?”

  Carl said, “Oh that’s a television. Also known as a T.V."

  I was still puzzled

  I asked, “What’s a T.V.?”

  He said, “Oh, I’m sorry that’s right the T.V. hadn’t been invented yet back in your time. A television is something people watch at home for entertainment. You know how people go to see a movie at the theater for entertainment?”

  I said, “Yes.”

  He said, “Well a television is kind of like that only you can watch it at home. People still go to the movie theater to watch movies. I’m going to turn it on for you.”

  Carl picked up a small rectangular box and pointed it at this television thing. All of a sudden, the television came on.

  He said, “See? This is television. There are different channels that you can flip through to watch different shows and movies. It’s kind of like changing the stations on the radio.”

  He showed me how to change the channels on the T.V. and I was in awe. I had never seen anything like this before. I couldn’t believe I was watching television.

  Carl said, “This is the future. I know the apartment is small.”

  I told him, "Thank you."

  He said, “It looks as if that’s all the clothing you have. My son left some clothes in the closet. He’s away at college right now. You and him are about the same size. You’re welcome to try them out. I was about to donate them to the Goodwill. They’re old clothes that he doesn’t even wear anymore.”

  Once again I replied, "Thank you."

  He asked, "Are you hungry?"

  I answered, "Yes."

  Carl said, “There’s some food in the kitchen at my house. You’re welcome to eat.”

  I went into Carl’s house. It was a nice kitchen with of course a different style than I had ever seen before.

  He said, “We have steak, rice gravy, and sweet potatoes in the refrigerator. My wife Diane cooked yesterday. We had a good dinner. She flew out this morning for a business trip on the West coast.”

  I said, “This is a lot of food.”

  He said, “She tends to overcook sometimes. I guess she still isn’t used to our son being away at college. He plays college basketball. Here’s a photo of me and my wife Diane with our son Will.

  I said, “Wow he’s tall!”

  He replied, “Yes he is. They said it’s a good chance of him making it to professional basketball. Tell me about your family.”

  I said, “Well I’m not married, but I have a girlfriend named Lanna.”

  “She might be the one,” Carl said.

  I said, “I must admit I’ve never felt this way about anyone else. She's special. I wish I could hear her sweet voice right now. She just makes everything okay. I can’t wait to get back to her and look into her beautiful brown eyes. She’s also a very talented singer.”

  Carl said, “She definitely sounds like the one to me. I feel the same way about my Diane. It was love at first sight. Well, you seem like a nice young man West. I don’t know why you’re here, but I hope everything works out for you. I’m sure you want to get settled in?”

  I said, “Yes, thank you. It just feels like it’s been a long day already.”

  He said, “Well if you need anything else just let me know. There’s a lot of food left, feel free to take some back with you to the apartment.”

  I said, “I will and thank you once again.”

  I went back to the apartment. The first thing I wanted to do was take a shower. I found some clothes in the closet. Then I saw what looked like a radio on the shelf in the apartment. I turned it on and I began to flip through the stations. The music sure has changed since 1926. I turned on the T.V. and started to flip through the channels. It was nothing like I had ever seen before. The world, the people were different now. I was a long way from home. I wish I was back around my family, friends, and Lanna.

  As I laid in bed in that small apartment that night on New Year’s 2016, I started to wonder how and if I would ever make it back to 1927. There was a window next to the bed. I pulled the curtain back and looked out at the night sky. The moon and all the stars were out. A beautiful starry night sky in Harlem, the only thing that hadn’t changed.

  As I opened my eyes the next morning I was reminded that all that happened yesterday was not a dream. I was still here in 2016, and I still didn’t know why or even how.

  I heard a knock at the door. It was Carl.

  He said, “West are you awake? I’ve got some breakfast at the house if you want any.”

  I replied, “Okay I’ll be over in a few.”

  I walked over to the house. It smelled like eggs and bacon.

  Carl said, “Good morning. I cooked some eggs and bacon. There’s also some milk and orange juice in the refrigerator if you want any.”

  I walked over to the refrigerator and took out the milk.

  I said, “Did you want some milk, Carl?”

  He just replied, “No, I’m going to drink a cup of coffee.”

  I said, “The breakfast is good. Thank you.”

  Carl said, “You’re welcome. West I was thinking. I know that all your family members, friends, and everything are back in 1927, but you might have some family members here right now that you are the ancestor of.”

  I said, “Perhaps, maybe so. But Harlem’s so large. How would I go about finding that information out?”

  He said, “Maybe look in the phonebook. The newest way to look people up is through the computer.”

  I asked, “A what?”

  He answered, “A computer. It’s way after your time. I know you’ve never heard of a computer, because it wasn’t invented yet. Come on I’ll show you. We have one in the office next to the living room. This one is a desktop, but we also have a laptop over there.”

  I said, “I recognize this.”

  He said, “You do?”

  I said, “Yes. Yesterday I saw people sitting at tables in a café looking at these. That’s what that was? A computer? What exactly do people use these for besides typing?”

  Carl said, “Well people use computers for all sorts of things, like looking up information, presentations, sending email, communicating with other people, music, and movies too."

  I said, "You can watch a movie on something small like this without having to go to the movie theater?”

  He said, “Sure.”

  There was all of a sudden this loud ringing noise in the kitchen. It was coming from a small box on the kitchen counter. Carl walked towards it and picked it up and said, “Hello.”

  It appeared that this was some sort of strange telephone. As Carl was talking on it with what sounded like a co-worker, I wondered what type of phone was this. I had never seen anything like it.

  Carl said, “Okay I’ll see you at work bright and early tomorrow”, right before he put down this strange box.

  I guess he must have seen how confused I looked because he said, “I guess you’re wondering what this is? This is called a cell phone.”

  I said, “Cell phone? That’s a phone, I kind of got that part, but where is the wire?”

  He replied, �
�There is no wire for a cell phone, that’s the amazing part. You can take a cell phone with you wherever you go. You don’t have to go look for a payphone or any landline phone anymore. It’s convenient. You can make a call whenever you need to. I know it’s confusing and you’ve never seen this before.”

  I said, “Wow a phone without a wire or chord. I never would’ve thought of that.”

  Carl said, “It’s funny, the things we take for granted every day you seemed so amazed at. Well, let’s get back to the computer.”

  Carl spent part of the day teaching me about computers, cell phones, and what he called technology in general, which all seemed as far away from me as the man in the moon. Which was ironic, because when I happened to mention the moon, he told me how people had actually been there. A lot of things have happened in the world since 1926.

  Carl typed in something called google.

  I said, “What’s that?”

  He said, “We’re going to look to see if we can find any Barringtons in Harlem.”

  He typed in my last name, Barrington. He pulled up a Johnny Barrington.

  He said, “If the address online is correct, Johnny lives only a couple of miles or less from here.”

  I said, “Do you think he could be related to the same Barringtons that I was related to?”

  He said, “Well it’s worth a start. For all we know, he could be your great-grandson or nephew. There's actually a way I can look that up online as well.”

  I said, “Really?”

  Carl went to what he called one of those ancestry, family tree type of websites.

  He said, “West, it says right here that Johnny Barrington is your great-grandson.”

  I said, “Great-grandson?”

  Carl replied, “Yes, you have a great-grandson West.”

  I was in shock. Here I was years away in 2016 hearing that I have a great-grandson. This was all getting stranger and more unreal by the minute.

  I said, “I have family here.”

  Carl said, “Maybe you should go talk to him. He may be the only family member you have left. Maybe he could let you know about the rest of your family. Maybe help you figure out why you’re here. I mean there’s got to be a reason why you’re here.”

  I said, “You’re right, things are crazy. I went to sleep in 1926, and I woke up in 2016. The day before that I had witnessed a murder.”

  Carl said, “You witnessed a murder?”

  I said, “Yes. I was still in shock over that, now I’ve got bigger problems. I’ve got to get back to 1927, but I don’t know how.”

  Carl said, “Well, talking to a family member may make you feel not so far from home West. You know what I mean?”

  I said, “Well I guess. After all, I’ve got nothing to lose.”

  Carl said, “You know not everyone gets a second chance, that's if you make it back, which I hope you will. Would you like me to drive you by Johnny’s house? I have the address right here. Are you familiar with that street or area?”

  I said, “Yes, I am. Thanks, but I think a nice long walk on the way may do me some good.”

  I walked a little over a mile before I got to the street listed in the address online. I saw a nice little white house with a porch. As I began to walk through the white fence, I felt this feeling of nervousness come over me. If this was the right address and Johnny Barrington was here, how would I tell him that I was his great-grandfather from the past? He probably wouldn’t believe me. He would probably think I was just some crazy person. Even though I was nervous about going to talk to Johnny, deep down inside I felt like I had to do it.

  I make it to the porch of the house then I arrived at the front door of the house. I thought, well here goes as I reached out my hand to ring the doorbell. At about the same time I could feel the cold January wind get to me more now than on my walk there. After I rang the doorbell I began to feel that nervous feeling even more. My heart was pounding out of my chest as I heard what sounded like someone unlocking the door.

  The door finally opened. A young man, who appeared to be in his twenties opened the door.

  He said, “Hello how are you? Can I help you with something?”

  I said, “Hello, I’m looking for Johnny Barrington.”

  The young man replied, “Well, I’m Johnny Barrington. Are you here about the piano lessons? I’m an assistant band director, but I teach piano lessons part time.”

  I said, “I’m a music person myself, but that’s not why I’m here Johnny.”

  Johnny replied, “So why are you here?”

  I said, “I believe I may be related to you Johnny.”

  Johnny said, “Related to me? How?”

  I said, “My name is West Barrington.”

  Johnny said, “I’ve heard of a West Barrington. I was told that he was my great-grandfather.”

  I said, “Johnny, I’m West Barrington.”

  Johnny said, “You’re kidding, right?”

  I said, “No Johnny. I really am West Barrington.”

  He said, “I don’t know what kind of joke you’re trying to play, but I don’t think it’s funny.”

  I reached into my pocket. I pulled out my driver’s license and I handed it to Johnny.

  I said, “I’m West Barrington.”

  As Johnny took the driver’s license from my hand and saw that it was dated 1926, this shocking look came across his face.

  He said, “No, this can’t be true. This can’t be real. That’s impossible. There’s no way this driver’s license could actually be from 1926.”

  He looked as if the wind was taken from him.

  Johnny said, “But you can’t be West Barrington, he died a long time ago. How did this happen? This just can’t be.”

  I said, “Johnny I told you I’m West Barrington. I’m from 1927 Harlem. I don’t know how or why I’m here, but I am.”

  Johnny looked as if he had seen a ghost. I guess in a way, he was seeing a ghost. Somehow I was here even though I actually was from years ago. What else was he to think? Logically, that would be the only way to explain why I was standing in front of him.

  Johnny was still in shock, confused. He began to step back as the expression on his face was still the expression of awe. As as his mouth was still opened with a shocked look on his face, he walked back into his home as he kind of fell back in his chair in the living room.

  As he was now sitting down in his chair he said, “There’s no way this is possible.”

  I said, “Johnny it is. I don’t know how.”

  He said, “Why are you here?”

  I said, "Not only don't I know how I got here, I also don't know why. I was hoping you would be able to help me."

  Johnny said, “How long have you been here in the future?”

  I replied, “Since yesterday. I fell asleep at my piano the other night at the nightclub. When I woke up I was no longer at the nightclub in 1927. I fell asleep on New Year’s Eve of 1926, but I woke up in 2016."

  Johnny was still puzzled and in shock.

  He said, “But that makes no sense. Why are you here now? Why so far into the future?”

  I said, “I don’t know why I’m here Johnny. I don’t know how or even if I’ll ever be able to get back.”

  Johnny said, “There’s got to be a reason why you ended up here. Why so far into the future? I mean, it’s just that 2016 is a long way from 1927.”

  I said, “I don’t know. You would actually have a better chance of knowing that than I would.”

  He said, “Something had to have happened for you to come here. You said you fell asleep at your piano and you woke up to 2016?”

  I said, “Yes, I did. I just don’t know how that happened.”

  Johnny said, “Something had to have happened before then to trigger all of this.”

  I said, “Actually, something did happen not long before I fell asleep at my piano and woke up to future. I witnessed a murder the day before that."

  Johnny said, “A murder? Maybe that’s it. May
be that could be one of the reasons why you’re here. That’s the only thing I could think of.”

  I said, “What would me witnessing a murder back in 1926 have to do with me being here in the future?”

  Johnny said, “I don’t know. What happened?”

  I said, “I saw Ron, a nightclub owner, get shot.”

  He said, “Who shot Ron?”

  I said, “Silk killed Ron.”

  Johnny said, Who’s Silk?”

  I said, “Silk Silky K. Turner. Silk is a bad, mafia type of guy. He’s a high-roller dangerous businessman.”

  Johnny said, “Does anyone know you saw Silk shoot Ron?”

  I said, “I don’t think so. Well, I didn’t see anyone on my way back to the nightclub after my walk."

  Johnny said, “So you think that this Silk guy doesn’t know either?”

  I said, “I don’t think they saw me, but if he finds out my life could be in danger. Well, that’s if I ever get back to 1927. So whether I’m here in the future or there I still have a problem.”

  He said, “Do you think you should tell someone? I mean, if you get back to 1927?”

  I said, “I don’t know Johnny. Silk’s not the type of person you would want to cross if you know what I mean. No one messes with Silk or his crew. I don’t even think anyone ever even stood up for themselves to Silk. Let alone tell on him for someone else. I actually saw Silk the last night I was in 1926 while I was performing with my band on stage.”

  Johnny said, “Did he look suspicious?”

  I said, “I actually looked away from him when he turned and looked towards the stage. I just saw him walking around the nightclub.”

  Johnny said, “You might have to tell someone when you get back. You could be the only witness in Ron’s murder.”

  I said, “I don’t know Johnny. I have to worry about getting back to 1927 first. I’m stuck here now. I’m supposed to go on a tour next week back in 1927 Harlem with Bobby J. Blues and his band.”

  Johnny said, “Did you say Bobby J. Blues?”

  I said, “Yes, why?”

  Johnny said, “That name sounds familiar. Was Bobby J. Blues a friend of yours?”

  I said, “Yes he is.”