Rufford Grabowski removed the thick eyeglasses from his balding head and placed them on the top of the antique roll-topped desk. He wiped his face with his bandana; doing his best to remove the sweat and dust from the creases in his face. He swiveled his chair around and stretched his long arms above his head and equally long legs out from his body in a near-horizontal position. He yawned. It was almost time. He did everything he could to prevent the incident, but he knew it would happen and folks would lose their lives. The rest was up to fate and he hoped it worked in his favor.
He tried to remember how long he’d been working. Could it be possible it was over 48 hours or was it a week, or longer? Once he got into a project he lost track of time. Funny thing about that since time was what he worked with. Manipulating it. Too bad he couldn’t do the same for his body. He was feeling aches on top of aches. He’d heat up some water and take a good hot soak. He would feel better then and he wanted to be alert when the action started. He didn’t want to miss the action.
As Rufford reclined in the old porcelain tub he thought back to when he was ten and he first began fiddling with his granddad’s ancient pocket watch. It was the man’s most prized possession; that, a gigantic history book and an old trunk. He idolized his grandpa, the only parent figure he ever knew. He had a photograph of the people Papajohn said were his parents, but as many times as he stared at it, he couldn’t garner any affection for them.
Papajohn was the one who provided for him. Papajohn was the person who showed him how to hammer a nail so it went in straight; was the one who took him rabbit hunting when he wasn’t even five; the one who taught him to read, to do math and showed him first hand about history and the world. He was the person who told him secrets and trusted that he had enough sense to keep them to himself. His granddad was the one who introduced him to traveling backwards in time.
“You see, Ruff, I’ve lived a lot longer that anyone you’ve met so far. No one but you really knows how long I’ve been around. My earliest memory was on Mr. Tom Jefferson’s inauguration day.”
Rufford listened as Papajohn told of that day. Twelve-year-old John Williams was there with his parents, standing with the dignitaries beside the flag draped stage as one of the country’s founders, the very author of the Declaration of Independence, accepted the office of the Presidency. “I remember the crowd and the cheering, then everything went blank and I woke up in a feather bed in a strange house with the watch in my hand. It was hot, but a moist breeze blew in the window cooling me off. I mostly remember the smell. It was of the ocean.”
“You had to be scared to death. What happened next?” Rufford questioned his grandfather. “Tell me everything.”
“I got up and put on the clothes laid out on my bed. I didn’t recognize them but they fit so I put the watch in a pocket and explored the house. No one was there, no sign of my parents or anyone else, but there was plenty of food. I wandered around the farm. The house was on a cotton farm with rows and rows of dried out cotton plants. I walked into the town. There was a beach and an ocean, nothing like I’d ever seen before but I recognized what it was from pictures. I asked every adult I saw where my parents were. They looked at me like I was crazy. The days went on like that. I cried, I threw things, and finally gave up, realizing I was alone in a strange world. The time was 1866 and I was in Galveston, Texas. I don’t know what happened to the missing years. I just know my life started over again. It was twenty years later when I found you. That changed my life forever and I’m grateful.”
Rufford climbed out of the tub refreshed. He always liked thinking about Papajohn. He dressed in fresh jeans and an oversized white cotton shirt and sandals. He rummaged through his cupboard gathering a stash of food. He ate standing up, drinking water from the hand pump. He gazed out the window at the gulf in the distance. He still lived on Papajohn’s farm, the only home he’d ever known. He knew he could update the place but he preferred living simply. He knew everyone thought he was weird, probably was a fact that he was, but this way no one bothered him. He made a living doing odd jobs all paid in cash. He didn’t have a social security number or a bank account, didn’t own a computer but did use the ones at the library.
Rufford’s first trip backwards happened by accident. Being a curious kid, he hid in the trunk in Papajohn’s workshop hoping to eavesdrop on his grandpa. When he peeked out he was no longer in the workshop but was in the corner of an ornate office. His grandfather was talking to a tall redheaded man, dressed in a long coat and short pants, who was pacing the floor. The boy listened quietly, unseen by the two men.
“Yes, sir, I understand it’s difficult to realize your own Vice President, Aaron Burr himself, is organizing a military expedition against Spanish possessions, but it is true. I have this from very accurate sources and can prove all that I have told you. Burr plans to separate the western territories from the main states taking the side of Spain and Great Britain. I beg you Mr. President, please do all you can to stop Burr or we will certainly end in a war and will loose the union. You are the one person who might be able to turn the tide.”
Rufford watched as the man shook Papajohn’s hand, patted him on the back and left the room swearing to issue a proclamation that day to prevent the conspiring traitor from succeeding in his treasonous activities.
When his grandfather discovered the stowaway boy he was shocked, but not angry. He stuffed him back in the trunk and before Rufford could ask a single question the two were back, safe in the workshop.
That was the night Papajohn explained about the watch and his strange ability to travel in time, about how he tried to make a difference by using the knowledge in the history book. In this case, if Papajohn hadn’t warned President Jefferson, Burr’s plan would have succeeded.
Grandfather and grandson read the history book together. The book was revised and explained how Aaron Burr was arrested near New Orleans shortly after his visit with Thomas Jefferson but escaped to England. The war of 1812 resulted but the United States was victorious.
“Rufford, it could have been so much worse if Jefferson had not been ahead of the game. The western states were safe from Spain. Spain had to give up Florida which joined the union. I always did like Thomas Jefferson in spite of his apparent double standards. I am most pleased that his last written piece acknowledged that his greatest desire was that the blessings and security of self-government would finally, someday, be given to all of mankind.”
Through the years Rufford made many trips with his Grandpa. They met with several Native American groups and with various members of congress trying to negotiate a peace and fair distribution of land. They tried to prevent the passing of a Georgia law that prohibited the education of slaves but had no success. Some of their proudest moments were in the 1820’s when they helped establish the Underground Railroad. In 1832 they helped establish Oberlin College in Ohio that admitted Negros. They helped build a dam around a lake before a big flood happened in Alabama. If they hadn’t done that, hundreds of people would have died.
“No Papajohn, you can’t leave. We have lots more to accomplish together.”
“Rufford, I’m past tired and it’s time for you to take over. Maybe you can do something useful with all this firsthand experience. Maybe you’ll even learn to move forward in time.”
“Papa, I can’t do this alone. You have to stay and help me.”
On his twenty-fifth birthday Rufford’s grandfather left him. His grandpa died of what he told Rufford was old age. “Son, it’s your time to make a difference. The watch allowed me to be a part of history and live longer than most. Now it’s yours. I’ve had a great run. Change bad events when you can and don’t be disappointed when you can’t stop the inevitable."
That was years ago and now Rufford was tired. It was time for him to find a grandson, someone who could take over the family business. He knew he would find that person soon. He was traveling to Selma, Alabama tonight and there was a boy who would lose his parents. That boy was going to find a gold watch in his hand when he woke up tomorrow morning on the farm near the beach in Galveston.
***
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