Hope Is Gone But Relief Comes Soon

Hope Is Gone but Relief Comes Soon

By: Frederick Brown

Chapter 1: Just Like That

Just like that all of my hard work is gone down the drain. When I finally get my empire up and ready to take off, it is brought back down because there is no money. My name is Frederick Brown and I am a victim of the Great Depression.

A year ago I was sitting at home unemployed thinking to myself I always wanted to go into business. So I went the bank for a business loan. The teller at the back was willing to give me and my best friend Thomas a loan. He told us it would be there in a few months. A few months later like he said we received the loan. When I got the money I called up Thomas to tell him the news. I say, "Thomas, boy you aren't gone believe what came today. Wahoo wee fella we gone be some rich son of a guns after this here." "The check must have come today if so we need get on the job then" said Thomas. We always wanted to start our own country club and that is what we were going to do with the money. We wanted them all over the New York. When I asked Thomas what shall we call it he replied, "How bout Brown Bros. Country Club." He was always to be some like a brother to me. The next day we began plans for the club and we started work on it in May of 1928. We finished the club in the summer of 1929.

Since the club opened Thomas and me were generating thousands our first two months. Matter of fact we made enough to pay back the money to the bank. That was the first thing we did with our money and after that we opened a savings account to start on our next project. I always wanted a gym, so I began work on it as soon as possible. We began on the gym in August 29, 1929. Who knew the months to come would be the end of my dreams. October 29, 1929 the Stock Market crashed and the United States lost billions of dollars. It was the end of Thomas and me. We didn't know how we were going to recover. The workers who were working on the gym left because I wasn't able to pay them. I could pay our employees at the club so they left and we had to close down. "Its all down hill from here now", said Thomas. This was true we all were about to suffer the worse.

Chapter 2: What Now

What are we going to do now I asked Thomas? He didn't say anything; he just sat and stared into the sky. There are millions of people out there just like us, who no place to go I said to him. Then I asked him how long he thinks this would last. He still didn't reply. He just sat there like a knot on a log. Then he cried, "All of that don't matter, we lost everything. How is my wife going to take this? Man you are lucky you ain't married, then you would know what I'm talking bout.

I never knew he had it bad. But at the same time I know what he means. How we gone survive through this we got no job, no money, no nothing. What now, that was the question in my head. Then I looked at Thomas and told him come and let's get some to eat. We hopped into my brand new Ford Model-T and took off. I realized I needed gas so we went to the nearest gas station. When we got half way there we had seen the line to the station all the way up the street. I was like dang, because I wanted to know where these people were trying to go because everywhere is the same. The line was too long so went on to the Hamburger Shack to get something to eat. On our way into the restaurant I saw Bobby Joe Smith, one of my neighbors from my old neighborhood. He was at the cashier asking for something free to eat, so after we got our food I told Thomas to come on because I couldn't stand to see my people like this. We took our food and went to the park. On our way to the park my car stopped because I forgot to put some gas in it. So pulled over and ate lunch in the car. No gas so we had to walk home.

While we were walking we kept hearing people chant, "We Want Work" in the distance. So we kept on walking until we saw the people holding up picket signs with WWW on them in front of an office building. We didn't want to get involved so we went around them. As we were walking we got to talking about our future. Thomas asked me would we ever get our club back up in running. I told him I didn't know, but I sure did hope so. Opening that club has been our dream since we were young and I didn't want to see it leave like that. Two hours had passed and we were closing in on our side of town. Thomas lived in a house with his family and I lived in a penthouse suite in a hotel not far from Thomas. When we got to the hotel where I stayed I told Thomas I would see him tomorrow and we called it a night.

Chapter 3: No Place to Go

"What do you mean I can't live here anymore", I yelled at the manager of the hotel. "Go, get out" said the manager. I was kicked out of my home and now I have no place to go. I got my things and I was headed to Thomas's house because I knew he