Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2022 19:04:39 -0400 From: James Karvonen Subject: Song of the Lonesome Steel Rails - 2. 2. The thin middle aged lady wearing thick rimmed glasses looked across her desk at Bobby who stood there next to the officer that had arrested him, his wrists still cuffed behind his back. They were at the city jail house where Bobby was about to be processed in as a juvenile offender. "What's your name?" The lady coldly asked showing little to no emotion. She was behind her desk filling out the city jail's processing forms on Bobby. "Robert Rumph." Bobby solemnly answered. "How old are you?" "Eleven." "Birthdate?" "June 10, 1920.". "Current address?" "Ten Bolton Road, Middletown, New York." "Telephone number?" "DI-2-1418." "You understand what you have been arrested for?" Sniffling Bobby said, "Yes ma'am, robbery." A tear slithered down his soft downy cheek." "And what is your plea?" The lady asked. Choking back a sob Bobby said, "Guilty." "Alright Robert, the Circuit Judge will be here in three days to review your case. Until that time you will be held here at the Middletown jail house. Since you already pleaded guilty the Circuit Judge, the honorable C.W. Huff will decide your case then and give you the appropriate sentence that he will deem fair. Do you have any questions?" "Will my mother be able to visit me between now and the time the Circuit Judge get's here?" "She will be notified and will be allowed one visit too bring you anything that you might need until the judge hears your case. Any other questions?" "No ma'am." Bobby murmered solemnly. The two officers who had accompanied him to the jailhouse, walked him still in handcuffs down the stairs into the basement to the cell block where the cells were located. In Bobby's eyes the cell block was a dark dismal place. There were several other prisoners sitting alone in the cells waiting for the circuit judge to make his appearance to decide their fate When they saw Bobby, several of the prisoners started hooting and hollering. "Fresh chicken meat boys." One burly prisoner shouted. Then he started making kissing sounds. "Put the little one in my cell, I need someone to keep me warm at night!" Another prisoner shouted. Bobby tried to ignore all the shouting that was going on, but the noise became almost overwhelming. "I bet his asshole is tighter then a little girl's coochie!" "I sure would like to feel his hot wet mouth around my cock!" "You hungry boy, I have something for you!" A prisoner shouted from the cell that Bobby was being led by. And then much to Bobby's horror, the prisoner pulled down the front of his pants, exposing himself. He started waggling his thick brown floppy penis up and down just as Bobby was being led by his cell. And then the prisoner started laughing as if what he had just done as the funniest thing in all the world. "Put it back in your pants!" One of the policmen escorting Bobby shouted. He struck his tommy knocker hard against the metal bars of the offending prisoner's cell a couple of times. The cell Bobby was led to was at the end of the cellblock. It was about ten feet wide and perhaps twelve feet long. There was a narrow bed with a thin mattress against the stone wall. Only one wool blanket covered the mattress. There was a toilet, and sink at the far corner of the cell. And that was it. The cell that Bobby would be staying in until his appearance before the judge was one of the most depressing places Bobby had ever been too. The officer unlocked the barred door, then motioned Bobby in. "This will be your new home for a little while kid. That's what happens when you break the law." The officer said rather smuggly. Bobby stepped into the cell. With his back facing the two officers, one of the officers used a key to uncuff him. When he finished he stepped out of the cell then closed the door locking it. Without saying another word the two officers left leaving Bobby in a virtual hellhole. Bobby walked over to the bed and sat down. He could hear then other prisoners down the corrider talking and laughing. He felt sure that they were talking and laughing about him. There was nothing else for Bobby to do but sit there, or try to get some sleep which because of where he was at right now would be virtually impossible. So he just sat there and stared at the stone walls, listening to the banter and laughter of the other prisoners locked up in their cells. Those first twenty four hours in jail were the longest twenty four hours of Bobby's life. He cried some, tried to sleep some. The only positive thing about those first twenty four hours was that he was fed, two meals during that time. The food wasn't all that good, but at least he had something in his belly and didn't go hungry like he sometimes did living at home. "Hey kid!" One prisoner shouted at Bobby a day later from down the corrider. 'At first Bobby didn't answer him but the prisoner was persistent. "Hey kid! I'm talking to you!" The prisoner repeated. He sounded really mean. Finally Bobby answered in a high unchanged voice."Yeah!" "What you in the slammer for?" The prisoner shouted. He was about five cells down the corrider from his cell. Bobby didn't know whether to answer him or not. "I'm in for murder, probably going to get old sparky but I don't give a damn anymore, the bitch and her damn lover deserved to die, cheating on me like she done! So kid, who did you kill?" "I didn't kill anyone, I stold some food from the A&P grocery store downtown." "Is that all. And they locked you up for that?" "The store manager is pressing charges on me. I have to see the judge in a couple of days." "What Judge?" "The circuit Judge, Judge Huff." "Christ all mighty, you,ll probably end up at Pine Island Industrial School for boys until you turn eighteen. They call Judge Huff, the hanging judge. The bastard sent his own son to prison. What's your name anyway?" "Bobby Rumph" "Well they call me Bull. That's the only name I go by while I'm in the slammer! I don't tell anyone my real name and for future references you shouldn't tell anyone your real name either. How old are you anyway?" "Eleven, I'll be twelve in June." "You're about the same age that I was when I got arrested. They sent me too Pine Island where I spent six years. But my crime was a lot more severe then your crime, I burnt my neighbor's house down because the bastard killed my dog, Spot" "What's Pine Island like?" Bobby asked fearing the worst. There was that possibility that he could be sent there." "It's the worst place you ever want to be at. I don't want to scare you, but if you do get time at Pine Island, you need to know what that place is like." "Go ahead and tell me." "First of all, that place is run by a lot of queers and fairies who take advantage of young boys both physically and sexually, if you know what I mean. The guards will beat half to death for the slightest infraction, or if they like you they will fuck you so hard that you won't be able to sit down for a week. You gotta be prepared for that shit because that's how it is at Pine Island. You spend mornings and afternoons in either in a vocational program or educational program. When you're in education, you're lucky, because at least they will try to teach you something and the teachers will help you as much as they can. But when you're in the vocational program that's a whole different story. They will work you half to death, like slaves, in either the cabbage or corn fields, which stretch on for miles and miles and give you nothing for it other then a hard time. They do have a wood shop and a metal shop but only a few selected boys will participate in that program. But to get into those programs you'll have to give up your body and soul to those who have the power if you know what I mean. You'll live in a dorm with twenty nine other boys ranging from ages eight to seventeen They'll mix the ages up so it's not unusual for the older boys to take advantage of younger boys. Rape is a common everyday problem, so at your age you could end up being an older boy's bitch. If you don't want that to happen the one thing you need to learn before you learn anything else is how to fight. And when I say fight, I don't mean with just your fists. You need to learn how to fight and fight dirty with either a shank, a chair, a steel rod, anything else that could cause bodily harm. If you know how to fight then you would have a good chance surviving at Pine Island." "I'm not going to be anyone's bitch." Bobby said solemnly. "Good for you. Keep that attitude and if that's where they send you you'll have a good chance making it at Pine Island, if that's where they send you.The truth of the matter is, Pine Island is a place where they are suppose to rehabilitate juvenile offenders, but when you leave Pine Island, you usually leave worse off then you were when when you got to Pine Island. There is no rehabilitation whatsoever at Pine Island. It's a hellhole. That's probably one of the reasons why I am back in prison, and will probably get the electric chair when they finally send me to Sing Sing. So you wanted to know what Pine Island is like, well now you know. Since this is your first offense maybe Judge Huff will be lenient with you and give you probation. You better hope and pray that happens, because if you go to Pine Island you can kiss the rest of your life goodbye. Cause when you leave, you really will be a criminal. Well that's all I can tell you about Pine Island. Do you have any other questions before I take me a nap?" "Has anyone ever escaped from Pine Island?" Bobby asked. "Yes numerous times. But if you somehow do escape from Pine Island, you better leave the State of New York, because if they catch you, you'll end up getting even more time, possibly even staying there at the hellhole until you turn eighteen and become an adult. Bobby didn't know what to say. He couldn't imagine that a place like Pine Island actually existed. "Thank you for telling me about Pine Island. At least I now know what to expect it that's where the judge decides to send me." "Don't mention it kid. You're too young to be in a place like this anyway, but the more you know about Pine Island, the better off you'll be. I'll talk to you later if they don't ship me to Sing-Sing today, because that's where I'll be going once I leave this little hick city jail." Bobby never did get another chance to talk to Bull about Pine Island, because that night Bull was shipped to Sing-Sing prison on the Hudson River to be executed for double homicide sometimes within the not to distant future. On the third day of Bobby's incarceration Bobby's mother did come to visit him. She was allowed only fifteen minutes to be with him. Despite the catcalls and jeers from the other prisoners in the jailhouse who watched her come in, Bobby and his mother did their best to ignore them. They were both in tears when they met each other, seperated by iron bars on the cell's door. "Oh why Bobby why did you try to steal food from the grocery store?" Sniffling, Bobby answered saying, "I got tired ma, tired of sometimes going to bed hungry. I got tired eating boiled potatoes day in and day out, and that's it. I wanted to give you and my little brother some real food.That's why I did what I did. And to get us a decent meal I'll probably take that chance and do it again if they let me go home." "But hadn't I taught you better then that Bobby?" "You have ma, and I'm really sorry, but these are hard times. We have to survive ma until dad can send for us and move us to California to be with him." "And now you might end up going to reform school for who knows how long! Oh Bobby what am I going to do when you're gone." "If only dad would have moved us to California like he said he was going to do. We wouldn't be in this situation if he had done that." "I've been giving that a lot of thought and to be honest with you Bobby, I don't think he's going to do that Bobby. It's been three years since he left us. He should have found work by this time. And the last time he wrote us was over three months ago. He use to write to us at least twice a month.'I'm worried about him Bobby, and I'm worried about you." "If the judge puts me on probation and let's me go, I'm going to quit school and find work somewhere. I'm going to make sure we won't go hungry ever again" "Bobby you cannot do that, you're only eleven years old. You need you're education." "I'll be twelve in a couple of months, and a lot of my friends my age have quit school and are now working to support their families." Bobby protested. "But you're not going to do that son, so let's not even talk about that. You're going to stay in school and that's that!" His mother stated firmly." "But ma! "No if or buts about that. We will survive somehow, I promise you that, even if I have to take on three jobs." "But you've been so tired lately." As they were talking one of the jail guards appeared saying, "Ma'am you're fifteen minutes are up." "Alright, thank you." Then turning back to Bobby she said, "I'm going to have to go now, but I've brought you some clean clothes to put in when you have your court appearance in two days. I'll be there to give you all the support I can. Let's hope and pray that the judge will be lenient and just give you probation and nothing else." She handed Bobby some neatly folded clean clothes through the bars."I love you Bobby." She sniffed beginning to cry again. "And I love you ma. And don't worry, I'll be alright." When finally Bobby's mother was escorted out of the cellblock, Bobby sat down on his bunk and checked out the clothes his mother had brought from home for him. They were his Sunday clothes. At least when he appeared before the judge a couple of days from now he would look halfway decent. And then thinking about everything that had happened over the past four days and the possibility that he could end up at the Pine Island Industrial School and Farm for no telling how long, he laid down on his bunk and began to cry. He cried softly to himself because so much had happened to him over those past four days. He missed his mother, and his little brother Randy. And most of all Bobby missed being at home with his family. He continued to cry eventually crying himself to sleep. Two days later the jailers came for him. He was sound asleep when clattering of a Tommy knocker on the cells bars of his cell woke him up. "Get up and get dressed. Judge Huff is at the County Courthouse and will be reviewing your case sometimes today! So take a shit or a piss now because once we get you to the County Courthouse next door, you won't have that opportunity again until after the Judge reviews your case. No telling how long that will take. That will all depends on how many other cases he has to review today. Bobby sat up on his bed. He didn't know whether he was prepared for this or not, but he knew there could be no way around it. He mainly wanted to get this over with, and with any luck he hoped that the judge would be lenient with him. The small courtroom was half full. Bobby sat in front of Judge Huff waiting to hear what the Judge's verdict would be as far as his case was concerned. Looking over his shoulder he saw his mother sitting about two rows away. Already she was crying. Seeing his mother crying like she was doing causedr tears to well up in Bobby's eyes. "Bobby Rumph, will you please stand." Judge Huff began Trembling Bobby slowly stood up, choking back a sob. "You pleaded guilty to stealing food from the A&P grocery store on Broad Avenue and thirteenth street. As you already know the store manager has pressed charges against you, therefore I have no other choice but to use you as an example to discourage others from doing the same thing that you have done. In these hard times we just cannot walk into any place of business and take what we want to take without paying for it. Therefore my verdict is that you will be sentenced to three years of incarceration at Pine Island Industrial School for Boys located in Pine Island New York, the charge being theft by taking. Your sentence will start immediately. Do you have any questions?" Sobbing now, Bobby softly said, "No sir!" Hitting his gavel on his desk, Judge Huff said, "Case closed. Bailiff, please send me the next defendant." Two officers walked over to Bobby as he stood up. Standing on each side of him stand they slowly escorted him out of the courtroom. Just before leaving the courtroom, Bobby looked back over at his mother who was sobbing. Just before he was escorted out of the court room he called out, "Mama! I love you!" Bobby spent one more night in jail. It was the longest night of his life. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't fall asleep. He kept thinking about what Bull had told him about Pine Island, and now he had been sentence to three years at what Bull had described a hell hole that was another thing that weighed heavy on his mind. He wouldn't' see his mother or little brother Randy for at least three years. That fact hurt Bobby more then anything else. When Bobby finally was able to fall asleep, he tossed and turned consistently throughout the night. Early the next morning he was abruptly woken up by two transferring officers. He was given breakfast which he could hardly eat because of butterfly's in his stomach. When he finished what little breakfast that he could eat, he was told by one of the officers to get ready because within the hour he would be on the vehicle for immediate transfer to Pine Island Industrial School and Farm For Boys.......