Jack Smith, What an Amazing Guy!

A Story by Tonya

Prologue

Have you ever heard stories about Kennicott? Maybe the one about my Uncle, Jack Smith and how he and his friend came to build this town.

Day One:

“Do you hear those polar bears, wolfs and eagles that room the outside? With the high pitched howls, the lowness of the polar bear's roar, and the swoop of the eagle as it glides down to grab a rainbow salmon. This place that my fellow friend and I found, will boom… we will move are families here immediately and then dig those holes… we owe our country this much… welcome to the 19th century… the century of amazing copper refreshment.”

Maybe the story of allowing Kennicott to be the town it is.

Day Two:

“Mr. Birch, I’ve got a mountain of copper up there. There’s so much of

the stuff sticking out of the ground that it looks like a green sheep pasture

in Ireland when the sun is shining at its best.

We need to take necessary precautions as usual; but the quicker we get men up here and build this town the faster we can contribute to the war, sir.

Please, Sir, this is necessary…”

Maybe the story of how Kennicott is a town... to something... to a weary place that my Uncle once told home.

Yes, my Uncle christen Kennecott as his home. He mine the rich ripe copper of the Kennecott with his fellow friends. The copper rig is fourteen-stories above the Kennicott Glacier. The town booming with families of the miners and the hard work everyone presents. .

That is the greatest part of my uncle's life but that's not why I am enthusiastic to my Uncle's life. I am enthusiastic to my Uncle because my Uncle maybe be dead but this voice inside my head is saying “My life is not over help me, Ryan, I am still on a rollercoaster that only you can stop.”

Jack never spoke any more than he thought I could handle. He is apperceiving that I would one day figure his message out and I did.

My Uncle Jack yearning for me to solve his rough hewn business in Kennecott, Alaska. So I did just that. I will solve my Uncle's mysteries.Here's my story of my journey to fight for my Uncle's peace in Kennecott, Alaska.

Chapter One

The R in Run

This 78-hour car ride from Maine, USA, is terrible. My legs are cramping and I have no one to talk to. Since that is the case you will hear me screaming at the top of my lungs to music I don't know. Me being an old country folk, I listen to country music but I got tired of country music. There's this song I found“Recovery” by James Arthur.. I don't care for the song but boy can he sing. Since James Arthur can sing and he is dude, I thought I should sing… I am by myself anyway.

As I look left and right because you know I'm driving… I see a man in a blue pickup truck, slowly roll down the window. Natural I did the same. It is a little creepy to be honest. But hey what's life without weirdness everywhere you go. He spoke out the window, “I love James Arthur. I am going to see him now actual.”

As they said that, I talk to myself “Why are they going to see James Arthur?” Well then they drove past like teenagers on the fourth of July and they had a bumper sticker with an autograph by James Arthur!! The sign said “ James Arthur's little brother for life”

I am now thirty minutes away from anchorage, Alaska. I have to hurry. I have 45 minutes before the plane leaves.
I made the plane.

This trip is not off to a good start. I just fell and hit my head on a step of the plane. The people who run the plane tried to send me back, but I refused.

“I spent this money to get to my destination, I am not getting off this plane.”

“Sir we don't think it's a good idea for be flying after hitting your head..”

“This is bushivic… I'm getting on this damn plane.”

“Sir we advise you not to..” with people behind me because I'm holding up the line.

People behind me yelling, “Just get on the d**n plane already. We need to be on time.”

Finally, the people let me get on the plane and guess what… The man who echos the loudest for me getting on the plane is the person I sit next to. What a great day journey this is going to be.

Hopefully, I will not have an encounter with this guy again.

The tour people finally left and I have the just of the town.

I'm starting my journey with my timeline of three weeks. I have everything to a T. For the first week I am going to stay in Jack's old house; the one that is at the end of the lot on the south side of town. It's a barn house and it's red just like the barn you see in any countryside. There are three bedrooms and one bathroom and a family room.

As I walk around I see photos my Uncle left behind. Three out of the six I see are very interesting. One is of a train as it goes through Kenicott, another is of my Uncle Jack and Uncle Clarence, and the third is an overview of the town. I have no idea where the overview is taken at.

I am very profound my Uncle had this type of setup of a house… it is very unusual for his time, as an old yeller.

The next thing to do on my list of things to do is to live like Jack would do. Put me in his shoes and try to strive for everything he did in his life. He strives so much that he never let anyone down. I went to the mines every day I introduce everyone there. There's no one there it's just my voice bouncing off the walls like the men did before my time.

I walk with a beat in my step, into that first mine and it is cold, damp, musty smelling. Not very comfortable to be honest and frankly I don't understand how people like Jack spent time in this awful mine.

Maybe it's because he saw the copper and the major potential this town has for the war effort.

Maybe because he felt the need to do exactly that he needs to get as much copper as possible in order to fulfill his promise to Mr. Birch.

Maybe there's more to this war story I need to dig into.

Maybe there is a family member in the war that took his place to go fight in the war for my uncle. Now my uncle is disabled a little bit so that maybe the reason why he didn't go to war. Every now and then his knee pops out of place and he grew up with a limp in his left leg. That doesn't really matter right now. Right now, I need to figure out how I'm going to spend twelve hours in this damp, dusty, musty smelling mine from all of the explosives they used back when this town is booming.

I went back to the south side of town to get a face mask I brought along as a just in case. You know how that is, don't you?

On my way back to the mine I hear my uncle jack again in my mind saying, “Great Job, Ryan you are closer than you think.”

Closer than what I think uncle are you crazy I just began my journey. I reach the mine again…

I hear a different voice “R-R-R-R-Ryan, enter-r-r-r upon your-r-r-r own will”

This voice has a high pitch echo, with stuttering on every r's.

I hear footsteps now. A physical man appears in the mine as I'm yelling, “Get out of my head your voice. Why are you in my head? Get out! Get Out!”

“ I can't R-R-Ryan, you need me, for-r-r your-r-self and uncle needs me just as much as you”

Jack “ He is right Ryan, you need him in order to lay me to rest”

The man that is just in the darkness of the mine said “Not you again”

“Hello who's there? I can't see you. Get out of my head you stupid voice…”

“ Look up R-R-Ryan”said the voice in Ryan's head. I glaze up and I see a black silhouette of a long obligated object, maybe a person, or a cart that my Uncle Jack used.

“Hello person, I sat next to on the plane. The one who yelled at you to get on the plane when you fell. Yep thats me Mr. H.A.Bateman”

“Mr. Bateman, how nice you see you again. The tour already left two days ago. Why are you still here?”

Mr. Bateman, “I can ask you the same thing, hey… I'm on a mission so get out of my way.”

“No problem Mr. Bateman”

“Leave this place before you mess everything I am trying to do… um…”

Ryan Interrupts, “My name is Ryan, Sir, it's Ryan”

“Well Ryan get out of my way, you're in my business. Ryan be gone”

Just like that I wasn't the only person who is left behind on this tour I supposedly went on. I have an idea… I should… I should…

As for this voice, get out of my head.“Ryan he can't, you need him” Jack says

¨R-R-Ryan, listen up boy! I don't car-r-re if you don't like. You my man, have me for-r-r a pur-r-rpose.”

“Who are you voice… I understand I need you. I still have no idea why I need you. Why do I need you?”

“You my fr-r-riend will know soon enough… listen to my voice who do you hear-r-r?”

“I'm listening, I'm listening. I can't grasp who you are.”

“Remember that time when I held you? You wer-r-re about one. You sat on my foot and you always told me to “Walk! Clarence Warren, Walk!”

“Uncle Clarence? Is that you? Oh boy! I am so glad to hear your voice again. I haven’t talked to you since that day, when I was one. What happened to you?”

“ Boy that's a lot of talking. I'm old and decr-r-repted. My end is like Jacks. Find what happens to Jack and you'll find Uncle Clarence too.”

That is the last time I heard from Uncle Clarence. I miss him so much. I bet you, you have nothing to compare this love to. Do you?