My Inner Child

My two characters, Stepha and his little brother Vanya (In real life my father Stefan and uncle John), occur in all three of my novels.  I had no trouble developing both their personas since I sculpted theirs on mine.  Stepha's goal was acceptance by the village's older boys, while Vanya wanted nothing more than to win the admiration of his big brother.

Growing up in Rockdale in the late 1940's and early 50's, I experienced both boys' goals.

I was the youngest of the gang of children that caused havoc in my little village and I volunteered for any low level job that would earned me praise.  If it meant being a lookout for orchard raiders or the all-time catcher* in pickup baseball games, I would do it.  In the summer of 1949, my only claim to fame was being flattened at home plate without dropping the ball.  In Slogans: Our Children, Our Future, Stepha was desperate to be a member of the Brati gang as illustrated in this excerpt. 

* * *

Maksim fingered his budding chin hairs and pondered his most important decision of the day.  What would the great Lenin do?  Should he trust this youngster with the discovery?  Everyone else who knew was at least three years older than the pesky little sputnik.  To the Brati, as they wanted to be known, the secret should be shared by them―”the brothers”―and not with this little tag-along.  If the wrong ones found out―well that would never do.  True, Stepha was just seven summers and had a family but he was tough, very tough.  He stood up to wolves and kept his word about Old Rosina.  Toughness counted for much to the Brati―perhaps the only thing that really counted.

* * *

Andy, Donna and Me

Stepha's role required dual personalities.  In addition to his role as the youngest gang member, he was also a big brother who had to put up with a younger sibling.  While I didn't have a little brother, I did have a little sister, Donna.  As can seen in the above picture, Donna wasn't one to shy away from the rough and tumble world of boys.  But, like Vanya, she could be a problem and ditching her was often my main goal. 

* * *

“No.  You're too little,” Stepha said and pushed his brother away.

“You said if I went to school, I could go with you everywhere.”  Vanya screwed up his face.  “You lied.  I'll tell.”

Stepha bared his teeth and pulled Vanya to his face.  “You're not going.  And you better not tell, you little rat.  If you do…”  Stepha slid his finger across his throat.  “Just like Chornik, Vanya.  Just like Chornik.”

* * *

While I relied primarily on the my memory of boyhood interactions, I was also fortunate enough to have a pair of grandsons approximately the age of my characters.  The two provided me with real incidents on how Stepha and Vanya's roles may have played out.  

* * *

As always Stepha led and Vanya stayed a respectable two paces behind.  In a different lifetime they may have walked side-by-side, but years of war, exile and life without a father had made Stepha the man of the family and he was not about to relinquish his exalted role.  He was the man and Vanya was the child and as Glorious Chairman often stated, “That was that.”

 * * *

 

Stefa and his Great-Grandson

Vanya and his Great-Grandnephew

The two cousins' relationship fluctuated between best friends and thinly veiled tolerance echoing the relationship I attributed to their bygone male relatives. The boys' imagination and exuberance also reflected those from nearly a century ago and verified many of Stepha and Vanya's reactions  to the perils I presented.  In a side note: I could not find a photo of my grandsons without smiles.  It's a much different world today in many ways.

* All-time catcher was a baseball position invented to provide a spot for the player nobody wanted, usually me.  It meant I spent the entire game behind the plate shagging errant curve balls and sliders thrown by inept nine-year and ten-year olds.