The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1922-12-30
Old Mendel Goes
to Rachel
By ERNEST LEVINE
70. 1927. Western Newspaper un.onJ

! AufEe Wub Ecdny uO IeuhUu WY oho
Aendel should continue i seventy
ave to push his cart laden with cheap
underwear along the streets OF the
East side. But the habits of life.
time are difficult. to eradicate, and
Nendel' had been doing 1t for thirty.
nvs years. ... r
He had come over from Poland In
the prime Of life. determined to make
. fortune and then send foEs his wife.
Rachel They had been m9rried ten
years. and, though they ha3 no chill
dren. they had always BEEN happy
together. since they first became sweet
hearts Ms u boy and girl.
Mcndel had not proSpered at first.
II had taken him two years In
sweatshop to save up enough money
to acquire a pushcart, and then the
saving up for the steamship fare was
. slow process. At last, however, he
was able to send the money.
A letter came back incloslng 1t.
Rachel had died Of typhus about the
time Mendel was buying the draft OH
the Warsaw bank.
She had died, fancying that he was
| standing beside her bed. and that same
night Mendel had had such strange
| dream Of her.
He had dreamed he was home. but
In . strange house and holding Rach-
els hand, and she had told him that
she could, not come over Immediately.
hut that she would come soon and
all would be well. -
/ lol sJuw hx- tl,.a u
For . week he did something that no
selffespecting Jew would think OF do
Ing; he gOi drunk. Then he was found
In Hester street with his pushcart
again.
Time passed. The neighbors who
had pltled him. began to look askance
at him. "Why doesn't Mendel get
married aRninr' they asked. They
knew he had tidy sum put by.
Aendel did not marry again. and
after a while he was accepted as
confirmed old widower. And he was
growing old. 30 that the girls no long
~ looked at him. His hair whitened.
he let his beard grow long.
| Old Mendel had twelve thousand
cellars in the osnk. There WAS no
season why he should have continued
to push his cart. But every day he
was seen In the streets. calling his
| wares mechanically. Nobody bought
| Of Mendel, for all his goods were out
Of style. They only said, "There goes
Old Mendel!"
Old MendeI loved the streets. the
swarming children. for whom he had
q pat on the head, and sometimes
penny. He loved the sights and smells
Of the East side. 1t was his life. It
vas the life to which he had meant
to bring Rachel. He often fancied
that she was with him. sometimes
people would hear him muttering, hut
they did not know he was talking to
her They only said. "Old Mendel's
getting queer"
The day was 30 bright and warm
Old Mendel sat down on a doorstep.
his pushcart standing in the road. The
policeman. who knew Old Mendcl.
| looked the other way when he saw
that Old Mendei was sleeping. Grad
ualiy the hum of conversation. the roar
| Of the trafic passed into dull mono
tone. and Old Nendel dreamed.
II was 20 vivid 4 dream that he might
have been living. He saw Rachel
standing before him with outstretched
arms and such sweet smile on her
face. And It waa not Rachel as she
would have been. not even as she had
been when they kissed each other
good-by before he sailed. but Rachel
a. she was when he first conrted her.
And the nrst thought that came to
Old MendeI was, II am too old. Why
hasn't she changed In all these years?"
But Rachel kissed him and said. TITS
been q long waiting for you. my dear,
but I've managed to come at last"
Nendel forgot that II was dream.
God bless you. Racheli' he said. "Tm
going to take such q nice apartment
for contour rooms and a bath. And
I've got twelve thousand saved up. so
We can buy our furniture outright.
But dreamed you were dead. md I've
been 10 unhappy"
There's no such thing as death, my
dear" she answered smIIingly. Here
I've been walking up and down Hester
street beside you for years, trying to
talk to you, and sometimes you an.
swsred me. but you were never quite
sure It was l."
Nendel remembered that he Ind
fallen asleep. Promise me that this
isn't ., dream!'' he pleaded. Have
700 really come back to me forever
Forever and ever" answered Raci-
ei softly, as she drew his mead down
to her breast. ~
The policeman, returning on his ia.
troll glanced at Mendel ngnin. ''rhe
old .pan's having long sleep" he
thonght.. He crossed the road md
touched him lightly on the shoulder.
Hey, Mendel. wake up!' he said.
Time to 90 home for supper. Y
mustn't leave your cart standing in