We shared a bond
His family was Russian
Hated as communists
My Grandfather was a Socialist
Both unpopular in the cold war
Added on my dad a abusive drunk
Ivan and I searched the abandoned houses
There were many in our neighborhood
Japanese and Germans sent to camps
We found coins hidden in the walls
Treasure left hidden behind
We picked beans, berries shared the booty
I had no idea how important for Ivan
We would take what we found to the local
Man who sold Real Estate man who was rich.
He would give us pennies on the dollar for the good stuff
One day we found a Japanese sword
Ivan would not sell it he said for protection
This was how I found out Ivan was homeless
He threaten some of his tormentors with the sword
When they went to talk to his parent the house was empty
His parents had returned to Russia
Ivan and I shared dreams of becoming Marines
The day Ivan died, there was some conjecture how old
Some said he was much older than he portrayed
Like I say he raced figure eight race cars for money
He also had a paper route and set pins at the bowling alley
One of the men he raced complained of his age
He had no birth certificate and no parents
He was fired from his job as a paperboy as being too old
Several nights he took his modified car and tore out Mailboxes
He had no windows in his car the mailbox was loosened
But for the bottom that was cemented and the mailbox came through
the window. I have bad dreams as I identified the head
Sadly at this point in his life I was his ownly family