Newsboys and Carousels

I have done Toni's Carousel Meme today..it is at the bottom.
I put a new post up at A Passing Storm with a caricature I finished today called Newsboy.
There is so much history about the children of the early generations of America and the hard work they did to help make the nation great.
The problem of homeless and delinquent boys on the streets was huge. In 1849 a cholera epidemic in St Louis killed 10 percent of the population leaving thousands of children orphaned. Most went on the streets.
Selling papers, running errands , working in sweat shops was their only choice. Many worked for criminals.
It has been a problem since long before Dickens wrote about it in his novels.
This little guy is my caricature of  a newsboy. The first is Daniele . He is a first generation American whose parents came from Italy.  He has melted chocolate eyes.
 The second is  a Jewish boy with King David's ruddy coloring.According to the Bible and Jewish remembrance, David was a red head with blue eyes.
David  is also a first generation American. His parents were born in Holland. Alternately, he is Irish or Scottish. You have to decide who you see in the caricatures.
Both boys support widowed mothers and siblings. (the kids insist on stories behind every drawing!!)
Of course this is one caricature , done two ways, each with their own alterations. Both little boys have auburn hair.. Only the skin tones and eye color differ and David has freckles to complete the ruddy look.

Newsboy Daniele

Newsboy David

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I am late but doing Toni's Creative Adventure tonight:
The Carousel Ride

Creative Adventures #11
1.   While on vacation the past two weeks, I took the time to visit an old amusement park that is now abandoned. Hearing what sounded like carousel music I decided to enter the park through the open gate and much to my surprise I see an old  Carousel happily spinning round and round while old band music plays from inside it. I see the ghosts of children from the past riding the horses and sitting in the carts that ring the carousel all around.
They are giggling and shouting and smiling. Children are racing all around and adults are watching , hovering close by some on benches, some strolling with carriages.

painting by Maurice Prendergast

Inside that park  are rides galore.There are hot dog stands, cotton candy, salt water taffy and wonderful places to sit and eat and watch all the fun.  There is something for everyone. A distinct embarrassment of riches.
A side show barker is hawking his wares somewhere in the park and you can hear the rushing whoosh of a roller coaster on the far side of the park.
On my left a Ferris wheel towers high over the park winking its red and  blue lights at us.


A couple stroll hand in hand near the carousel she's nibbling a candy apple. He seems proud to be with her. They look like they are in the first blush of young love.

2.   Waiting for the ride to stop I find myself wanting very much to ride  a certain black horse  whose front legs are 'prancing'. So, when it does finally stop,  I swing up into the red saddle and take the reins in hand. It has been a long, long time but I still remember.
The bell clangs.  "Final Call" and the music begins and the carousel jolts to a start.  You can hear the music from inside the giant merry-go-rounds center. And You can here it right HERE (opens in a separate window)

3.   Feeling like a kid again,   I close my eyes, smile and hum along with the music until I hear a clicking sound and look to see that a brass ring has popped out into the holder on the machine next to the merry-go-round.
I lean far out of my saddle as the carousel reels round and I  grab that brass ring. I laugh and the kids cheer. A winner!
This entitles me to another ride.. free!
But, no, wait. Hold on.. this is not brass, it's gold, shiny and new. I turn it over in my hand.  It says, "Life time pass".      Wow, I have hit the jackpot!

4.   Now, a little sad, I realize it was all in my imagination and leaving the park I think to myself  how much I will miss this place.  But as I walk a bit farther, another thought occurs to me.  "How do I know it was just imagination?" I look down into my hand to see a very real golden  ring entitling me to a lifetime of rides on that carousel. No, this isn't my imagination.  I turn back around and gaze at the park .. Oh how I want to be there for ever.
I hear the children back at the  park, their laughter and chatter joins with the carousel music and floats out of the park on a breeze. It is calling me... it really is.
I turn  around and run  back.  After all, the hot dog stand is open and there is cotton candy too. A bed and breakfast is there for me to me and I have this golden pass.
Opening the park gate, I know I will never leave again.
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone. "