Introduction
My part in this story starts in 2006 when my mother died. My
brother, sister,
and I had a great relationship, and executing the will was very friendly. There was some
money to be divided, and we had to divide the personal items. We divided these in
terms of what they meant to each of us, rather than on what they could sell for.
g. added “Oxford comma” after sister as it was standard in 1904.
g. Delete very as
the word is overused.
g. Added comma
after us to separate the parenthetical expression
My brother was working with Habitat for Humanity, so he inherited all of my
father’s tools. He also inherited
my mother’s big diamond ring because he has a couple of daughters who might wear
them later.
g. Replaced got with inherited.
g. Replaced got with inherited.
My sister asked for the old Wurlitzer piano she learned to
play on. She also asked for some furniture.
All I wanted was the two boxes in the attic, which were
handed down from my mother’s father. I had seen these in the attic from the
time I was little, but nobody ever opened them, and we didn’t know what was in
them
.
This
year, I finally got around to looking inside. What I read kept me
enthralled through the night. Tom Colby emigrated from Ireland in 1904, and
this is his story. Tom became one of the top sales reps in the country, and he founded “Sales Team One”.
g. Added comma.
g. Added he.
g. Added quotes and
italiced.
g. Restructured sentence – original: Finally, this year, I got around to looking inside
Each day, Tom would write a page about his life in America.
I reckon there are about 10,000 pages in the boxes. I’m dedicating this book to
T. R. Colby, and to
all sales reps and sales managers.
g. Added comma.
Gary Thaller,
Editor
g. Italicized
Section after completing corrections
I only
this minute arrived at Ellis Island after sailing from Dublin, and I was
worried. Mom died on the voyage to America, and I didn’t know what would happen since I was only 14
years old. Would they let me into the United States, or would they send me
home? Would they place me in an orphanage? Would I even get a chance to live
the American Dream? I was scared, and thought about dodging the line and
sneaking off to New York City.
I had $50 in my pocket as everyone did. That was a requirement
back then to immigrate to the United States from Ireland.
Finally, I arrived at the front of the line and found I
didn’t need to worry. They stamped my papers and sent me on my way. Some nuns
with square faces stuck a banana in everyone’s hand for a snack. I wasn’t
hungry, so I stuck it in my pocket.
Mom told me that if I wanted to get wealthy, then I should go where the
wealthy people are. I found a group of men talking and asked them, “Where are
the wealthy people?” They laughed and made some jokes at my expense, but I
wasn’t giving up. I asked some more men and some old guy said, “If you want to
find the rich people, then go to Wall Street.” “Where’s Wall Street?” I asked.
He pointed in the general direction.
There was a colossal building with magnificent columns, and
someone told me it was the New York Stock Exchange. The cornerstone said it was
built last year.
On the streets around the building, men in cheap suits were
shouting at men in windows. They were shouting out names and prices, and others
would tell them if they were buying or selling. I asked what was going on, and was told this was
the “Curbstone Exchange.”
People were buying and
selling stocks, and they
were all trying to get rich.
How was I going to create wealth here? I put my hands in my
pockets, and found
the banana. I don’t know why, but I held the banana in the air and shouted,
“Banana, 10 cents!” A
guy near me grabbed the banana and stuck a dime in my hand. I looked at it in awe
and shed a tear when I saw the head of the Statue of Liberty on it.
On the way to Wall Street, I passed a grocery store with a
box of bananas out front. I
recalled bananas were 3 cents apiece. I ran back to get three bananas, and went
back to Wall Street to sell them.
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