Journal Entry #1 March 1st 1934

Lennie was a good man. Lennie was a friend of mine ever since his Aunt Clara died and I've been taking care of him since. He has the mind of a child but he is incredibly strong. Since The Great Depression hit, we left our farm because lennie had reportedly raped a girl but he was just petting her dress. We stayed in this bunk house and we met a couple of people there including this one crazy guy named Curley. Me, lennie, and this old guy named Candy moved into this farm and the first day there lennie killed someone. Lennie had broken Curley's wife's neck and when Curley found out about it, he tried to kill lennie. Lennie got away and me and lennie stayed in the woods for a little bit. I thought to myself that if anyone should kill lennie it should be his best friend. I got a luger that lennie stole from one of my friends had and shot lennie in the back of his head. I'm not proud of what I did. When I killed Lennie, The rest of the guy's came over and one of them invited me for a drink. I went with him. While he was driving me to the bar I had a lot of time to think about what I just did. I kept saying the words I shot my best friend I shot my best friend. Just then I felt sick and I asked my friend to pull over. I got out and threw up right next to where he was. I told him to take me home which he did immediately. When I got home, I went straight to my room and packed all my things. I got a box that I had kept for a year that had meant a lot to me. My friend came in and said "Where are you going" "I'm leaving California and starting a new life" I said. My friend looked confused and said "Why". I gave a sigh and said "Look at me, I killed my best friend, I have to leave, I'm going to start my dream of having an easy life, if lennie was alive, he would agree with me. My friend agreed with me and walked away. I meant what I said about following my dream and starting a new life. I left the farm and started walking down the trail. The only problem was I didn't know where to start.

Journal Entry #2 March 2nd 1934

When I was walking, I realized I only had $20 on me. Since the depression was going on I could only buy probably 3 things with the money I have so I decided to try and not spend a lot. When I had reached the hour mark of me walking, my legs started to feel like spaghetti so I decided to rest for a little bit. The sun was really starting to shine and I hoped that I didn't get a sunburn, which I succeeded at. When I started walking again, I saw a place that was selling oil and I saw an automobile. I had heard about them in the newspaper but I had never seen one in person. I walked towards the automobile and I started looking at it. The owner came over and said that he could tell that I was fascinated by it. I asked how he could afford it. He said that he owned a chain of grocery stores and he was in California checking on one of the stores. He looked at me and asked if I was a farmer, I replied and said that I was. He offered me a job working at a farm in Oklahoma and he would pay me some money if I sent some fruit and corn to his store and I would get my paycheck in the mail the second day I sent them. I couldn't say no.

Journal Entry #3 March 3rd 1934

The rich man offered to drive me to Oklahoma which I accepted. It took a while but when I got there it looked deserted. The only thing I could see was the house, the field, and the silo. The rich man had left me all the tools I needed and the seeds for the corn and all the fruits you could think of. I wanted to lie down for a little bit, but I wanted to get a head start on making money. I ran into problems on the first day. The first was that there was no tractor so I had to dig paths in the ground myself which took an hour. Then I found out that there weren't enough seeds so I had 5 yards full of corn growing. I also didn't have any cows to make fertilizer. So instead of saving up my money for an automobile, I have to spend my money on fertilizer at the general store. Also, some of the crops dried up because there wasn't enough water to spray the crops. After my first day was a bust, I made a promise to myself that the next time I see the rich man, I would kick him where the sun don't shine.

Journal Entry #4 March 4th 1934

Even though my first day went bad, I thought my second day would be a lot better because I knew what to do. I was sorely mistaken. The first day I got to the farm, I just kept my clothes in the suitcase but today when I wanted to hang up my clothes, there was no closet to put my stuff in and when I went to the bathroom, I turned on the faucet and it poured out clean water. I was relieved that one thing was working. But then the faucet started shaking and then mud started coming out of it. It went on like that for two minutes until it finally went clear again. When I went out to check on my crops, most of them were dried up so I decided to just start growing fruit instead for a little bit, but then the day got worse. I was halfway done planting the seeds into the grown when I saw a man running very fast up the hill and was headed straight for the farm. It looked like the man was being chased by a pack of wolves and I thought he was asking me if that he could hide out, but then when he started running towards me he started to slow down. He started talking and said "You have to stay in your house; the dust storm is coming, stay inside until the coast is clear". He ran off. I was a little confused about the dust storm he was talking about and thought that he was just crazy. I just ignored it and went back to the field. Then the sun started to get dimmer and I looked up and there was a huge dust cloud. It looked humongous. I ran inside like the man told me and closed all the doors and windows. I could see the dust going very fast outside. I had to stay in the house for an hour until it stopped. When it did stop, I went outside and the farm was covered with dust. The thing that I was worried about was the field and when I went over to it the crops were covered with dust and the seeds that I planted blew away. I dusted the dust off the corn and sent them to the grocery store. When I got back, I wanted to leave right now. But I knew all this hard labor would be worth it when I got my paycheck.

Journal Entry #5 March 5th 1934

I woke up today of the sounds of people trying to leave. When I looked outside there were ten automobiles and carriages leaving. I ran outside and I asked one of the people what was going on. He said that after the dust storm, people have been trying to leave and move up west. I walked back to the house and while I was walking back, I thought to myself and said that even though it was bad, I'm not going back to California. I know there are other states west like Oregon but I can't leave because I was going to make some money. Today I did my daily routine of buying fertilizer and saw a newspaper and the title was called "The Dust Bowl begins". The newspaper said that the dust bowl was the nickname for the giant dust storm and it was caused by the over plowing of crops. It also said that if two people were in the dust bowl and if you touched each other, one of the people would fall to the ground thanks to the static electricity. That's how powerful it was. I decided to buy the newspaper because I wanted to learn more about the dust bowl. I went home and read the newspaper and there were some stuff that didn't interest me but there was one thing that did interest me and it was this thing called the rabbit drive. The rabbit drive is these things were during the dust bowl, jackrabbits would come out and the point of the rabbit drive was to club the rabbits with baseball bats. I thought that if I could club a rabbit I could sell them for food. There was a dust storm later on the day so I decided to get a pipe (I didn't have a baseball bat) and went outside. I could barely see anything but with luck I found a jackrabbit. It was standing there and I had a clear shot. Then I started to think of Lennie and if he was alive, he probably would have beaten me up for clubbing a rabbit. I stood there for a long time with the rabbit still staring at me I put my pipe down. I couldn't do it. The dust finally started to vanish and I went inside. I read for a little bit then I got some mail and I knew it was my paycheck. I ran to the mailbox and opened it. There was only one letter in there and it was my paycheck. I opened it and it was empty. He lied to me. I felt like I wanted to smash the mailbox. What was I going to do with no money? I said to myself that's it I'm leaving. I packed my stuff and walked away. The sun was starting to go down and I was already 2 miles away from the farm and I wished that I had just slept there.

Journal Entry #6 March 6th 1934

I ended up sleeping on the road and it was painful. There were sometimes were automobiles driving by would wake me up and after that I had trouble sleeping. As soon as I got up I started walking and the only thing I could see was road and desert. There was barely anything that would pass by and I hoped there would be a town where I can stop to get some more food. The farm was very close to Texas and it took me awhile to find out that I was in Texas. I didn't know where to go, so I just headed east and end up in another state. I had walked two miles when I saw these towers painted in black. There must have been thousands of them. I saw these two men working at one of them and I approached them. When I asked what the towers were they said they're called spindle tops and they dig in the ground and spray out oil. They said they get paid a lot and I said if I could work for them but they said they weren't hiring. I was about to leave when I heard an eruption coming from one of the towers. The sound started to get higher and higher and then suddenly, oil came out of the top. The men were jumping up and down with joy. Then the stuff got all over us but the men were still celebrating. We were all covered in oil as if it looked like we swam in black paint. I pulled the two men away from the spindle top and I said how we get this stuff off. They said it was the first time they had struck oil and they didn't know how. I asked if there was a town where I could get this stuff off and they said there was a store a mile down the road. I ran down there so I couldn't have the oil on me for too long. It was very hot outside and the oil on me started to feel very uncomfortable. I started to see the town and I saw a general store which I ran into. When I got in I asked if they had a bathroom. They said they did. I ran to the bathroom and when I got in. I poured water all over my face and washed the oil off of me. When I got out, the people in the store started staring at me. The clerk asked me how I got the stuff all over me. I told him that I found a group of miners and they struck oil and they had no idea how to get it off. He then asked me where I was from and I told him that I was from California and how I met this guy who offered me a farm. He then asked me if he drove a car and the farm was in Oklahoma. I immediately said yes. He told that the rich man was a con man. He did own grocery stores and he pays the farmers not that much money. I was madder than ever. If I see the rich man again I'm going to do a lot worse than kick him where the suns don't shine.

Journal entry #7 March 7th 1934

I had woken up on a bed today and it was the first time I had slept on a bed in a while. I was leaving that day then I realized I should get some food. I got two apples, and a box of crackers. I had spent the rest of my money. It took me awhile to not see the town anymore because the town was so big. When I had already walked three miles, I had realized that my legs had gotten stronger thanks to the walking. I ended up walking about 5 miles today. In the middle of the walking I saw all of these cars driving by at lightning fast paste. I was wondering why people were driving so fast. I ended up walking one-hundred yards when the sun went dark. I knew what it was the second the sun went dark. I turned around and saw the dust storm. It looked higher than ever. I ran as fast as I could. I thought that since my legs were so strong, I thought that I could outrun it. I almost did until it caught up to me. When I slowed down, the dust was right on my heels. I decided to open my suitcase while I was running and get a cloth out to cover my mouth and nose. Once I did that, I stopped running. I closed my eyes when I was in the storm and so I couldn't see. I was waving my right hand in front of me so I could see where I was going and get off the road. I eventually did and I lied down and prayed it would stop. I was there for so long that I eventually fell asleep. When I woke up it was dusk outside and the only thing I could see was the horizon. I tried to find a place to stay quick and after a mile, I found a train stop. I went in and I didn't realize where I was going. I realized I would go where the train was going. I went to the front desk and he said it would be fifteen bucks. I didn't have any money so I said to him that he needed to support his family and so I decided to offer him the rest of my crackers and he should give them to his family. It worked. He gave me the train ticket and I waited for the train. The train finally came and I boarded. I got a seat all to myself. Halfway through the trip I realized where I was going. The most beautiful place in the world and where dreams come true: New York City.

Journal Entry #8 March 8th 1934

When I woke up, we were very close to New York. I thought about what I was going to do there. I thought to myself that I should try to grow corn again and sell them off the street for five cents or I could grow apple trees and sell apples. It was too late for me to decide when we got to New York. New York was everything you would expect to see. The fruit stands, the hot dog vendors, the bridges, the tall buildings and around every corner, some kids playing baseball with a tin can and a piece of wood. This city was really into baseball. There were lots of people lined up to see a Yankee's game to watch a famous baseball player named Babe Ruth who had broken a record for most home runs. He was one of very few people who was actually rich during the great depression. The first thing I was amazed by was how tall the buildings were. I knew there were buildings but I didn't expect them to be that tall. There were lots of people sitting on the sidewalk and were wearing clothes that looked like they hadn't been washed in weeks. There were also people who had fires going on that were in garbage cans. I was walking for awhile when I found a grocery store that had a room for sale. I went in and it looked very deserted. I went to the front desk and asked for the room they said it was $100 per night. I had forgotten that I didn't have any money on me so I made a deal with him that I would give him all the clothes in my suitcase because I was desperate. He stared at me like I was crazy but then he realized that he needed to support his family so he decided to take the clothes in my suitcase. I knew that I had to stay there for one night and find another place to stay tomorrow but I knew that luck would be on my side someday.

Journal Entry #9 March 9th 1934

The owner woke me up today and told me to get out and come back when I had some money. He wasn't taking anymore clothes. I left the store with me wearing the clothes from yesterday and wondered around New York. I've heard New York has a lot of places to go so I went to one place that is really famous: The Statue of Liberty. I could barely see it because it was very crowded and when I did see it, it was very far into the horizon. Next to The Statue of Liberty was Ellis Island. Ellis Island was this place where the immigrants checked in to live in New York. When I was wondering around, I saw this huge building called The Empire State Building. It was the tallest building in the world and it was brand new at the time. I went in and took an elevator to the top. When I got to the top, it was very crowded and the edges were covered with fences and barbed wire. I was amazed by how high up we were. When I was walking, I bumped into someone and it was this beautiful woman. She had blonde hair and red lips. She also wore boots with a pink dress. She said hi to me and said that my clothes were dirty. I replied by saying that this was my only pair. She introduced herself and said that her name was Marge and I said that my name was George. We talked for a very long time and she ended up inviting me to Coney Island where she likes to go a lot. I said that I would love to go and she said that I should be there at 6:00. When I was walking away, I turned around and I saw her starting to blush. I knew that I had impressed her. I arrived at Coney Island at exactly 6:00 and was very nervous. I found her by the Ferris wheel and we started talking for awhile. We talked about where we were from and I told her that I had a dream of owning a far. I also told her that I was in the dust storm and left Oklahoma. She told me to get on this rollercoaster she really liked called the "The Cyclone". I had never been on a roller coaster before. I went on it very scared but when it started moving, I didn't feel so scared. When we got off, we went to the dock and looked out at the orange sky. We just stared out the horizon then suddenly she turned her head to me and I turned my head to her. I leaned in and kissed her.

Journal Entry #10 March 10th 1934

Yesterday I slept on the concrete floor on the street but I didn't care, I was in love. I felt like everything in my life was perfect until I went to the general store today. I went in to check out the local newspaper when I saw something that almost made me cry. The article was called "Man and women found dead in California farm". I thought it was two other people who had died, but then it got worse. The article read, "A man was found dead in the woods with a hole in his head in California and right near the killing was a farm which housed a dead woman who looked like she had her neck broken. A man by the name of Curley told police that one of his friends went insane and killed his wife and his best friend. Curley told police "How could that man kill such a nice man, a man who had the mind of a child in fact. Then he killed my wife. If I find him, I'm gonna teach him a lesson". The killer has been identified as George Milton who left California the day he killed his friend. Recently, five new bodies have been found near the forest where Lennie was killed and the five men were also killed by George which Curley told us. Their names were: Candy, Carlson, Crooks, Whit, and Slim. There is a $2500 reward for who can find George alive or dead. (Bring in proof that he is dead).So keep your eyes peeled America". That backstabber. He must have been mad that I killed Lennie instead of him so he blamed me for killing his wife too. He also must have killed the rest of the guys to make sure they wouldn't tell police the truth. When I was done reading Marge came over to me and scared me. She said that she was looking all over for me and she said she wanted to invite me to dinner at her parents' house. I said that I'd love too and she gave me the address and what time I should be there. I made sure that I couldn't see her to hide. I started freaking out and I knew that Curley would be the first one to find me. Then I realized that I had to get off the street because probably everyone was trying to get that reward money. I hid in the grocery store bathroom and tried to calm down. I decide to sleep in the bathroom and then the manager woke me up. I walked over to Marge's house and I knocked on the door and her mom answered it. She said it was lovely to meet me and that she was making meatloaf for dinner. I sat down at the table to eat and then Marge came over and gave me a hug. Then her dad came in and shook my hand really hard. I tried to forget about me being in the newspaper when Marge's dad mentioned that his co-worker told him that he heard about this guy who killed his six best friends and his other friend's wife. I almost had a heart attack but it made it worse when he said that a lot of people are looking for that money. They mentioned that how murder was wrong and he should be punished. Luckily Marge's dad's friend didn't mention who the guy's name was. I ate the rest of my dinner and then I was about to leave when Marge said that I could stay here. I almost said no but I thought that Curley would have a better chance finding me in the streets. I slept on the couch and prayed to myself that the whole thing would be over fast.

Journal Entry #11 March 11th 1934

When I woke up today, it was very quiet. I looked around the house and Marge's parents must have left. I heard someone crying and I followed the sound. It was coming from Marge's room and I saw her crying while reading a newspaper. I knew I was in trouble. She saw me and grabbed a chair and held it in self defense. "You stay away from me George, I can't believe you killed them" Marge said. I tried to calm her down but when I tried to, she felt like she wanted to throw it at me. I tried to prove it to her that I didn't kill them. I went to my suitcase and got out that box I had kept for a year. I said to her that Lennie was my friend and I did kill him but I did it because it was out of love and that Curley wanted to shoot him and that's why Curley shot the rest of the guys because he wanted to blame it on me. Lennie killed Curley's wife because he was trying to calm her down. When I opened the box, it had a medical record of mine in it. I had it just in case if I ever got a job at a bank or something, they would see my medical records. It said on my medical records that I was not on the track of going insane. Maybe not my entire life. After I put the medical records in my box, Marge stared at me and then she hugged me. She started crying again and she said that she believed me and that she still loves me. She later said something that made me happy. She said that she wanted to live with me and she wanted to be a part of my dream of owning a farm. I asked that how are we going to get the money. She came up with an idea that she would bring in proof that I was dead and get the reward money. I thought that was a brilliant idea and I said that we should get started right away. I packed my things and she wrote a note to her parents. The note read "Dear Mom and Dad, I have decide to live with George. We are going to live on a farm and spend the rest of our lives there. This is what I want to do with my life sincerely Marge". She packed her things to and we left. I had to hide somewhere so I wouldn't be seen. She took my stuff that I didn't need like my hat and my jacket. She took it to the police station. It worked. We got the money and got a ticket for a train and the train was headed to the country side of New York. I knew that things were gonna work out.

Journal Entry #12 May 9th 1960

I know it's been a while since I wrote in this journal. It's because I've been so busy lately. I'll just tell you what I've been up to. Me and Marge own an apple tree farm in the country side of New York and we ended up getting married at the farm. We have two beautiful boys and they're at Harvard now. In 1941, I ended up fighting in World War 2 and it was awful. People were dying left and right and I missed home. While there someone who was part of my platoon was Curley. When I saw him I ran towards him and punched him in the face several times. The other men tried to pull me back, but I wasn't letting them. When I was done, Curley looked like his face was hit by a train. When he got up, he looked at me and tried to punch me. He wasn't very good after I punched him. He walked away to the surgical tent and I was yelled at by the lieutenant but I didn't care. When I got home from the war, Marge had told me that she had worked in the factories making weapons. I spent the rest of that time up to today working at the farm. My kids are the happiest thing that has ever happened to me and since they are gone and my shift is over for today, I decide to write in the journal. I found it in the attic. I put it there me and Marge moved in on March 11th 1934. I'm in my fifties now and let me say something, I Lennie was alive and he saw me marrying a beautiful woman and he saw me living my dream of owning a farm, I'm pretty sure he would be happier than ever.