Johnny Cade: A Memoir
Somewhere beyond this world,
there is a murky field
of dark, blurry faces, shrouded in shadow.
Only one face is clear
and stands out from the rest.
It is a boy with a nervous, suspicious look
and the expression of a little dark puppy
who has been kicked too many times.
This is Johnny Cade
and this is his story.
He did not have a good start in life.
Drunken, fighting, abusive parents—
are what he had to endure.
But he found solace:
The greasers, the outsiders,
the ones who lurk in the shadows
at the edge of town.
They adopted him as their pet.
He was everyone's younger brother.
They were the ones he went to
when his parents were too much to bear.
Dally—his hero—and Ponyboy and Darry
and Sodapop and Two-Bit and Steve.
They were the greasers—
and Johnny was one of them.
But one night everything changed.
The details are still muddled—
only blurry images come to mind:
A park bathed in moonlight;
a gurgling water fountain;
Ponyboy, with a strangled cry, fighting and resisting to no avail;
overwhelming feelings of desperation;
and then—a flash of a knife, a last pain-filled cry—
and it was all over.
They were forced on the run
hitching a ride
to the far-off countryside—Jay Mountain, Windrixville.
They lived as refugees,
with only cards, cigarettes, baloney, and books
to fill their lonely days.
Until Dally came to get him
and Johnny made his fateful decision,
announcing:
"We're goin' back and turn ourselves in."
But another twist came his way,
throwing Johnny off the track.
It was a fire—a huge, roaring, blazing fire—
a monster that would consume not only the church
but the children inside as well.
With Ponyboy leading the way, they charged in,
coughing, sobbing, stumbling, but determined.
They battled a storm of cinders and embers,
falling wood and smoke,
and endured it all for the kids.
And Johnny paid for his risk—
a scream echoed through what was left of the church
as a piece of timber snapped his spine,
and a flash of white-hot pain struck him
like a bolt of lightning.
Ponyboy and Dallas were not spared either.
They were rushed to the hospital
but everything had changed.
No longer did others look at them as hoodlums—
they were heroes now.
Their stories filled the pages of the newspapers
but fate still was not done with Johnny.
He was crippled—in serious condition.
His list of injuries was as high as the clouds:
a broken back, severe shock, and many third-degree burns.
His friends came to visit,
loaded with news:
"Pony and Darry are okay now… There'll be a big rumble… You're a hero now…"
But there was a new tone in their voice—
they feared his death.
Johnny feared death, too
and it was quickly approaching.
When it came,
flanked by Ponyboy and Dally,
it was silent,
and then broken only by Dally's voice.
Finally, Death held Johnny Cade in its unbreakable grip
and his soul left his body.
A last "Stay gold" floated in the air,
and then it, too, dissolved.
He died a gallant hero
remembered for his courage that night.
He died a treasured gang member
remembered not only as the pet
but as the glue that held everyone together.
Johnny Cade died,
but his memory will always live on.