Chuck Van Der Woodsen: A Short Story

Chuck van der Woodsen lives on the corner of 13th street. Not in a house, nor an apartment, but next to a dumpster on the sidewalk. His daily routine consisted of begging for spare change and rummaging through dumpsters for scraps. Barely making it by. Of course plenty of people walked past him everyday in the huge city of Chicago. Every once and awhile someone would generously throw a dollar or two in his tattered hat that he kept beside him. Other times they offered him something to eat. However, people usually kept their distance from him. Nobody ever stopped just to make conversation with Chuck. Afterall, who would want to talk to a dirty homeless man? Chuck’s dark brown hair was oily and unkempt as if he hadn’t known the pleasure of a shower or a comb in a while. His beard was grown in uneven patches along his jawline. His once green, now faded to a light grey, jacket covered his torn and sweat stained t-shirt underneath. He wore a pair of denim blue jeans that were shredded at the knees and rested just …show more content…
A black car was making it’s way down the highway. Something happened to where the car could not avoid hitting Chuck who was making his way through the busy road. The automobile, still going fast, came into contact with him. His life was about to change. A very forceful impact of the front bumper hit his legs and he was airborne. He rolled onto the car’s hood, smashing into the windshield. He crashed headfirst on the asphalt shattering onto the ground into an unnatural position. He was unconscious. A crowd gathered and cell phones clicked to life from those calling emergency services. Individuals started coordinating to direct traffic from the horrific scene. Strangers ran to assist Chuck. The EMTs arrived within seconds, as did the fire department, and police. The commotion and blocking of a major highway seemed to bother no one. Everyone was focused on helping