The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA

In the summer of 1946, a 12-year-old white boy named Gabriel Haberlin lives in a town named Birdsong, about 75 miles from Charleston, South Carolina. He is an only child, and although his family isn’t wealthy, they are “a ways from being poor” (1). He recalls how his parents gave him a bicycle for his birthday, which led to him meeting Meriwether Hunter, a man who taught him the importance of trying “to see things through the eyes of someone else” (1).

The narrative shifts back in time to Gabriel’s 12th birthday, which falls on a Sunday, his father’s only day off work. The boy is elated with his birthday gift from his parents, a “brand-spanking new” blue and white Schwinn Autocycle Deluxe bicycle (3). He wishes that he could take a photograph of his mother, Agatha Haberlin, and his father, Jake Haberlin, to commemorate the joyful moment. Gabriel wants to show his bicycle to his best friend, Patrick, who lives across town. Jake gives him permission but tells him to be careful, and Agatha reminds him to be back home before supper because his relatives from Charleston are coming to celebrate his birthday.