I thought we were going to go straight to that park, but apparently the water is too shallow to unload the obelisk near there. So instead, we docked at an island called Staten. I guess we are going to take the obelisk off The Dessoug here & move it to another boat that can travel in shallower water.
There was a welcoming committee to greet us on the Staten island. Well, they were there to greet Commander Gorringe, anyway. Visitors were allowed on the Dessoug, & it looked like thousands of people came on to get a peek at the obelisk.
Everybody wanted to see the obelisk.
Before we got off the ship, Commander Gorringe pulled me aside again. I thought he was going to give me more money, or maybe take back the 5 dollars he gave me last week. But it was neither of those things. He offered me a job!
Commander Gorringe told me that some of the men he had hired in Egypt had already deserted. He also said bringing the obelisk across the ocean was only the beginning of his work. Now he would need a strong team of men to help him tow the obelisk up the river, bring it ashore, drag it halfway across the island of Manhattan, & stand it up in Central Park. & he needs a smart young man like me to help. That is what he called me—a smart young man.
He said it might take the rest of the year to finish. The pay would be 9 dollars a week plus room & board. That is pretty good wages.
I thought about it. The rest of the year is five months. That’s a long time. Commander Gorringe is a good man & I would learn a lot working for him. But I decided to say no.
“Thank you,” I told him. “But if America is the land of opportunity, I am going to take my chances on it right now.”
“Good luck to you, Thomas,” he said as he shook my hand. “I know you won’t need it.”
“Good luck with the obelisk,” I told him.
I walked down the gangplank & headed...who knows where? I don’t know where my future will take me, but I am glad I got the chance to come to America & I am glad I was able to write about it & keep it in my memory forever. I am anxious to eat a stake dinner, & lots of hot dogs.
You know, I think my speling is a lot better now than it was when I started this diary.
Meanwhile, in the present day...
It was getting dark out. I looked at my mother and asked her, “Is all of this stuff true? Or did you just make it up? How do you know any of this stuff?”
“I have my secrets,” she replied.
My mother looked at her watch and shook her head. I knew she was going to say we had to leave if we wanted to catch the train back to New Jersey.
“You can’t stop now!” I told her. “What happened after Cleopatra’s Needle got to Staten Island? How did Gorringe get it here, in the middle of Central Park?”
“Do you really want to know?” Mom asked me.
“Yes!” I said. “Don’t leave me hanging!”
PART 5 I AM AN INVENTOR. THIS IS MY STORY.
(1879–1881)
Diary of Rebecca Watson, a girl in New York City who witnessed Cleopatra’s Needle being brought to Central Park
TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 1879
Dear Diary,
I have obelisk fever! Everybody does! I’ve never been so excited in my life!
Why am I excited, Diary? Well, some big news was announced today in The New York World newspaper. An ancient Egyptian obelisk called “Cleopatra’s Needle” is coming to New York City! Isn’t that wonderful?
It’s only fair, I think. London has an Egyptian obelisk. Paris has an Egyptian obelisk. We’re a big city too. New York should have an obelisk of our own.
I love everything to do with Egypt—the pyramids, the Sphinx, mummies. Maybe I’ll become an archeologist someday. Then I’ll go to Egypt and find the tomb of King Tut. It’s got to be there, hidden somewhere under the sand. It’s only a matter of time until somebody finds it.
But until then, I’ll get to see Cleopatra’s Needle because it’s coming here. I don’t know where they’re going to put it, and I don’t know when it will arrive. But I’ll make sure to be there when it does.
This is probably the biggest thing to happen around here since the Civil War ended and President Lincoln was tragically killed. That was almost fifteen years ago. I wasn’t even born yet, so of course I don’t remember. That’s why this is doubly exciting! Because this will be a happy occasion rather than such a sad one, the way it was when the President died.
I’m going to pester my parents so they’ll take me to see Cleopatra’s Needle when it arrives. I know what I can do! I’ll write a report for school about Cleopatra’s Needle. Yes! Then Mom and Dad will have to let me go see it. They love anything that’s educational.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 1879
I decided that I’m going to devote this diary to Cleopatra’s Needle coming to New York. I promise to write about it, Dear Diary, every day.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1880
Dear Diary,
I am sooooo sorry I haven’t written a word here in over five months. There hasn’t been anything in the news about Cleopatra’s Needle, so I haven’t had anything to write. But today is the start of a new year, and a new decade. I hope the obelisk will be here before the end of the year.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1880
