Division Street: Tom Kearney + Dennis Hart

Both of these stories demonstrate an interesting view on life in America during the early 1980s. These accounts come from ordinary people with extraordinary observational skills who were able to fully capture the wide range of emotions felt by common Americans at the time.

Tom Kearney, a policeman for 23 years, recalls his life as a serviceman as a rewarding one. Kearney's attitude growing up was that someone had to be a policeman, so why not him? Growing up in Chicago, Kearney had grown accustomed to the various niches that were occupied by the residents of the city. His father was a fireman, working hard everyday for very little pay. He recalls the people of the hunger marches, charged at by the police. He remembers the men in line for their newspapers, the Poles, Slavs, Irishmen, Italians, and Jews who all inhabited the streets on which he lived. One good lesson he learned was at the Church where he was instructed by nuns and was learned alongside African-Americans. He learned that some things in life will inevitably be faced, so you might as well get used to them. This lesson is often forgot later in life, as people go to great lengths to avoid inevitable discomfort. Kearney learned this lesson at a young age and thus grew up embracing life as opposed to hiding from it.

The second story comes from Dennis Hart, a cabdriver who has dedicated his life towards never living a dull moment. One immediately can tell the attitude he carries when he describes the way he would like to die. He says, “If I could die on some battlefield someplace, doing something good, I feel my life would be worthwhile. I want my death to be worth something” (237). Hart’s experiences in life really show that he was determined to live the way he felt an American should live. Being an American, he felt that he should take advantage of every right granted to him. He says, “An individual should stand for more than a handout. This is the way America is. You fight for what you get, and once you get it, you hold on to it: your pride, your bread and butter, and what not. . . . Freedom is the most important thing in your life” (238). Even as an ordinary man, with an ordinary job, Hart took advantage of every opportunity presented to him in order to live a life that he would not regret when it came time for him to pass away. Hart truly embodies what it means to be an American: living your life to the fullest because you can. Hart didn’t take his freedom as an American for granted and we can all learn by his example.