Story and art copyright 1999, 2000 by Leigh Kimmel
The Workhouse War begins by introducing us to Nadine Darby, a young woman in Memphis Tennessee. Although she struggles mightily to be cheerful and make the best of her situation, she has many reasons to be unhappy. Orphaned as a small child, she has been raised by her grandmother. But a year ago her grandmother died suddenly, leaving her to the tender mercies of the child welfare system.
Her natural grief has been coupled by a series of unrelenting misfortunes. Her grandmother, a retired art teacher, had always encouraged Nadine's strong natural talent in the arts. Now that she is a "penniless orphan, dependent entirely upon the generosity of the State of Tennessee," as her current foster parents constantly remind her, such things are regarded as wasteful luxuries. Drawing has suddenly become a furtive activity to be done in stolen moments, and she carefully hides her sketchbook (a gift from her grandmother) in the bottom of her backpack so that the Wainwrights will not take it away from her.
Christmas is coming, but the holiday decorations only make it that much more difficult for Nadine to present a cheerful face to the world. Every bright ornament, every jolly greeting only seems to remind her of her own loss.
However, when chance offers her a few hours' escape from virtual slavery as an unpaid servant to the Wainwrights, she determines not to waste it. Determined to make the best use she can of this rare gift of a few hours while other obligations keep her foster parents out late, she walks down to the banks of the Mississippi River, deciding to sketch riverfront scenes.
As she nears the banks, she decides to crawl through a culvert in order to avoid going through brambles that could tear her winter coat and leave her in serious trouble with the miserly Wainwrights. Something about the culvert seems a bit strange, but she shrugs it off and sits down on a rock by the riverbank and opens her sketchbook.
She has finished several sketches when a brown pelican flies by. The sight brings back memories of happier days, when her grandmother would take her down to New Orleans to visit Uncle Hank for Christmas. Attention captured, Nadine follows the pelican's flight until it is blocked by a stand of trees. There she sees an even more striking sight -- an odd little man dressed in an old-fashioned frock coat and top hat, like a character out of a Dickens story.
All pictures on this page copyright 1999, 2000 by Leigh Kimmel, all rights reserved.
If you are interested in using these images on your webpage or in a publication, or would like to obtain the originals, please contact me.
I am currently accepting commissions for artwork. If your interested in having me do something, please contact me with information on what you want.
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This page last updated March 15, 2000
