On one tempestuous morning of November, thirteen year old Arthur T. Owens took a brick from a crumbling building, and threw at an old man’s head…on purpose. This old man was James Patterson, also known as the “Junk Man” because he collected all sorts of garbage for who knows what reason. If it weren’t for the wind, Arthur’s bad aim, and the fact that the Junk Man moved at the right moment, he could have been killed, or at best, fatally injured. Instead James only broke his arm from the incident. He only threw the brick at James because of the hat James was wearing. Arthur’s dad recently passed away from an accident when he was drunk. He died instantaneously leaving his wife a wreck. The day Arthur threw the brick, she got rid of all her husband’s …show more content…
Arthur accepted and has to work every Saturday for four hours until he completes his one hundred twenty hours sentence. On his very first day of working, Arthur finally finds out the kind of job the Junk Man gave him. He has to find the seven most important things from the garbage. 1. Light bulbs 2. Tinfoil 3. Mirrors 4. Pieces of wood 5. Glass bottles 6. Coffee cans 7. Cardboard. He can’t believe it. He’s not working for the Junk Man, he’s becoming the Junk Man! He almost quits until he realizes how upset his mother will be and how long he’ll have to remain in juvenile detention. For many weeks, Arthur collects these random items until one day, he finds James Patterson in the garage and having a lot of trouble breathing. He’s taken to the hospital and discovers that the junk he’s been collecting is creating a masterpiece of heaven. For the rest of his probation, Arthur helps James work on it. Unfortunately, the Junk Man dies without finishing his art work. Arthur has to work hard to provide a safe new home for it and miraculously, the National Collection of Fine Arts in Washington was willing to keep it in storage until there was a space for it in the museum. Arthur couldn’t be