The Blonde and the Bootlegger: A Percy Jackson story

The New York Sun

Piper P.O.V

The entire neighborhood either attended Beckendorf's funeral or dropped by at the reception to give their condolences. They placed flowers on his coffin which rested by the altar of the church, under his and Silena's wedding photograph and a plaque which read "Charles John Henry Beckendorf: 1905-1930."
A/N John Henry is an African-American folk hero. His legend says that he worked on the railroad, hammering a steel drill into rocks, and won a contest again a steam-powered hammer, only to die of heart failure afterwards. He is used as a symbol of human strength, endurance, and dignity which has been appropriated by both the labor movement and the civil rights movement.
Beckendorf didn't have any family in New York. He had been born in Georgia to dirt poor sharecroppers, who left him orphaned early in life. At age twenty, he left Georgia and moved north. In New York, he was well liked and respected by his neighbors, who were now all mourning his death.
During the funeral service, Silena dabbed her eyes with a black piping trimmed handkerchief.

Her mascara and black kohl eyeliner ran down her cheek. Inky drops of makeup stained both her pale cheeks and the snowy fabric of her hankie. Clarisse Rodriguez and I held her hand the entire time.
The three of us wore black dresses and cloche hats as was appropriate for mourning.