January 1
My friends,
There is very little fact known about Langston J. Cartwrightt and the story I am about to tell you is probably more fiction entwined with fact than fact entwined with fiction, so take what you read with a grain of salt. With all speculation set aside, I give you the story of Langston J. Cartwrightt:
Langston J. Cartwrightt was born sometime in the mid-to-late 1700's to Amith Brunwick, the name of Cartwrightt's father is unknown, other than the fact that his last name was Cartwrightt. It is believed he was born in the state of Vermont but after his birth moved to Philadelphia along with his mother and his brother James. His mother died when he was a young child and he stayed in a Philadelphia based orphanage, along with James, until his late teens. Cartwrightt left the orphanage, and his brother, in the middle of the night and train-hopped his way to New York City. He never saw James again, although James would be instrumental in the preservation of his music.
In New York, Cartwrightt made a living through many odd jobs. He worked in factories, convenient stores, bakeries, meat houses, and countless other places. One day, while walking home from the meat house he worked at, Cartwrightt found a guitar. Supposedly he quit his job the next day and never worked again.
Cartwrightt began toying around with other instruments such as upright bass, accordion, and piano, and began experimenting with his own voice. He composed over 60 pieces and performed them vigorously throughout New York. He adopted the stage name Froth Huntings. However, this did not provide Cartwrightt with money and he struggled with poverty and hunger for the rest of his life. Despite his troubled life, he lived to be nearly 100 years old.
One day, while reading a day old newspaper he found in the garbage, he read about the invention of a device that could record sound. Cartwrightt was intrigued by the device and he decided to search the city for it. When he finally came to a store in possesion of the device Cartwrightt stole it from the store, but before leaving he promised the store owner that he would return it.
Cartwrightt recorded his songs on the streets of New York over a one week span. He recorded about 30 of his songs and entitled his life-long work "American Songs." According to legend, Cartwrightt died the next day, in the record store while returning the stolen device. He died of debility.
Cartwrightt sent the only copy of American Songs to the orphanage where he grew up with a letter asking the owners of the orphanage to send it to James, hoping that they knew where he lived.
Along with American Songs, Cartwrightt sent a long letter to James, in which he said how sorry he was for abandoning him at the orphanage all those years back.
James saved American Songs, and passed it down through the family for generations, until the digital age arrived, and Langston J. Cartwrightts great great great great great nephew, yours truly, uploaded the songs onto the internet.
- the goat (Langston's great great great great great nephew)
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