Condemned to a year of penal service
He had to be dragged to the auction block.
His resistance was foolish, but understandable.
Just a few weeks before, Jimmy had been as free as a bird.
Happy and popular with his friends and workmates at the Bank.
His biggest problem then was deciding which tie to wear each morning.
Then came that speeding ticket and a run-in with a vindictive cop.
The attendants eventually cajoled Jim onto the auction block
Posing half-heartedly with their spit trickling down his torso.
Yearlings don't usually fetch much as labourers
But Jim's pugnacious looks and spirit
ensured a well-contested sale.
When Jimmy got to the Farm he found he'd been picked out by the farmer's wife.
She thought Jim was cute, just like her son who had recently gone off to college.
Jim was to take his place, helping out with work in the fields.
The wife dressed Jim in a slave pouch for his registration and ID card photo.
She'd made it herself, especially for him, from one of her son's old jock straps.
Jim had to do heavy field work during the day
But in the evening he was often summoned by the Farmer's wife.
She wanted to take pictures of him for the family album
Just like the ones she'd taken of her son over the years.
She loved taking pictures of Jim.
She always supervised Jim's bath night which was once a week in cold water.
She fastidiously checked that he'd washed his tackle properly and every crevice.
She even snapped him in the bath and turned it into a postcard
So he could send it to his family and friends and tell them how happy he was.
Happy Days on the Farm!
But Jimmy wasn't happy working on the Farm, he ran away.
Almost immediately a kid on the beach spotted his slave pouch.
He tried to arrest him, to get the bounty for catching runaways.
It turned into quite a scrap.
But Jim was desperate and his work had made him fitter.
Jimmy managed to get away and immediately got rid of his pouch
But naked men stood out even more than pouched ones.
The municipal Slave Catcher soon caught up with him
Jimmy spent two nights in the pound before being collected.
When he got back, Jim had to see the Farmer to learn his punishment.
The Farmer's wife snapped him, tired and downcast, while he was waiting.
Her picture later won a commendation at the local Photographic Club Exhibition.
She was glad to see him back, but scolded him for losing the pouch she'd made.
She promised to make him a new one from one of her son's old T-shirts.
The Farmer taught Jim a severe lesson for running away
and the Court automatically doubled his sentence.
Thereafter his owner ensured he would never escape again.
And his wife recorded every moment for the family album.
~
Photos of James Dunn by Kris of Chicago
All pictures enhanced by mitchmen
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