JESSICA RINALDI

Stories: The Life and Times of Strider Wolf

  • Oxford, Maine -- 5/4/2015-- Strider reached up to grab high on a sapling revealing a scar that snaked its way up his stomach and a dimple that marked the place where a feeding tube had once been as he climbed a tree in the first of several campgrounds that would come to be home throughout the course of the summer. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine -- 5/29/2015-- After two years of not paying the rent the Grant's landlord had given them 30 days to pack their things and leave. On the night of the eviction as Lanette and Larry worked to move their possessions into a rented semi-truck parked on a lot Strider and Gallagher were left in the back of the car. Tired and acting out Gallagher bit Strider who recoiled, pressing himself against the car window. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine -- 5/28/2015-- As the night went on it became clear that they were not going to be able to take all of their possessions with them. Michael's fiancee, Ashly, (L) stood in the doorway with Lanette as they took a break from packing up the family's belongings on the night of the eviction. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine -- 5/4/2015-- Strider carried gallon jugs of water over to Lanette after filling them from a spigot behind the camper so that she could wash dishes and heat some of it on the small stove inside to bathe the boys with a washcloth. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine -- 5/12/2015-- After the beating, Strider and Gallagher were sent to live with their paternal Grandmother and Grandfather. They fell behind on the rent and after two years of not paying, their landlord kicked them out. With nowhere else to go the family piled into a camper and began to bounce from campsite to campsite. Inside the cramped camper Strider pulled his pajamas over his head as he changed in their bedroom. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine -- 6/10/2015-- Strider walked towards the camper with a flower pressed between his thumb and forefinger for Lanette, a conciliatory gesture after she had yelled at him for wetting the bed. His therapist had explained that his bed-wetting was a response to trauma, either the unfolding upset in their lives, or some resurrecting memory. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Waterford, Maine -- 7/20/2015-- Lanette often lamented that she and Larry weren't able to be grandparents to the boys because they had to play the role of Mom and Dad but on this afternoon the sun broke through the trees and for a carefree moment she and Strider played together. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine -- 6/10/2015-- Gallagher sat in the center of a circle his brother, Strider, had etched around him in the dirt. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine -- 5/29/2015-- On the night of the eviction the boys climbed into a rusted Ford sunk behind the horse field. Strider held a broken automotive hose to his eyes like a pair of binoculars. He tipped his head upward. “What’s on the moon?” Strider asked.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine -- 5/31/2015-- As he sat next to Larry, Strider crossed his arms and looked up the campground road as he waited for Lanette to return from WalMart with his birthday cake during his sixth birthday party. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine - 5/31/2015 - Strider's great-grandmother had given him a balloon and told him to pop it. {quote}I don't feel like it.{quote} Strider whispered. {quote}Come on Strider, Pop it.{quote} Lanette said. Larry took the balloon from Strider, held it over his head and poked it with a knife. Six rolled up dollar bills and confetti scattered to the ground. {quote}Find 'em,{quote} his great-grandmother called. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine -- 5/29/2015-- As Larry and Lanette worked to pack up their belongings Strider wandered into his bedroom and peered up at his things. Much of what was left in the room would be left behind, along with his bicycle and many of the family's other possessions. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • South Paris, Maine -- 7/21/2015-- Without a lawyer they were left without much hope of winning against their old landlord (2nd from L). Lanette and Larry went into the hallway after the judge asked if they might be able to come to an agreement. Things were complicated, the landlord had already sold the land to someone else and the new owner eventually agreed to box up some of the family photos left behind and leave them at the police station for the Grants to retrieve. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Oxford, Maine -- 5/28/2015-- Larry and Lanette packed for hours until the daylight ran out and they had nothing to see by but the car headlights. The landlord had cut the power and put locks on the electrical boxes in an attempt to force them off of the property. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Lisbon, Maine -- 8/9/2015-- After months of searching for a new place to live a craigslist post had finally turned up a home they could afford. Anna Cunningham, of Skowhegan, arrived to the family's new home with a delivery of beds for the boys and couches and chairs for the family and Lanette grabbed her and pulled her in for a grateful hug.
  • Lisbon, Maine -- 8/11/2015-- “Medicine!” Lanette called as she pulled out the plastic bin of the boys’ medicines. Strider extended his hand for his morning meds. “We haven’t been here 24 hours, and I’m tired already,” Lanette said. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Lisbon, Maine -- 8/11/2015-- After waking up in his new home and pulling on a newly donated bathrobe, Strider affixed a giant leaf to the end of a stick and played in the backyard. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
  • Stories
    • The Life and Times of Strider Wolf
    • A Life Unraveling
    • An Overwhelming Loss
    • Home now, but for how long?
    • After Maria
    • Saving Leo
    • Selma
    • The Unforgotten
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