Days of Uncle Ernest -

Chesapeake City and the World – Billy, Chapter 3

After a long pull on his freshened drink, Uncle Ernest responded to my exuberance: “Hold your horses, Moose. What’s the rush?”

“If I had had my shotgun with me we’d have a big squirrel for dinner.”

“Forget the squirrel; let’s just relax a while,” he said, closing his eyes.

“Well, what happened next, Unk? What kind of guy was Billy, the goofball with the beer belly?”

“Believe me, he was quite a character,” Uncle Ernest continued, recalling the events with a smile. “He had just had a new house built, set back about a hundred yards from the river. We had a nice dinner of venison and stuffed swan, and I got to talk to his wife, Ann, and his two kids, Hansen and Judy.

“The kids were kind of sickly though, I thought, especially Hansen, who had long blond hair dangling in his eyes. He hummed tunes a lot and even got out his lute and, with Judy pounding on a drum, played and sang me some songs. The songs had a frantic, thumping beat to them and gave me a headache right away. All the while Ann would grimace and shake her head while Billy tapped his foot to the beat and beamed with pride.

“And then, when they finished and my head started to feel better, Judy came up to us with a huge smile and said, ‘Hey, you’re, like, a good audience, but, like, you haven’t heard anything yet. Ahh, sit tight cause I’m, like, gonna call my friends in so you can, like, groove to our act.’ ”

“Why did she talk like that, Unk?”

“Beats me. I can’t figure it out, but if you listen you’ll notice that some young people use ‘like’ constantly even now in modern times—1943. Well, anyway, as we sat there drinking some tea, Judy called in her friends. Along with Hansen, she set up a couple more lute players and another drummer.

“Then she went out for a few minutes and came back in with four other girls about her age. They were all made up with different hair colors and styles and they wore funny-looking short skirts of flashy colors with sequins. Then they all lined up in front of us and Judy said, ‘We’re, like, ready, dudes … hit it girls.’

“The music began and they started dancing and singing—kicking up their feet, spinning around, and gyrating to the bouncy music. The music was really loud, and although the tune was catchy, my headache returned. Ann, again, showed her displeasure, but Billy loved it. Bobbing with the music, he danced around the table with a big smile on his face. The whole thing was pretty cool and I enjoyed it a lot, especially since during both shows I indulged in several tumblers of Billy’s fine red wine, and I must have smoked three or four of his exquisite, eight-inch long cigars.

“Later in the evening, when Hansen challenged me to a game of chess, I got a chance to talk to him. ‘What did you think of my music, Mr. Ernie?’ he asked, mechanically brushing the long, blond hair out of his eyes.

“ ‘Well, Hansen my man,’ I replied, tilting my head way back and blowing thick smoke rings up into the rough-hewn rafters, ‘except for the volume it was pretty nice. But I think that, if you want to get more people interested in your music and make some money, here’s what you should do. Hire two boys who can sing and play really well. Get one two year’s older than you and the other four year’s older and say that the three of you are brothers. Make sure they have long, blond hair and blue eyes and smiles that will make girls swoon. Once the three of you get together you can rehearse seven or eight pieces and then go on the road to fame and fortune.

“ ‘Wow, Mr. Ernie!’ Hansen blurted, flashing me that bright smile and flipping his head back to clear the hair out of his eyes once more. ‘I’ll do it; I’ll do it for sure.’

“ ‘Checkmate!’ I yelled, as I took his queen with mine and cornered his king. Hansen was so excited about starting his own band that he didn’t see the threat. After he ran off to see his friends, yelling ‘See ya later Mr. Ernie, and thanks a lot for the ideas,’ I poured another glass of wine, fired up another stogie, and walked out to enjoy the moonlight performing its magic on the shimmering Avalon.”  [To be continued Tuesday, 8/28/2012]