DUMPSITE Page 4

  Mother needs to find a way to approach Muddy with the information should the guys give him the go ahead. He feels the Muddman will be able to keep the secret and maybe even help with the situation. It’s a good thing they’ve been friends for so many years but not having told him isn’t going to sit well.

  I know, I’ll start with the dog story… no, too stupid. Suddenly the phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, it’s James, glad I caught you. Talked to the guys. The consensus is, wait a few days. Mr. C, thought you should go ahead but Mr. V, didn’t want you to say anything. We all decided to wait a few days giving everybody some time to consider all the options.”

  “Thanks for helping out.”

  “Vince was adamant about not telling Mudd anything, a little too much I felt. Probably doesn’t mean anything. You know me always seeing the under current in every situation.”

  “Thanks again. Talk to you soon.”

  Mother wondered about Vince and his strong feelings about not telling Mudd. Oh well, let’s see what develops.

  On his way back to the studio he stopped off at Mr. Gerald’s office. It was nicely decorated with small antiques. Gerald had brought his own desk, a beautiful unit made of Koa wood. It must have cost a pretty penny. Gerald was sitting in his leather chair as he greeted, Mother. They discussed the purchases he had suggested.

  Gerald, an ex-movie actor from England has jet black hair, small beady eyes and a thin long nose. He retired early when he lost his voice in a car accident. The accident caused his face to be scared. Plastic surgery had repaired most of the scars. Today he looks like he could go back into acting. He’s been a good manager dealing with all the problems encountered at Chateau 54. His demeanor and understanding of the idiosyncrasies only actors, musicians and associated people have, make him admired by all.

  The two of them concurred on the purchases, Mother, thanked him and left. As he was walking to the studio he thought back to 1958.

  The recording session at Stevens Recording Studio in Hillsdale, NJ. The living room was where we set up our equipment. Mo an old friend was there to play bass. Muddy and George came with me. We met Milton at Stevens studio. The group spent many nights rehearsing. Working on the arrangements and the presentation. I told the guys we would not rehearse the two days prior to the session.

  We set up our equipment. Mr. Stevens had us play a few bars of the song as he got his levels. I counted the song in and we played 20-30 seconds of music, when he singled us to stop. I felt a bit of nervous energy in the music. I decided to keep quiet thinking we would relax as the songs progressed. I was right. The first take was incredible. Milton played a new sax solo for the first time it blew us all away. Mo played the bass with a feel that made the song rock. We were all relaxed. Take two was awesome, maybe better then the first take. Although I thought it would be hard to do. Mr. Stevens said either take was great but suggested we play one more for a safety. We did but it didn’t come close to the others.

  We were told to take a short break as we readied for the second song. We played the first take. It was good but something was missing. Mo suggested a bass line change; it worked. We cleaned up the ending as Mr. Stevens told us we would have to be very quiet at the end of the song. We were ending on the five chord and reverb was being added for suspense so no noise should be heard from breathing or clicks. We ran over the ending a few times when Mr. Stevens said, go! The next take was the one. It smoked (we didn’t use the word smoked back in the fifty’s) I think we said it was boss. We did a couple of extra takes but they didn’t have the energy of take two.

  The session was over. We were mentally wiped. All of us took a deep breath. I told everyone what a great job they had done. Mo said he heard a hit in the making. We thanked him and packed our instruments. Mo and I kept in touch through the years and ended up playing together in a group called, The King Brothers. The Norsemen were together for some years. We changed members as we went along. Muddy was with me the longest. He finally left in 1960 when he married the love of his life.

  Great times, Mother thought…hoping Muddy, would help him get the music ready for tomorrow.

  Seven — Bump on the Head

  “You’re late!” was Mudd’s greeting.

  “Sorry, things were piling up which needed to be taken care of before they got too messy.”

  “Did you get everything done?”

  “Just about. I should be able to relax a bit now and put my effort into writing.”

  “Good! I was beginning to worry about you.”

  Although Muddy thinks the problem may be solved, Mother is not completely sure. He would feel much better is he could tell Muddy the whole story. Soon!

  “Let’s get to work. We need to finish the first level today so I can present this in a logical manner at tomorrow’s meeting.”

  They started to iron out the music. Everything now flowed as it should.

  “Mudd, this little ditty you came up with is great, very catchy.”

  “Glad you like it. I have a few upgrades, listen to this.”

  Muddy showed Mother what he had come up with and the direction he saw the song going. They combined their efforts for the next couple of hours and finished a rough version of the theme song. Mother said he had come up with an idea for a doo-wop song to cover the early part of the movie…the mid-fifty’s.

  “Mudd, what would you think if we wrote a song about Helen?”

  “I don’t know. You have an idea?”

  “I do, the song is called, Helen Oh Helen.”

  “Let me hear what you’ve got.”

  After Mother played the melody, singing only the title and a lot of do da dos for a make shift melody. Muddy said with a tear in his eye. “I love it.”

  “Okay, let’s get some lyrics.”

  Mother, started to play the song on his guitar. The chorus came quickly. When they got to the verse, Mother asked.

  “Tell me about Helen.”

  “Well, she had green eye’s, strawberry hair, cherry lips beyond compare.”

  “Stop right there, Mudd, sounds like a winner.”

  “Mother, you’ve done it again.”

  “No Muddy, we’ve done it again,” celebrating with a high-five.

  The song rolled out of their heads like a stream of water flowing over the edge of a cliff.

  “Muddy, great work! Let’s take a short break, then come back and polish this song so I can lay out my presentation for tomorrow. Our song writing has come a long way since back in the 50’s.”

  “You can say that again.”

  Solly seated them at their favorite table. They ordered and ate. After a large but not too loud burp, they started to discuss the meeting with the movie producers and how the music should be presented to show the best side of what they’d done.

  “I defer to you Mother,” Mudd confided. “I’m not sure I know how to go about this.”.

  “All right, I have an idea. Let’s start with the doo-wop song because the movie opens in the 50’s and this will keep the music in chronological order.”

  “But it’s not the strongest song.”

  “The guys are all from the 50’s. James wife’s name is Helen. He’ll sing along and get the whole thing off to a good start. Then I’ll hit them with the theme song - which is very strong even without the sweetening and lastly some of the track music,” Mother suggested.

  “Like I said, I defer to you.”

  “So, you don’t want any blame for failure?”

  “Not what I meant, Mother.”

  “I know, just yanking your chain, if you have a better way speak your piece or forever be silent.”

  Muddy said nothing.

  “I guess silence means you agree,”

  “Completely,” said Muddy. “I think I’ll go look in the mirror, you coming?

  Mother, thought for a short moment. “I’m in.”

  They headed for Muddy’s suite. Ther
e was silence as they walked. Muddy, was wondering as Mother was what the mirror had in store. The short walk to Muddy’s suite was uneventful except when Muddy realized he had left his key in the room. He hustled to the front desk where the receptionist gave him a hard time.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “I’m Muddy a close friend of Mother.”

  “Whose Mother?” she queried.

  “You don’t know Mother?”

  “Do you have any identification on you?” asked the, questioning, front desk person.

  “What is this, nobody knows me?”

  “Do you have any identification?” She asked again.

  “No.”

  Mother had followed behind. When he noticed who was at the desk he gave a thumb up to Miss Greene. He had been introduced to her earlier in the day as Mr. Kurkonen. She would have no idea who Muddy or Mother was.

  “Okay, here’s your key.” said the lovely lady to Mudd.

  Muddy returned with a quizzical look on his face.

  “I got my chain yanked again.”

  “No, she didn’t know you and she only met me this morning but not as Mother.”

  “I feel better, blah!”

  “You’re the one who wants to be famous. If you reach the brass ring she’ll know you as you approach.”

  “You have a point there but do I have to suffer in obscurity.”

  “Mudd, you go ahead I’ll be right behind you. I have some lyrics to show you. I need to get them from the studio”

  He was unable to find the lyrics. He was sure they had been sitting on the grand piano. A feeling of frustration began running through Mother. It seemed as if someone had been in the studio. They would have to know the combination and have a key. Only three people, Mudd, Gerald and Mother do. He would check with Gerald in the morning.

  As Mother looked around he noticed the copier was on. It must have been left on since this afternoon. Something was going on and he needed to find out what. He headed back to Mudd’s suite, wondering if he should tell him. No, he thought it would be better to wait until he talked to Gerald. Mother knocked on Muddy’s door. No answer. He knocked again. Still, no answer. Maybe he fell asleep. Mother started for the front desk. As he approached the lobby he saw Muddy staggering down the hallway.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know,” said Mudd. “There was a knock on my door. Thinking it was you I opened the door figuring you would walk in. Next thing I remember I woke up in the parking area with a large headache. I seem to remember the smell of perfume.”

  “Did you go anywhere after I left?”

  “No! I was waiting for you in my room.”

  “When I went back for the lyrics, I had a strange feeling someone had been in the studio. The words for the theme song were nowhere to be found until I looked in the copier. It was still on from the afternoon.”

  “I don’t remember using the copier! What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know but I will get to the bottom, first thing in the morning.”

  “Aren’t you going to call the police?” asked Mudd. “After all, I’m still dizzy.”

  “You want to go to the hospital?”

  “No! An ice pack will be sufficient.”

  They stopped in the kitchen. Picked up some ice cubes and went to Muddy’s suite. To say they were perplexed would be an understatement.

  Muddy sat there thinking, Mother wished he could hear what his mind was churning out. Muddy’s thoughts went to his friend from back in grammar school, Noodles aka Severn Edwin Dolan.

  No, no, no this is not the end. Maybe I should call Noodles. Mother isn’t taking this seriously. My head hurts and I want to know why. I think I’ll call Noodles. What the heck is going on? Am I the only loony bird? Someone else must have some questions. I’ll ask Mother a few things and see how he responds before I make the call.

  “You all right?”

  “Oh, yeah, just rolling some thoughts around. I need to look in the mirror.”

  Eight — The Mirror Bares It All

  “Mother, are you still worried about the lyrics and the studio?”

  “Yeah!”

  “Fogetaboutit! Let’s see what the mirror has in store this evening.”

  “Sound’s good to me.”

  “Help yourself to some juice and get me a glass of orange juice, thanks,” the Muddman said.

  They weren’t ready for the memories they were about to recall.

  Mother immediately recognized the school he attended in the sixth grade. Louis, one of his friends at the time was running toward a group of boys. As he got closer Mother realized they were the friends he hung out with back in the day. There was Freddie, Jimmy, Vince, Chuck, Herb and himself. Lou was the seventh member. After school and sometimes on Saturday they would visit their favorite hideout, the Dumpsite.

  Located the distance of two football fields down the street from the school was a small path. The street ended at the property line of Lou’s house. The path led into a wooded area hardly noticeable if you didn’t know it was there. It was a short walk to the Dumpsite. There was never anyone there but every few days, new and different things appeared on the old piles of junk.

  We went there so we could talk about relevant things such as girls, parents, school and sex. It was a perfect place, as it seemed isolated from the outside world. It was like having a personal psychologist. We could openly talk about things parents didn’t want to hear.

  Lou had found the place in early spring of the sixth grade at Lexington grade school. At times all seven would be there. But sometimes only three or four would go and rummage through the junk. We always wondered where the stuff came from.

  Lou, Herb and Freddie were close. They were always talking about robbing a bank or stealing art from a museum so they could get rich without working. No one thought they would do the things they talked about but a few years down the road they ended up as small-time hoods.

  During Mother’s high school years, he would run into the guys. One evening around midnight he was bicycling home from the bowling alley where he was a pin boy. He heard a horn blow. It was Lou. He had a brand-new convertible and offered Mother a ride home. He took the offer saving himself twenty minutes of hard peddling. Lou didn’t say much about the crimes he was involved in but did a little bragging about the many things he owned. Lou had changed from the 11-year-old Mother used to know. He came from a broken home. A single mom family. Prevalent today but not heard of much back in the early fifty’s. A dad in the home may have helped Lou.

  Mother didn’t realize it would be the last time he’d see him. Herb, Freddie and Lou would make the headlines a few years later. A car accident would send their automobile off the edge of a mountain road and plummet 50 feet into a quarry. They all died.

  “Hey, what’s this in the mirror?” Muddy asked. “I don’t recognize anybody.”

  “You wouldn’t. What you’re looking at is part of my life, before I met you.”

  “All right! As the mirror shows us, please explain what’s going on.”

  “I will.”

  The Mirror was bringing back a part of Mother’s young life he would rather forget. As he remembered, this was a bad day. All seven boys were headed toward the dumpsite laughing and having a great time. Herb shushed everyone as he thought he heard the sound of a car. The boys quietly crawled up a small mound about 400 feet from the dump. As they got to the top they viewed a large black limousine and a smaller sedan. Both were high priced vehicles. There were three large men dressed in suits standing around. Two of them were holding up another man who looked a mess. As the boys watched they beat the man until he passed out. They looked in our direction. We ducked. What should we do? Most of us wanted to leave, but Lou and Herb quietly said, let’s see what happens. Big mistake.

  “What’s going on.? Mudd asked.

  “This is what’s causing some of the problems my friends and I are having. Keep wat
ching and I’ll explain when it’s over.”

  As M&M continued looking into the mirror things escalated. They all edged back to the crest of the mound. Now the men were opening a large wooden case. They were beating a lock with a hammer. They stopped and opened the case. The box held some loose bills. The boys all kept quiet but watched with great anticipation. One of the men picked up the money and waved the bills in front of the poor man they had been beating. He didn’t react.

  From the trunk of the smaller car one of the men grabbed two shovels. He gave one to another man and both started to dig. When the hole was big enough they threw the case in and covered it with the debris they had created. Another was shaking the guy on the ground but getting no response. Abruptly they kicked the body of the wounded man into the shallow hole and covered it with trash. They had murdered him. All four of the remaining crew hurriedly got into the cars and left. They never noticed us.

  The Mirror went dark…Mother looked over at Muddy…he was sitting motionless with his mouth open. As he turned to Mother, he said. “Is this for real or was it just a bad movie?”

  “Real! This is part of what I was going to explain to you the day after tomorrow.”

  “How come you’ve never told me about this. Why the big secret?”

  “If you can wait until the production meeting is over I will explain all.”

  “Wow. Well shut my big mouth,” Muddy gasped, “You promise to tell me after the meeting?”

  “Yeah.”

  Muddy picked up the mirror and put it away. He came back and sat down across from Mother. He started to say something but held off.