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8/14/2019 The Humpback Creeper by Steven Donnini
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The
Humpback
Creeperby Steven D. Donnini
Library Of Congress
WGA
Copyright Stephen Donnini 1999
Steven Donnini
407-645-4705
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June 1, 1956, our trucks rolled into Jesup, Georgia. We
were working the small towns up and down the east coast.
This would be a black fair with special attractions. I was
riding shotgun with Jimmy a 16 year old black kid in the
lead truck just behind my granddad’s shinning silver
Airstream trailer. Our nine tractor-trailers were all in
line. They were painted black with Bright Light Shows in
gold letters across the sides. All those black and gold
trucks coming down the main street of town was a thrilling
sight. It was exciting, the broad smiles and hands waving
as the street came alive with people, a welcome just for
me. At 13 years old, I didn’t understand what the fair
meant to these people.
Later, I came to realize that the three days we were in
town would be permanently imbedded in the lives of
everyone. I was about to change in ways that are never
part of the myth of running off to join the circus.
Standing in the middle of the street directing traffic to
the fairgrounds was Ace Bailey the advance man. The field
where we were to set up the tents for the midway was in the
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center of town. Ace was the best at dealing with the
problems created by local fire codes and politicians. He
would simply pay them off. If that didn’t work we would
setup and disregard the codes. After all we were only
going to be there for three days. By the time they figured
out what we were doing wrong, it was too late.
Everybody called my grandfather Danny, including me. At
first thought it was strange but I wanted to fit in and not
draw attention to myself. The truth is, I was privileged
in every way. Although Danny owned the Bright Light Shows,
Bingo, and midway tents, the rides and other attractions
were contracted for available fair dates. So, of 19 fair
dates we did from Palm Beach to Maine each one was a little
different.
My father and mother agreed to let me go on this summer
vacation with Danny. A trip the year before to a
fundamentalist Jesus Christ boot camp ended in disaster.
They thought I was in good hands with Danny. Grandpa Danny
and grandma Edna were separated shortly after my dad was
born. Dad was abandoned by his mother Edna at about 2
months old, she went off to be a “Flapper” and Danny was a
working card dealer in New York and New Jersey speakeasies.
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When he discovered she had left Dad with relatives, he went
and got him. They traveled together from NY to Miami Beach
until Dad went to New England and College at Brown
University in Providence. The family story goes that Danny
won the Bright Light Shows in a poker game in 1948.
Quickly Danny became well known for creating some of the
best “Flat Stores” in the country. A flat store is a game
of chance in which the object of the game is to take all
the player’s money in the shortest amount of time. The
flat store “Flat takes your money.” You can’t win and you
don’t get a Teddy Bear to take home. The back end of the
game is as important as any other part. The mark (player)
must never know he has been swindled. He is chosen from
those available to play. Most flat stores have a look out,
banker, shill (decoy), and store manager. Three Card Monty
is a flat store that is played commonly on city streets in
NY. The most profitable games on the midway of the
fairgrounds are flat stores.
Danny called his flat store “The Humpback Creeper.”
Over the years, the Bright Light Show had many colorful
shows including one called “Monty the Boxing Chimp.” He
would climb up on you and kiss you on the lips at the first
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meeting. At just 45 lb. he was powerful and I never felt
quite comfortable around him. During off hours he would
walk around with Jill his owner and trainer. He would be
playful and jump up, wrapping his long arms and legs around
her. On fair days she would put him in his 10 ft. x 10 ft.
x 10 ft. steel cage on the midway and stand out front
working the crowd as they passed by. Monty was dressed in
football helmet and boxing gloves. Jill would talk to
everyone that came down the midway looking for a mark. She
would pick out the biggest, tough guy on the midway. The
idea was to get this guy to put up $20, to stay in the cage
with Monty for 10 seconds without calling for help or
asking to get out. If he could last that long he would
walk away with $100. She would taunt him unmercifully
until he agreed. He too was outfitted with boxing gloves
and a football helmet. Jill showed him to the door and
closed it. This action triggered the clock over the door.
When the guy stepped into center of the cage, Monty climbed
over the top of the like an acrobat landing on the guys
shoulders from behind. With a sweeping motion Monty had
one arm wrapped tightly around the guys neck, he removed
the helmet in his other hand, holding it by the face guard,
he proceeded to beat the intruder in the face and ears with
it. Within 3 seconds or so the tough guy was begging to
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get out.
Monty wasn’t finished, he started laughing wildly and got
in a few more good wacks to the nose while the man screamed
to let him out. Meanwhile the man’s friends were laughing
in the middle of the midway at the beating he was getting
at the hands of a chimp.
Every once in a while, things would get out of control and
Monty wouldn’t stop when Jill commanded. I guess Monty
thought it was a game and was in the mood to entertain the
crowd.
One night, this big redneck got in with Monty and he didn’t
want to loose. So, he tried to fight back. Monty hung on
his neck as the guy spun around trying to grab a hold of
him. The faster they spun the louder Monty laughed. By
the time the guy managed to get out he was humiliated and
bloody. When he regained his composure he forced his
friends to suffer the same fate. Jill played them
perfectly. She cleaned them out.
Jimmy was the first truck driver I had ever seen, so he
must have been the best. He was tall, thin and handsome.
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That’s what he told the girls. He stayed away from the
white girls, but they loved him. He told me that he had
never gone to school past the 6th grade. At 16 he didn’t
see the point of getting an education. His Momma had
taught him to read well enough to get by. He loved
traveling with the show and Danny trusted him with the
rigs. In return he was fiercely loyal.
Jimmy backed the tractor trailer into a spot Ace picked out
on the fairgrounds. Within 2 hours we had the Bingo tent
up. It was the center spot in the midway. Every other
store went up on either side and across creating a narrow
alley arcade. The rest of the crew worked into the night.
Danny sent word to me to come to the trailer for dinner.
When I arrived at the Airstream trailer Danny’s pet Macaw
started in on me. He said, “Where the hell have you been
Red?” I wanted to answer, but I thought it was weird
explaining anything to a bird and I was embarrassed about
my red hair. He was so convincing that if I wasn’t
thinking I would automatically come up with an excuse and
answer. As I entered the screen door he ordered me “Shut
the damn door.” No one paid much attention to what the
crazy Macaw had to say, but me. I took it to heart.
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Danny’s wife, Claudia greeted me with her usual sunny face.
Although she wasn’t my real grandmother she treated me like
she was. She had a fiery wit. A true carnie at heart, she
fit in with the show people. Danny didn’t. He was too
well dressed and mannered. He looked like he was on his
way to the polo grounds in Palm Beach. In fact, he would
take me there whenever we would visit him at the winter
home in Florida. Claudia on the other hand was more at
home in one of the local taverns with a beer, a shot of
Crown Royal, her friends and a fresh pack of Pall Mall.
She could tell a dirty joke with flair and often did, but
never around Danny. She knew he wouldn’t approve.
At dinner Danny gave me lessons on how to do business on
the midway. This time he wanted me to work “The Humpback
Creeper.” He said, “It’s time for you to get your feet
wet. I want you to work the Creeper this week. It’s
simple, but there are some things you need to know. I’ll
put Jimmy and Paul with you. It won’t take more than the
three of you guys to run it. Jimmy will be your partner
and shill. Paul is the banker. Just take the lead from
Jimmy, he’ll show you what you need to do and when to do
it. He has the most experience with the game.” I was so
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across the surface and bouncing off the rubber bumper that
was around the top.
It would travel across the top over and over before it
would come to rest on one of the numbers. Clearly, the
idea of the game was to pick the correct color and number.
Jimmy set me behind the game and adjusted the swivel chair
for my feet to touch the control peddles. I practiced
while Jimmy talked about how he would communicate with me
without giving away the fact that we were working together.
“It’s important that you know when to let the mark win.
I’ll touch my right finger to my nose, like this. When he
should loose I’ll scratch my head. Got it?”
The hard part was learning how to stop the Creeper on the
winning number without everyone seeing it stop too fast and
how to keep it moving past the winning number. If we let
them win, it wouldn’t matter how fast it stopped. On the
other hand if I had to speed it up to keep them from
winning, they would suspect we were cheating and that can’t
happen. He told me to let them win if I couldn’t make it
look natural.
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As the sun went down, the show opened and the midway lights
came on. The midway alley slowly filled with people.
Couples out on a date, Moms and Dads with their kids. I
had never seen so many black people in one place before.
For the first time I felt what it must be like to be black
in a white crowd. But, because Jimmy was there I felt like
I fit in.
When Paul showed we were ready for action. Jimmy looked at
me and smiled. It was the signal that he had found a mark
and it was time to go to work. I greeted the mark and
explained the rules of the game. “ Step right up and pick
a number. Everybody’s a winner. $5 minimum per number,
double your money with every winning number. Step right up
and pick a winner.” The mark was cool. His diamond ring
was a thing to behold. It was at least 2 Ct. His gold
tooth shined. Jimmy knew he was a gambler. He put his
finger to his nose and “peeked the poke”(looked into his
wallet to see how much money he was carrying) as the guy
was looking at his money thinking about how much to bet.
He was flush with cash. He said, “$300 on blue 6.” I spun
the Creeper. I knew then I had pushed it too hard. It
slid around the top for what felt like forever. As it
slowed, I tried to control it with the powerful magnets
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under the glass by moving the foot peddles around.
I was sure he was going to catch me. Jimmy looked at me as
if he could read my mind. He didn’t want Paul to know I
wasn’t trained well enough. The Creeper was responding to
the magnets. As it floated over the numbers it would
change direction slightly and bounce off the rubber bumper
on the side and back across the numbers. Getting the
Creeper to stop on the Blue 6 was harder than making it
miss.
This big man with the gold tooth, made his money selling
funeral and burial insurance to poor folks. They bought
his insurance because they wanted to leave this world in
style. For $5 a month, they were going to get a ride in a
Cadillac limo, a bronze colored casket, live music and
fresh flowers. The Creeper came closer to blue 6 and I
pulled it up like parking a car. The Insurance salesman
was excited but held it in. I didn’t notice but Jimmy did.
Jimmy smiled at me again. I said, “Pick your number.” The
mark laughed and pointed to black 9. He put $1,000 in 20’s
on the table. Jimmy scratched his head. I spun the
creeper. This time I didn't push too hard and it glided
smoothly across the glass. Paul said, “Come on Black 9!”
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Then he looked at me and smiled. The Creeper was headed
directly for Black 9. My feet were the magnetic breaks.
It slowed down faster than I wanted. My foot slipped off
the control peddle, the Creeper went right by black 9 and
stopped abruptly. The mark was stunned.
I looked him in the eye. He looked at me for a few seconds
then down at the Creeper, then back at me.
I remembered Jimmy’s first instructions look people in the
eye and don't look away until they do, or you'll get
caught. He starts to turn to walk away and Paul stops him.
“Hey buddy, I've got $100 bucks that says you're on a
streak. That one was so close. You pick one number for
me.” The mark turned confused, but flattered that someone
thought he was a good bet. Paul put the money down.
Jimmy said he wanted some of the action and put another
$100 on the table. I said, “Pick a number.” The mark
opened his wallet and took out $500 and looked at Paul with
renewed confidence. He said, “Green 8.” I spun the
Creeper.
This time I gave it a good push because I wanted plenty of
time to get control of it's speed and direction. It
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crossed the top several times before I could see any
response to the magnets. As it slowed down I got more
control and was able to articulate the moves. Jimmy was
watching every move.
He knew I was on thin ice. Because the stakes were so high
Paul was nervous, shifting his weight from one foot to the
other. I wanted to let the Creeper take it's own path, but
was hard not to interfere with it's path. It slowed and
stopped inches from Green 8. The Mark said, “Ah!” then he
turned and walked away from us down the midway. I was
surprised at the ease with which we took the guy's money.
The rest of the night, we worked one mark after another.
We made $5,200 that night. I went to Danny's trailer for a
late dinner. He was sitting on the couch counting money.
Claudia was cooking in the kitchen. He asked, “What do you
think of the Creeper?” I was happy that he had trusted me
enough to let me work a game. I said, it was a lot of fun.
He returned to stacking the money in piles of 50's, 20's
and so on. The next day, I felt like a pro. Jimmy, Paul
and I were clicking. Then we hit a snag.
The local sheriff had a brother that was a gambler. We
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didn't know who he was when we took all his money. He lost
$1,500 in an hour. Later that night, the Sheriff paid us a
visit. When he walked up to Danny's trailer I was inside,
but I could hear the conversation through the open window
in the trailer. Danny was unflappable. He was sitting in
a folding lawn chair smoking a Camel cigarette. They
exchanged greetings. The Sheriff asked if we knew the show
could be shut down and sent out of town. Danny answered
politely that he didn't. The Sheriff pressed on, “As I
understand it you run a game called Humpback Creeper. Shut
it down and give my brother his $1,500 back or I'll run you
out of town.” Danny fired back, “If your brother lost
money, it was because he was looking for action. If you
come to a game and loose then you pay the price. On the
other hand I don't want you to go away mad. He takes a roll
of big bills from his pocket and slowly counts off $1,500
in twenties. He said, “I think the police need all the
help they can get.” He hands the money to the Sheriff.
Danny continues, “Please accept this as a gift for the
policeman's welfare fund.” The Sheriff folded the money
and put it in his pocket. “You’re very generous. Billy is
a little hot headed. I'll have a talk with him.” They
shook hands and the Sheriff went on his way.
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Sunday was the big day on the midway. The most popular
attraction was Monty the boxing chimp. Jill was at her
best. She was hot into it. A big peanut farmer came up
watching everything Monty did and laughing at the faces the
chimp made. She noticed that he was with his two brothers.
They all looked and acted alike. So she did her thing.
“You boys look tough enough to stay in the cage with Monty
for 10 seconds. How about it? I'll give you $100 if you
can do it. Just $20 bucks boys, will get you 100 green
backs. Who's first?” The biggest brother stepped up.
“I'll do it. But, I hate to take your money lady.” She
took his twenty, handed him the football helmet and helped
him with the boxing gloves.
A crowd was forming as he turned to smile at the brothers
who were laughing at the way he looked. She opened the
cage door, set the timing clock over the door and pushed
him in. When the door shut Monty was all over the guy and
was pounding him with the football helmet. The guy’s nose
was so bloody it was streaming all over his clean white
shirt. The clock read 7 seconds when he started to
screamed “Help!” The crowd was in an uproar and the
brothers were on the ground rolling with laughter. She
commanded Monty to stop and opened the cage door. Monty
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looked disappointed. He loved to beat up on those guys.
One after another, the brothers were beaten into
humiliation. Jill was counting the money as the brothers
walked away.
That night, I went to the canteen for dinner. I wanted to
be part of the crew and talk to the dancers that worked the
Divine Dancers Show. They had a special trailer, it was
constructed so the side would swing down and made a stage.
It was self-contained and included lighting, dance stage
and sound system. The girls were all great dancers. At
least I thought so.
When I walked into the canteen tent Suzy was sitting alone
so, I sat down next to her. She was the daughter of the
hermaphrodite in the sideshow. At 15 she was the best
looking girl in the show. I asked what her mother's show
was like. “We have four sheer veils at the entrance to the
tent. The first one cost 50 cents to look through. But,
you can't see much. The second is a little closer and
costs $1 and you still can't see much. The third, cost
$2.50 and you can see Della spread eagle on the pillows,
but it's still a little fuzzy. The fourth veil is in front
of her, two feet away. You can clearly see it all. For
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$20 you can come in and touch her. Pass the gravy!” Suzy
look up and smiled. I knew we would become friends. She
worked with her mother in another sideshow where Suzy
climbed into a box and her mother would stick swords in it.
Inside she would move her arms and legs to avoid getting
cut. She was a true contortionist. She told me that her
mother wore a dildo in the show. She said, “It fools
everyone. They want to believe they are seeing a true
hermaphrodite.” She was wise beyond her years, but warm.
She didn't seem to worry about the things I did.
We went for a walk in town after dinner. We stopped at the
Dairy Freeze for a shake and sat at the tables in front.
Out of the darkness a car full of teenagers pulled in with
their lights shinning in our eyes. As they got out, it
was clear they were drinking beer. I sensed they were
going to give us some trouble. I didn't look at them as
they got out of the car. The driver walked by the table
and said, “Ha, Babe.” Suzy answered, “Looks like you
can't handle your booze.” He walked to the table. “Handle
this!” He grabbed his crotch. He looked at me and said,
“What's wrong with you?” I couldn’t think of anything
clever to say. Then he hit me in the head from behind.
The next thing I remember, we were on the sidewalk and I
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so happy to have won that he didn't have to tell her in
front of us how much he had lost. They walked away happy.
Jimmy came over to me and spoke out of the side of his
mouth. “It's all about the action and saving face. Don't
forget that kid.” I couldn't quite grasp what he meant,
but I couldn't forget the intense way he told me.
It was like a deep dark secret I was being told, because it
was in my blood. He was awakening me to something, a truth
about life.
The next guy that came to play was a nasty SOB and I loved
watching him loose. Jimmy took uncommon pleasure working
this guy over. It was like watching a lion in one of those
National Wildlife TV shows. He was mean and ill mannered.
At one point he reached over the top of the game, grabbed
me by the shirt pulled me half way out of the both before
Jimmy and Paul saved me. We had taken his rent money. It
was sickening to me that he would gamble away his rent
money. At the same time I felt guilty. He stomped off
“You cheated me. I'll be back.” I knew he meant it, so
did Jimmy.
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We were about to shut down for the night when Jimmy saw the
guy coming through the crowded midway with 6 of the
roughest looking men I've seen. Jimmy turned to me and
yelled out “Run!” So I jumped out of the Creeper and took
off running through the crowd. My heart was pounding. I
was thinking, it's like a football play but the guys are a
lot bigger that I’m used to playing with. There was
another difference. They weren’t playing ball. That made
me run faster. I ran across the midway to take shelter in
the Bingo tent. Once inside I looked back to see where
they were. One of them spotted me and yelled out to the
others. The tables made a good barrier between us, but
there were too many of them. They surrounded me and it was
all over but the beating I got. He swung at me and hit a
tent pole. I heard a crunch when his fist hit it. Another
guy hit me from behind, grabbed my arms and held on to me.
They started to beat on me. After the first two or three
punches I couldn't feel a thing. It's the way wild prey
feel before they are eaten.
Jake the Giant came to my rescue. Jake was the biggest man
I've ever seen. He stood 7.8 ft. tall and was a mass of
muscle. His arms were as big around as grown man’s leg.
He picked up one of the guys over his head and through him
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over two Bingo tables. The other guys moved back. The next
thing I remember was being carried to Danny's trailer in
Jake's arms. I had never seen Danny get really mad before.
He asked Jake what happened. He told Jake to bring Jimmy
to the trailer. That gentle giant stayed with me the rest
of the night sitting at the bedside. I slept hard that
night knowing he was watching over me.
The next morning, I couldn't move without pain somewhere in
my body. My left eye was swollen and my lip was split. I
knew I was out of the Creeper business for a few days. The
innocence that was once on my face was gone, at least for
the time being. Danny had a sit down meeting with Jimmy
that lasted for 30 minutes. When it was over Jimmy came
out to tell everyone to watch out for the guys that had
attacked me. Our departure was set for Monday morning
about 5:00 AM. There wasn't much chance of those guys
coming back for more action. But, I wanted to get even
somehow.
I stopped to see Jimmy at the Creeper and to ask what he
would do in the way of revenge. He wasn't busy so we
talked a while. He offered, “the dudes are easy to get
even with, because when they come across the unexpected,
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they can't handle it. I've got the perfect plan. Meet me
at the Canteen at 9:00.” I thought this guy better have a
great idea. I didn't want another beating. When I showed
up at the canteen Jimmy was waiting. He was excited and
eager to get going. As we walked into town, Suzy called
from behind me. I didn't want her to get hurt if we got
into a fight. But she insisted on coming. I had a feeling
she could handle herself.
We walked up to the door of the Pelican Bar and Jimmy
stopped to give us instructions. He said, “Just go along
with what I do no matter what and stay cool.” He opened
the old screen door and walked in as the door slammed
loudly behind us. The people at the bar were all drunk. I
looked around to see that the guy we were after wasn't
there. We sat at the bar and ordered drinks. The
bartender starred at Suzy and me for the longest time then
said, “I don't serve no minors.” Jimmy chimed in, “How
about serving Coke?”
The bartender studied Jimmy for a moment then turned around
and pulled a couple Coke’s from a cooler. Jimmy asked, “Is
Judd around?” I turned to see him come out of the men’s
room. My heart was pounding as he walked straight for me.
With every step he took he got hotter. Jimmy turned, “Hey,
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eyedropper in it fell to the floor and rolled toward me. I
reached down and picked it up.
The label read, Bett's Veterinary Supplies- 2 drops per
gallon- for constipation. I looked up to see Jimmy get hit
again. His nose was bleeding. I could see that he was
trying to stay away from Judd for as long as possible. Now,
Judd was showing off to everyone. He was fast, strong and
as tall as a Georgia pine. To everyone's surprise Judd
stopped his knock out punch in midair and let out a giant
fart that all could here clearly. The room fell silent as
all eyes turned to his stunned face. Judd said, “Oh!”
Jimmy knew this was his best chance, so he hit him square
in the belly as hard as possible.
It was hard enough to cause Judd to pause. Then there was
mixture of strange sounds, but Judd never made it to the
toilet. There was a resulting gastrointestinal explosion
that came with every step toward the Men’s room. Suzy
counted the money and paid the bar tab. I told Jimmy I
would never forget the expression on Judd’s face when he
farted. Jimmy said, “I was getting worried. It took a lot
longer than I thought for the horse laxative to work. He's
finished around here. People will talk about this forever.
They will tell the story of how a skinny guy hit Judd so
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hard he messed his pants.”
We walked back to the fairgrounds. On the way I thought
about what happened. I was becoming addicted to the
feeling of excitement. Even craving it. It wasn't clear
if I could control my feelings or my need for it.
The next morning, we packed up the tents. After breakfast
we got in the trucks and drove off toward our next date,
Shelby, South Carolina.
We hoped to be there by Night fall but the weather had
turned bad and the forecast was for thunderstorms for the
rest of the week, which was to be expected at this time of
the year. Naturally, we were all thinking that the fair
could be a wash out. Danny wasn't bothered by it. He
couldn't cancel it anyway. Not this close to the date.
The rain was like nothing I had ever seen before. We were
crawling along at 25 mph on a mountain road when Jimmy hit
the brakes too hard and the back end of the trailer
jackknifed across the highway. When we came to rest, the
trailer was loose and turned over on it's side in the
slippery red clay that had washed down from the hillside
onto the road. Danny stopped and came back to see us
sitting in the cab. Jimmy's hands were glued to the
steering wheel. His head stuck in place.
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The entire day was spent walking, crawling and digging in
the red mud. We got the trailer hooked up and made the
trip to Shelby in just over 5 hours.
The next day, we all went to Danny's Bingo tent for a
meeting. All the concessionaires were worried about the
weather. The forecast was for rain through the weekend.
During the meeting “Sparky,” Danny's dog came out from
under the counter where we kept gifts for the winners. He
had a nasty habit of sniffing the people he encountered.
Everyone always says that dogs have a great sense of smell.
If that’s true, why do they walk up to another dogs butt
put their nose in it and sniff? Why can't they smell if
from a distance if they can smell so well?
That day Sparky was in a sniffing mood, because he walked
up to the “Fat Woman,” stuck his nose into her crouch,
inhaled loudly, stepped back and sneezed. The woman
embarrassed said, “He must have smelled my cat.” Everyone
acted as if nothing had happened.
That afternoon, I was on the midway getting ready to open
the Creeper and Jimmy walked up, he was in the mood for
excitement. His idea of fun was to go out, get an old car
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and roll it over as many times as possible. I had never
done anything like that, so naturally I wanted to try it.
We agreed to meet at closing time on the edge of the
fairgrounds. I wanted to bring Suzy along, but he said it
was a manhood thing, we had to do it alone. He said we
would pick up the girls after we were finished and go
skinny dipping at a rock quarry outside of town.
As day became night, the idea of rolling a car got more
real. I imaged all kinds of scenarios. The car would roll
over and I'm smashed in the back set and not found for
weeks. As I walked to the edge of the field where I was to
meet Jimmy I saw a 1946 Chevy pull up and stop. I walked
up to the car to see Jimmy fooling around under the dash.
He looked at me and asked, “What do you think?” I was
suddenly paralyzed with fear.
Off we went down a long dirt road toward a rock quarry.
The tailpipe was dragging and smoke was filling the air
behind us. We stopped at the edge of the quarry. Jimmy
told me to hang on and he popped the clutch. The old Chevy
was bouncing along the edge of the water as we went faster.
Without warning Jimmy turned the wheel as hard as he could
to the right. The car started to skid across the rocks,
then it slowly rolled over. The sound of the rocks
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scraping across the roof was deafening. When I stopped
bouncing around in the car, my feet were in the air and my
head was stuffed under the back seat.
We got out of the car and walked around to survey the
damage. The back window was gone and the roof was crushed
in. Jimmy wanted to go again right away. But, I talked
him out of it and we went off to get the girls back at the
fairgrounds.
Suzy loved the idea of skinny dipping, so we went back to
the local quarry. We were all swimming around when a biker
showed up and asked me a lot of questions about some people
that were at the quarry before we got there. He was very
strange, but in those days bikers were all strange.
Everyone was getting out of the water when I saw a convoy
of cars coming down the dirt road at top speed, a dust
plume rising behind them. I had a bad feeling about staying
so I told Jimmy we should get into the car and head out of
there. He was slow to react. At the time I thought it was
his pride, but I don't think he knew what to do. Simply,
he panicked, got into the car and froze. He couldn't start
the car.
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The cars pulled up to us so their headlights would be upon
us and they got out of the car. One of them had been
beaten badly. He was in a fighting mood and we were about
to be the victims of revenge. I closed the back door when
one of them told me to get out. Jimmy just sat there and I
was holding back my panic. I think that's when this one
guy took a swing at me through the window. I leaned back
dodging him. The next time he swung at me, I put my foot
up and his fist hit the metal tap on the heel of my shoe.
It took all the skin off his knuckles. There's something
primal about angry crowds and blood that brings out the
beast in men. They started throwing rocks at the car. One
large rock came through the back window bounced off the
seat and landed on the floor beside me. It was time to get
out. I screamed at Jimmy to start the car. The tone of my
voice must have jarred him into consciousness. He turned
the key and as if by magic that wonderful old Chevy
started. He popped the clutch and the dirt and rocks flew.
We were on our way out of there. Suzy was hanging out the
window yelling at them. Jimmy was one of the best drivers
I've ever known. His girl Jessie was hiding. She had been
in this type of situation before and knew what to do. Keep
your head down and carry a gun. We were bouncing around
the quarry and the cars were in close pursuit. Jimmy
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pointed the car in the direction of a field of tall grass
and we went plowing through. The cars were 50 yards behind
us when he turned off the lights. All we could do was
listen to the loud noises of the car hitting stuff.
Somehow we lost them in the darkness and came to rest. I
could hear them all around us. Jimmy decided to stay put.
We waited a few minutes until the cars were all gone. I
must say it was very exciting.
The next day, the fairgrounds were almost dry and
everything was back to normal. The big top was magical to
me. The animals had their own smell that would drift
across the fairgrounds. I always tried to see the
rehearsals, because the performers were dress differently
and the lighting was not theatrical. It was raw and real.
I stopped by that morning to talk to Sam the Clown. We sat
and talked in the stands. I wanted to know how all these
people made money. What he told me startled me. He said,
“Danny is smart, he knows that if you have live
entertainment then you get the large crowds to the midway
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and that's where you make the money. More and more shows
are not carrying the big top because it cost too much.
This is one of the last small ones.” I didn't really
understand what he was saying until I was older and there
were only a few shows left in this country. He said one
thing that I heard before. “On the midway it’s all about
action and saving face.”
I walked back to the Creeper thinking about what he had
said. It was time to open the show so I got everything
ready. I picked up the Creeper, removed it from its blue
velvet bag and placed it on the glass table. I felt
something strange. I was for the first time looking
forward to the first mark of the day.
I looked down the midway and saw Jimmy coming with his arm
around a guy. They walked up and Jimmy introduced Jerome.
It's like we were hunting. The game was just standing
there eagerly waiting to get taken. I started the game in
the usual manner taking my cues from Jimmy. We knew he had
$500 on him. We won that in 10 minutes. But, I wanted
more. I was after something else, something that mattered
more to him than money. I wanted to hurt him and I didn't
know why. Jimmy told me to quit the game with this guy and
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move on. But, I wanted to press on, so I did. I told
Jerome I was willing to play for big stakes if he was. Of
course he was excited, so we made a bet for his new Ford
convertible. Jimmy tried to stop me but I continued.
Jimmy was angry with me to the point where he stopped the
game. I took the car keys from him. Suzy and I took it
for a ride that night. She didn't give it a second thought
that I had cheated this guy out of his new car. It's all
part of the game. On the other hand my grandfather wasn't
happy at all when Jimmy told him what had happened. He
sent him to bring me to the trailer.
Suzy and I had stopped at drive-inn burger place for a
shake and french fries. We were about to get into serious
making out when Jimmy found us. He pulled up in the
company pick-up. “Red, your grandfather is upset. He
wants you at the trailer now.” He didn't wait for an
answer. The next thing I knew he was speeding back toward
the fair grounds. I could tell he was real angry. It
looked like he was to blame. After all, he was my tutor on
the Creeper and I had shown no respect for the rules of the
game. By beating the mark out of the car I was opening us
up for the Sheriff to come out to see Danny. Somehow I
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knew that even if Danny was upset he would blame himself
for putting me in that position in the first place. God
please don't send me home.
We pulled up in front of the trailer and Danny was waiting
in the doorway. He was the original poker face, so I knew
he was thinking it was time to send me home before I got in
real trouble. Suzy got out of the car and quietly said
good night. Danny told me to come in and have a seat. He
said, “You're going to give the car back. Put the keys on
the table. I want you to pack your clothes and be ready to
go home tomorrow.”
I said, “Please let me explain. I didn't mean to do it.
Well, maybe I did. But, it seems like part of the game.
Taking what you want from these people.” He looked at the
floor. “When I came to this country as a young boy, my
brother and I were all alone. We learned how to play cards
on the boat and in the streets. We couldn't speak the
English language. So, we had to find a way to eat.” I
could see he was in pain as he talked about this time in
his life. “You don't have the same problems we had. I
should not have brought you with me this season. You're too
young.” He loved me and this had hurt him deeply. I said,
“Look I did it. I'm sorry. Please let me stay. Give me
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another chance.” I pleaded. He said, “Don't con me.”
Looking for a way out I said, “I'll bring the car back to
the guy myself. I'll do it in the morning.” He hesitated
for a moment and walked around the room.
After a long silence he spoke, “OK, but I want you to do
what you're told and nothing else.” It was clear that he
didn't want to send me home. But, at the same time he
wanted me to learn to control my passion for the game. The
truth is I loved taking stuff from these people. It was
fun. To everyone else it was a serious business.
Danny was still uneasy with the arrangement. Even if there
was an apology, the truth is that the guy lost his car in a
rigged game. By giving it back we were admitting that
fact. If we could make it look like we were not greedy by
giving the car back, then we could save face and the guy
would not be angry. I had to give it back. I asked,
“Grandpa, please let me take the car back. I'll tell him
we didn't want him to loose the car, so we are returning
it. We don't want any bad feelings.” I waited for an
answer. He stroked his fingers through his hair. “Do it
tonight. Go out with Jimmy and return the car. The sooner
the better. We'll talk more in the morning.”
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Jimmy was outside in front of the campfire when I
approached. He looked at me with anticipation “What did he
say? No let me guess. He wants you to go home. Right?”
“Yes, no and maybe. I'll talk to him in the morning. It
all depends on you.” He looked like the guilty one. He
knew that he had done this kind of thing in the past. I
didn't have to bring it up. I said, “He wants you to come
with me to return the car, now.” The fact that everyone
knew about the car by now, meant we had to get it back
fast. Jimmy was great at this stuff. I was feeling a lot
better, because he was with me. He got up, turned and
walked away from me talking to me. “I'm going to get fired
or killed teaching you this business. Come on. What was
everyone so upset about? It was just a little mistake.”
When we got to the guy’s house Jimmy went to the door and
knocked. A well dressed black woman came to the door. She
said, “Yes, what can I do for you?” Jimmy took off his
hat. “Well, Ma’am my name is Jimmy Jackson and I work at
the Bright Light Shows. We are here to return the car. On
the title it says, this address.” She was furious. “Well,
come on in boys.” She turned and bellowed. “Jerome get
out here, it's your lucky day.” She sat down in an old
over stuffed chair, it look like a queen’s throne. The
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odor in this house was different from our house. The food
smelled great and it made me hungry. She turned to me and
said, “Sit down son.” Jerome came into the room. He was
mama’s boy.
Jimmy sized him up instantly. “Jerome, I'm here to give you
your keys back. We don't want any bad feelings. Anyway
here are the keys and the title.” He was so delighted that
he didn't hear anything else we said. Mama was about to
deliver a speech about the moral issues but Jimmy cut her
off. “I smell pecan pie. I bet you make the best in the
County. How about a sample.” Just as Jimmy had intended
she forgot what she was about to say and went to the
kitchen with Jimmy in tow. Jerome quietly stood in the
middle of the room looking at me. I said, “I'm truly sorry
about the car.” He wasn't listening. She came out of the
kitchen and asked me to join them. The pie was great. I
realized how much she was like my mother.
The next morning, Suzy came to awaken me. She had tears
streaming down her cheeks. Danny had died of a heart
attack in his sleep. She tried to comfort me. “Death came
quietly in his sleep.” I've never understood what that
means exactly. How could you know for sure? What if he
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dining table crying. Her hand was wrapped around a glass
of beer. On the table was lit Pall Mall with red lipstick
on the tip burning in the ashtray. I asked if she wanted
me to come back another time? She invited me in and hugged
me for a very long time. She was a strangely charming
woman. For the first time I cried with her over loosing
Grandpa. I guess grieving was meant to be a shared
experience. But, why was I thinking that someone was going
to catch me having the wrong feeling? The way Danny died
fit somehow. He was doing what he loved most.
Now, I know where I got the idea that what you do in this
life is important. It can be the cause of great pain for
the people that love us. In one way we draw life from the
people around us. Danny did that in a nice way. At least
people didn't hate him for it. Then the unthinkable
happened, the first greedy thought came creeping in. What
was going to happen to the Bright Light Show’s?
I didn't want it to come to an end. Everyone thought
Claudia would keep the show. The next day my Dad came up
from Miami and we grieved together. I wanted it to be over
with. That night we traveled south on the train with
Danny's body to a funeral home in North Miami Beach. We
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were both dead tired at the funeral. Danny's coffin was
carried
to the grave sight and placed at the foot of the Showman's
Association monument. He was placed in the shadow cast buy
a 15 foot bronze elephant. My Dad greeted strange men.
Danny's friends had come to say good-bye. They were mostly
Jewish and Italian
Showman. They disappeared a quickly as they had appeared
in a fleet of black Cadillac’s.
Danny's will, was to be read at the wake at our home. In it
was his wish, that I inherit the show. He didn’t plan on
going so soon. It didn’t take long for me to decide to give
it to Claudia to sell or keep. Like my Dad, I was not meant
to be a traveling showman.
I was filming in Miami not long ago, so I stopped at the
cemetery and spent time sitting on the grass beside him. I
learned much about life in the short time we spent
together. The most important thing is that love last
forever and that very little else matters.
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