NOTE: I am nowhere near finished with The Dynamic Duo of the Ozarks. However, I thought of a great ending, so I thought I would write it and share it with you. No major spoilers here. After all, in the first chapter, we learned that Clint was killed in Vietnam & Mykel is married to a woman named Julie. I believe Sherry is only referred to, by Clarence, as “the little blonde chick.”
Mykel jotted down some notes and even some questions for Clint’s nephew. There was one question he was going to ask and it was possible that he wouldn’t know the answer. Mykel dialed the number in the letter.
“Yes, who is this?”
“My name is Mykel Daring,” His voice began to quiver. “I was your Uncle Clint’s roommate at Show-Me State College back in 1966. You sent me a letter wanting to know about our escapade dressed as Batman and Robin.”
“Oh wow! I’m glad you gave me a holler, Professor Daring!” As Dustin spoke, Mykel noticed how much he sounded and talked like Clint. “I talked to someone who said to tell you hello.”
“Surely nobody in Springville remembers me.”
“She’s doesn’t live in Springville,” Dustin continued. “You see S-M-S-U has a medical arts department and I’m working toward a degree in pediatric critical care medicine. I applied for a scholarship that is sponsored by this lady, who is an S-M-S alumni. She and her father founded this company, Ridenhour Company, that makes a lot of medical equipment and sterilization products. Supposedly, this woman invented hand-sanitizer, when she was a student at S-M-S. You have to write a letter about why you think you deserve the scholarship and I told them about my visits to the pediatric ward dressed as Batman. I mentioned that my mom told me about Uncle Clint and you dressing as Batman and Robin. I was awarded the scholarship to continue my education.
“When I was given the scholarship, I met this lady, who sponsored the scholarship, Miss Ridenhour. She said told me that she knew Uncle Clint and she dated his roommate. She told me ‘His name was Michael, but spelled with a ‘Y-K.’ He was studying broadcasting and that fascinated me.’ I told her that I had wrote you a letter to ask about when you and Uncle Clint dressed up as Batman and Robin. She said if I talked to you, tell you that Sherry said hello.’
Mykel got a lump in his throat as he listened to Dustin.
“I guess her father was a country doctor in Knob Noster before worked at a big hospital for a few years, then he and Miss Ridenhour bought this little company and made it a leading supplier to the medical industry,” Dustin paused. “And do you know what she was doing before she and her father took over that company?”
“She was playing a nurse on Days of Our Lives.”
“How did you know that?”
“I saw her on there once,” Mykel said. “You know I have seen soap dispensers in public restrooms and hospitals with the name Ridenhour on them, but I never made the connection. I remember we thought Sherry rubbing stuff on her hands to kill germs was odd, but at least it made her rich. I’m happy for her.”
Mykel still hoped she called Chip and Alice and woke them up at 3 AM every morning. Now, Mykel decided to address the elephant in the room and ask the question that was at the front of his mind.
“Dustin, do you mind if I ask…not sure if you know…how did your Uncle Clint die?”
“Mom always told me his company was being fired upon by some Viet Cong. He was trying to shield another solider from being hit with gunfire and he set off a land mine. The presented my Grandpa and Grandma with medals and a flag. My Grandpa after that kept saying, ‘My son finally did something I’m proud of. He died for his country trying to save a fellow soldier. Grandpa died not long after Uncle Clint’s funeral.”
Mykel was choked up. As much as he had hated Clint’s father for the way he treated him, he could help but feel sad for a man losing a son he did really get to know, and maybe realizing he wasn’t ‘a lazy boy that just want to play ball.’
“So, what happened when you and Uncle Clint was running around Springville dressed as the Dynamic Duo of the Ozarks?”
“Well, Dustin, make yourself comfortable and I will tell you the story,” Mykel began laughing. “As your Uncle Clint would say, it’s a real doozy.”
WIP: DYNAMIC DUO OF THE OZARKS 