Neil Adams passed away a few weeks ago. If you grew up during the late 60s & early 70s, chances are his artwork on Batman was what you saw, with the sharp, pointed ears & long, flowing cape.
Neil Adams passed away a few weeks ago. If you grew up during the late 60s & early 70s, chances are his artwork on Batman was what you saw, with the sharp, pointed ears & long, flowing cape.
In the last chapter, that I posted, the Bonner Hall gang, went to a Wolves basketball game to see Clint & Slick play & watch Grace perform a “flaming baton” routine.
Her routine was successful, but she wasn’t watching where she was going & bumped into a small rack holding cold fruit drinks for the players. I described the flimsy foil tops.
I wasn’t sure if those were still made or not. Low & behold, I found them at Price Cutter in Lebanon, Missouri.
I just discovered this video, which goes perfectly with the subject of my novel. Here is the original “media influencer”, Dick Clark, promoting the “new” TV show Batman on American Bandstand. Even Dick’s Top 10 & some dancing at the end of the clip.
My name is Jeff Boggs and i live in Springfield, Missouri. I am an aspiring writer. I have a B. S in Electronic Media and a B. A in English from Missouri State University. I am working on a novel entitled Dynamic Duo of the Ozarks. It is based (very loosely) on two true stories here in Springfield.
One is a story I stumbled onto in the microfilm editions of the Springfield newspapers from 1966. At the height of Batmania, two college students dressed up as Batman & Robin. They attempted to help both Springfield PD & Springfield Fire Department, who didn’t appreciate the help from this “Dynamic Duo of the Ozarks.” They wound up emceeing frat parties, dances & hootenannies.
The other story involves a local philanthropist & volunteer known as “the Springfield Batman,” because he visits children in the local hospitals dressed as Batman.
I will post some chapters here, as a sneak peak. I also have some interesting facts about 1966, that I have found with my research. Some of these articles, have been posted on another blog that I used to manage called “New Adventures of Desdinova the Super-Villain of the Ozarks.”
I hope people enjoy this blog about my Work-In-Progress.
ABC began promoting the debut of the Batman TV, in newspapers, on January 5, 1966.
A frequent thorn in the side of Lovable Lance and K-I-L-L is Muriel Krampus. She is a member of a John Birch Society affiliate group called Concerned Women of the Ozarks. She brings him petitions from citizens of Springville who want K-I-L-L to stop playing rock and roll. Each time Lovable Lance rips them up in her face (although Mr. Ketner says they should keep them in the public file). You can find refences to her in Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 on the website.
She is based on two women in Springfield politics, but I named her after the creepy German Christmas character, Krampus (pictured above), that seems to hate children.
This image was created with Copilot.
In order to write this novel, I have tried to immerse myself into the world of Mykel and Clint. Since Mykel works at a radio station and is living in the college dorm, I try to listen to the music they would be hearing on the radio.
I had two Ipod. One stopped working and nobody in the Ozarks will fix it, the other was briefly lost for awhile, but I have since found it.
For a while, I tried using Spotify. It didn’t have all of the music I liked, but it did help when I created playlist for the rival radio stations to K-I-L-L, which are K-B-U-B (hillbilly country)and K-R-C-A (easy Adult Contemporary). Spotify came in handy for this because I couldn’t just go out and buy the music for K-R-C-A and I didn’t want the music for K-B-U-B, because, as you can tell from the chapters I’ve posted, I’m not a country music fan.
If you have been on social media for the past week or are on Spotify, you know they have been giving users these stat based on their listening call “Wrapped”. Spotify thinks I’m 78 years-old by what is on my playlist. As much as I laughed about this, the truth is Mykel, Sherry, and Slick would be around that age now.
It also mentions that one of the most listened to groups is the Pretty Things. In one chapter, a columnist with the Springville Daily News starts a campaign to force the Springville radio stations to play “Ballad of the Green Beret” over and over. Lovable Lance gets tired of it, especially after a woman requesting the song, said she never listed to K-I-L-L because all they played were “Limeys and darkies,” and breaks the record. When the columnist learns they are no longer playing “Ballad of the Green Beret,” she calls Lovable Lance, basically telling him the the “Ballad of the Green Beret” is better than most of the current music and mentions a band called the Pretty Things, being promoted as ‘worse than the Rolling Stones.’ So, Lovable Lance, to irritated this columnist, adds the Pretty Things records to the K-I-L-L playlist.
So how does Martin Denny fit in to all of this. In one chapter, Lovable Lance and his fiancé, Sharon, treat Mykel and Sherry to a meal at a local Tiki bar/restaurant called Lost City of the Amazon. While writing that I listened to exotic/Tiki bar music and Martin Denny (with Lex Baxter & Billy Vaughn’s Blue Hawaii LP) are the music playing in the restaurant. Lovable Lance tells Mykel he wants him to stop doing the mushy love song show that Mat Midnight had been doing and instead start playing the newer hipper music such as Jefferson Airplane, the Blues Magoos, and Cream.
I just thought it would be fun to share this information with you.
Daniel Woodrell has died of pancreatic cancer at age 72 in West Plains. Woodrell was born in Springfield but lived in West Plains. Three of his novels, Tomato Red, Ride with the Devil, and Winter’s Bone, were turned into movies. His last novel, The Maid’s Version, was about an explosion at a dance hall in West Plains in 1928.
Woodrell’s writing has been a inspiration to me. I especially love The Maid’s Version. This book has been an influence on THE DYNAMIC DUO OF THE OZARKS because it takes a true story from the Ozarks and gives us details that were not part of the news coverage and what “may” have lead up to the explosion, as well as the aftermath, including how it changed the community.
There is also a story in his collection of short stories, The Outlaw Album, that is based on the case of Kelle Ann Workman. There has finally been some arrest and convictions in that cold case.
Once again I have been fooling with A-I programs to create versions of how I see my characters in THE DYNAMIC DUO OF THE OZARKS.
“THE BIG THIRTEEN HUNDRED K-I-DOUBLE-L! HEY HEY, I’M LOVABLE LANCE, THE MAN WITH THE MUSIC TO MAKE YOU DANCE! THAT WAS BOB DYLAN ASKING THE MUSICAL QUESTION ‘CAN YOU PLEASE CRAWL OUT YOUR WINDOW?’ BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW HOW TO OPERATE A DOOR KNOB (rimshot). FIRST NATIONAL BANK TIME AND TEMPERATURE IS 54 DEGREES AND 12:15 (beep-beep) IN SPRINGVILLE MISSOURI. HEY HEY, I’M LOVABLE LANCE AND THIS IS THE WHO WITH ‘MY GENERATION‘ ON THE BIG THIRTEEN HUNDRED K-I-double-L!”
Meanwhile across town, at 6-7 K-B-U-B, home of the K-B-U-B Cowpokes (and the big neon sign on the highway, Lovable Lance’s arch-enemy Cousin Clyde is pandering to hillbillies and old cranky people.
“Howdy, Howdy, dear friends and neighbors! This is your old Cousin Clyde at 6-7 K-B-U-B on your radio dial. Ain’t it a priv-a-lige to live here in the Ozarks. We just heard Charlie Louvin and ‘See the Big Man Cry Mama.’ I like to fish and you can buy a copy of my book of fish tips and hillbilly wisdom at many of fine stores here in the Ozarks. I’ve been fishing since I was a knee high to a grasshopper. It’s so sad that these kids today just want to stay in the house and watch cartoons on TV. The two things I love the most in this old world is fishing and being an American. It’s time for the K-B-U-B Song of Inspiration and it’s Johnny Paycheck singing ‘Old Rugged Cross.’ Then, I’ll go down the hall for a cup of coffee and I’ll turn the microphone over to one of the fellers from the K-B-U-B 24 Hour Newsroom.”
Remember I posted a drawing of Cousin Clyde with the chapter about the remote at the boat show when he and Lovable Lance clashed? CoPilot produced that photorealistic image from that drawing. It is perfect!
One of the subplots involve a shady character and John Birch Society member name Laban Edward Fantt taking over the Browne County Republican Party. He isist that people call him the Pachyderm. He and another shady character called the Mason Dixon the Confederate Colonel kidnap the mayor’s son and his girlfriend. Clint and Mykel rescue them while dressed as Batman and Robin. I have tried several times to create L. E. Fantt with A-I, but this is the first time a program (CoPilot) get it right.
And last but not least, a new photo of Mykel, using a free face swap program.
Once again, I have used a face swap A-I program to create a conceptual photo for a character. This time I got around to creating a photo of Clint Grogan. Some have accused me of ignoring the character of Clint in favor of Sherry.
The truth is most of the major action happens with Clint. I have just had some sudden spontaneous ideas with the Sherry character, including an epiphany about the last chapter tying Sherry to Clint’s nephew, Dustin. Also, I wanted to have Sherry meet Bethany (Mykel’s snooty high school crush) and I had the idea of making it happen during a summer day trip to the Lake of the Ozarks. I’m also working on a later chapter where Mykel takes Sherry to the radio station to watch him work.
Since I made some A-I mock-ups for Mykel and Sherry, not to mention a photo I made of Bethany and her fiancé, Timothy. I decided I should try to make a mock-up of Clint Grogan. It was hard trying to find the models even though I was only using a simple face swap.
I searched through yearbook photos on Pinterest. I would find some, but I would notice they were from a page dedicated to people whose names are on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Granted, in the novel, Clint is on the Wall, but I feared using those would lead to some Karen making a “stolen valor” claim to Word Press against me.
I found a 1965 senior photo in a Facebook group I belong to, so next I had to find the right “face.” I wound up with three faces to see if they would work for Clint.
One is a random rodeo cowboy, from a 1966 photo, posted on the National Cowboy Hall of Fame Facebook group.
I also saw, on Facebook, a video by a country singer named Cooper Allen (above). He reminded me of guy I went to high school with, who I didn’t like at first, because he dated a girl I was in love with, but he broke up with her, and I decided he wasn’t a bad guy after all.
Then I saw a photo of NASCAR driver Kasey Kane (above). I’ve tried all three and I believe Kasey Kane looks the most like what I have pictured in my mind that Clint looks like.
I’ve started work on the chapter involving the main event of the novel; Mykel and Clint running around Springville in their homemade Batman and Robin costumes.
I’ve decided it should begin with Mykel learning a dark secret Clint has been keeping from him. They take Clint’s Ford Mustang on their adventure. Mykel hears the song on the radio and wonders, aloud, “Are we playing this song?” Clint sheepishly admits that he sometimes listens to K-B-U-B.
Here is where I’m going to ask for some help. I’m going to let you vote on what the song was that Mykel heard playing on the radio of Clint’s car when they started their adventure as The Dynamic Duo of the Ozarks.
Now, I want to explain why some songs are not listed before people ask or get upset.
I realize I frequently make excuses for the lack of posting, but I have been busy with work. Also, there has been some upheaval in my life, but for good reason. My sister and my nephew’s wife are helping me clean up and get rid of my late parents’ stuff. My nephew’s wife has a WordPress blog and she wrote a blog post about it. We are finding some interesting things.
One of the things we found is this cassette tape. It is a mix tape of songs I recorded off the radio. Why am I writing about it here? Two reasons:
There are only three current hits (of the time) on the tape. They are “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes, “That’s All” by Genesis, and “Nothing From Today” by the Vipers. The last one was taped off of K-S-M-U is Springfield, which is the radio station, where I started my radio career. The song sounds like it came from the era (65-67) in which The Dynamic Duo of the Ozarks takes place. It was part of a forgotten trend called retro bands or ‘paisley underground’ bands. It did produce some well-known groups, such as the Smithereens, the Bangles, and REM. Genesis and Yes were probably recorded off K-L-W-T FM 92 in Lebanon. It is long gone.
There were two songs on the tape, which are technically 70’s songs: “Fly Like an Eagle” by Steve Miller Band and “Sweet Jane” by the Velvet Underground. I used the term technically because the version I had recorded, off of another syndicated radio show, that I think was called Guest D-J; that night it was the late Greg Kihn. The version he chose to play was the slow version from the Live: 1969 LP. This is the version that the Cowboy Junkies covered in the late 80s.
As for the oldest song on the tape, it was “Runaway” by Del Shannon, also from Solid Gold Saturday Night. I also remembered, after listening to this tape, that I had taped the LP The Hollies Greatest Hits (the Epic hits) onto this tape to listen to on my Walkman. I needed a tape to record songs from Solid Gold Saturday Night on and I grabbed this in a rush.
I know for a fact that I have mentioned “Jenny Take a Ride,” “King of the Road,” and “Wild Thing” in chapters. I think that “Black Is Black” and “So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star’ is mentioned in the chapter I am currently working on.
Why did I write this post about a mix tape I made off of the radio in the 80s? I wanted to show that many of my passions are in this novel. I’ve loved the music of the 60s, especially the British Invasion, since junior high. Before that, I was obsessed with TV shows like Batman and The Man from U-N-C-L-E, as well as other shows from that era (on revisiting these shows, I realize my fascination with the opposite sex may have started with Petticoat Junction), and my love of broadcast history. Throw in my happy remembrances of my college years and my college friends, you have why I am enjoying writing this novel.
Mykel decided that he and Sherry should take a little fun trip to the Lake of the Ozarks before they had to start their fall classes at S-M-S. They took a cruise on the Captain Larry-Don excursion boat, rode on a roller coaster and a swing ride at an amusement park.
“Now that song, your radio station is playing, is going to be stuck in my head,” Sherry laughed.
“What song is that?” Mykel asked.
Sherry burst into song, “I lost my heart at the fairground to the boy who ran the swing machine. Who sings that Lesley Gore or Nancy Sinatra?”
“Neither. It’s a girl from England named Glenda Collins. The girl who upset Ozarkers this winter by saying ‘Hell” in a song.”
“I kind of like it. It’s a fun song for summer.”
“This is the first summer I remember hearing so many songs about summer,” Mykel said. “I really like the one by Lovin Spoonful. I also like that Billy Stewart song.”
“Oh, ‘Summertime’! I love that song!” Sherry gushed, then said in a hushed voice. “I’ve got a funny story about that song. It’s from the opera called Porgy and Bess, which is about slaves. I was in a talent show when I was in ninth grade. There was another girl, in the talent show, who sang that song.” Sherry lowered her voice to a near whisper. “This girl was one of those people who are horrible singers, but she tries to compensate by singing loud and holding her notes real long. She also had Shinola smeared all over her face and was rocking one of those little pickaninny rag dolls. She threw a big fit when she didn’t win.”
“What did you do in the talent show?” Mykel asked.
“I tap danced to the song ‘Happy Feet.’ I came in third. She said she didn’t think I was any good.”
“You should have said to her ‘At least I don’t have shoe polish smeared on her face.’ She is probably still trying to wash that off.” Sherry laughed.
“You want to play Skee Ball or Whack-a-Mole?’ Mykel asked.
“I’m thirsty. Let’s get something to drink,” Sherry said. “That booth over there has lemonade.”
Mykel and Sherry went to get some lemonade from the booth with a rather long line. They were standing in line when Mykel saw something that made him nervous. Bethany Duckworth, who Mykel had a crush on from seventh grade until he started attending S-M-S and figured out there were prettier girls in the world, like Sherry Ridenhour.
(Bethany & Timothy’s photo created with an A-I program)
He guessed that the tall guy with her was fiancé, Timothy Brinkwell. They were in line behind him and Sherry. Mykel felt safe about two things, Bethany would be too stuck up to speak to him, and Sherry was so sweet and angelic that nothing bad would happen if she did speak to Mykel.
As they stood in line, Mykel listened to music on the overhead speakers. It was a mix of current hits and some “golden oldies,” as Lovable Lance called them. However, Mykel noticed there was no disk jockey, commercials, or I-Ds.
“I wonder what the temperature is?” Sherry asked Mykel.
“I don’t know. It seems to be getting hotter,” Mykel answered. “I was just thinking the radio station playing hasn’t given any weather.”
“It may be a Seeburg machine,” Sherry said. “They have one at the clinic where my dad works, but they only play classical music or elevator music, but that of course is what they want for the clinic. You can probably get them to play other music.”
“Yeah, doctor’s offices always play boring music,” Mykel snarked. “Perfect background music for reading old Missouri Conservationist magazines or those depressing Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime Stories.”
“I didn’t realize those were that depressing until I started reading it to those little kids that night at the hospital,” Sherry said. “Then they came out and told them their grandpa died, I felt really bad.”
“I’m going to get a corn dog. Do you want one?”
“Yeah, I’m kind of hungry,” Sherry answered. “Do you want me to pay for mine?”
“No,” Mykel said. “Ten cent corn dogs won’t break me.”
“Some boys wouldn’t buy me a corn dog,” Sherry said. “They made me pay for my own.”
“You mean this Knob Noster big shot,” Mykel said sarcastically. “Apparently, he gave Alice his wiener.”
Sherry swatted Mykel on the arm with a look of half shock and half laughter on her face. “Mykel! People can hear you and there are children everywhere!” She kept laughing. “That was funny though.”
The loudspeaker at the park began playing “Over, Under, Sideways Down” by the Yardbirds. Mykel began shouting “Hey” along with the song, then Sherry joined in. She then spied something across the midway.
“Mykel, look what that sign says!” Sherry laughed, as she pointed to the sign, which read: Bagnel Dam Candy Kitchen. Come in & try some of our Dam Candy! Dam Licorice – Black & Red. Dam Fudge – Chocolate & Peanut Butter. Dam Horehound. Dam Walnettos.”
“Do you want some of that Dam candy?” Mykel asked jokingly.
“Maybe later,” Sherry said. “I like it says Dam Horehound.”
“You found a new nickname for Alice,” Mykel causing Sherry to laugh hysterically.
The song “Guantantamera” began playing on the overhead speaker. Mykel began singing along but singing “One-ton tomato. I ate a one-ton tomato.” Sherry was laughing to the point where she was red faced and crying.
“You’re going to make me wet my pants,” she said.
There was an older couple standing behind Mykel and Sherry in the line for refreshments. The lady tapped them on the shoulder. The lady and her husband were chuckling.
“Excuse me, but I wanted to tell you how much my husband and I are enjoying your antics. You are a cute couple. Are you entertainers at the Tan Tara Resort or the Ozark Opry?” the lady inquired.
“No, but we are entertainers,” Mykel said. Sherry got that grin on her face. She knew Mykel was about to say something goofy. “My name is Bill Cosby and this is Leslie Uggams.” Sherry rolled her eyes, put her hand over her face, and began to giggle. The lady and her husband laughed out loud.
“Oh my, you are so funny!”
“Actually, Mame, Mykel is working at a radio station in Springville, while he attends college at Show-Me State.”
“Oh, would it be K-B-U-B? We can hear that in Climax Springs.”
“No, I work at the Top 40 station, K-I-double-L.”
“Well, I’m sure the kids will enjoy you as much as me and the wife have,” the man said.
Mykel and Sherry ordered their lemonade and corn dogs. While a girl drew their lemonade and cooked their corn dogs, Sherry decided to ask the boy taking the money about the music, just as “Double Shot of My Baby’s Love” began blasting over the speakers.
“My boyfriend is in radio and would like to know if we are listening to a really cool radio station or is this a Seeburg machine?”
“It’s not radio. The radio station here in town doesn’t play rock and roll until after 4 PM, so this is…I think that other thing you mentioned…one of those little machines that plays a big record. You can’t play them on a regular record player. I understand they get the records from another company because the others are not really fun stuff. I think this record is called Go-Go Hits or something.”
“Thank you for your information,” Sherry said. They took their snacks and started walking toward some picnic tables across the midway, when the thing Mykel was dreading happened.
“Mykel! Mykel Daring is that you?” a high-pitched squealing girl’s voice called from the line of people waiting in the hot sun for refreshments. Bethany Duckworth had spotted Mykel.
“I think that girl over there is calling your name,” Sherry said.
“That is the girl I had a crush on in junior high school,” Mykel mumbled.
“You should at least speak to her, since she saw you,” Sherry said. The one thing that bothered Mykel about Sherry was her niceness. He would like to see Sherry be mean to someone just once. Mykel also knew if his mother was here, she too would make him speak to Bethany.
“Hello Bethany. How are you?” Mykel grumbled reluctantly talking to Bethany. She was decked out in a flower print sundress with her brown hair in a beehive updo.
“Oh wonderful! I haven’t seen you since graduation. What are you doing now?”
“I will start my sophomore year at Show-Me State College in a few weeks. I’m studying broadcasting and media. What are you doing these days?” Mykel asked even though he could have cared less. Sherry just stood next to Mykel smiling and sipping her lemonade.
“Oh, I’m working in my father’s insurance office and planning my wedding,” Bethany gushed. “Timothy and I are getting married next year! Do you know Timothy Brinkwell?”
“I’ve heard of him, but never met him,” Mykel answered. “His family has the funeral home and ambulance service.”
Bethany tugged on the tall guy’s arm. He was kind of staring off into space or people watching. “Timothy, this is Mykel Daring. We graduated from Lemming High School in the Class of 65. Mykel was madly in love with me.” She then let out a mocking laugh.
Mykel was hurt until he noticed Sherry’s face. She had stopped grinning and was looking rather perturbed. She had also switched from neatly nibbling her corn dog to taking a big bite, which left a smudge of mustard on the corner of her mouth. That was the way Sherry ate when she was upset about something. Mykel thought, “I hope it’s not Lady Time again.”
“Daring? Is your grandfather Major Taylor?” Timothy asked his odd goose-like voice. Mykel answered yes. “I recently paid him and your grandmother a visit. My father wants me to try to interest some of the older residents of Lemming in prearrangement plans. I told him I had been by previously, but they weren’t at home.” Timothy began to chuckle. “I found it amusing, he said ‘We have been trying not to be here when you come by.’ I laughed, but you grandmother was kind of embarrassed by what he said.” Timothy then became serious, “Mykel, you and your mother need to talk to your grandparents about investing in a prearranged funeral plan. We don’t know when we will draw our last breath, so it is best to have a casket and headstone already paid for.”
Mykel said ‘okay’ and Sherry just nodded her head acknowledging fate.
Things went from gloomy to tense quickly when Bethany asked, “Mykel, who is this person standing next to you? Is she with you?”
“I’m Sherry Ridenhour. I attend Show-Me State College with Mykel.”
“I don’t believe you are from Lemming,” Bethany said in a tone that suggested that Sherry might have been a Russian spy or something.
“I’m from Knob Noster, Missouri.”
“You mean you are from a town filled with servicemen and you are hanging around with Mykel Daring?” Bethany sneered. “You have a taste for nick knacks.”
Mykel was thinking he and Sherry should make their way to the picnic table like they started to do, but Bethany had to pile more wood on the fire under Sherry’s already boiling kettle. She stuck her hand right in his face.
“Look at the engagement ring Timothy got me!” Sherry was not amused by this, but then Bethany looked at her and said, “By the way, Honey, you have some mustard on the corner of your mouth.” Sherry looked like she was about to blow up at that point. She also began shaking the ice in her lemonade cup and stabbing the ice with the straw, which Mykel had learned was a signal that she was irritated by something, in this case it was Bethany.
Mykel decided to be nice, since Sherry had admonished him for his bad attitude. “That’s nice, Bethany. I’m very happy for you.”
“Can I see your ring?” Sherry asked. Bethany obliged with a smile. Sherry jerked her hand over in front of her face to examine the ring. She then turned to Mykel and said, “Mykel, this ring isn’t as nice the one, you showed me at Service Merchandise, that you are buying me.” Sherry smiled at Mykel, but it wasn’t her usual smile. It was slightly demonic. She gave him a sharp poke in the back, out of Bethany’s sight.
“Well, we looked at several, Sherry,” Mykel was apprehensive about where Sherry was going with this charade. “Which ring are you talking about?”
“The one with the diamond as big as a penny,” Sherry answered Mykel, trying not to laugh. She then turned to Bethany and told her, “Mykel can afford it now that he is quickly becoming the most popular radio D-J in Springville.”
“Oh, are you on K-B-U-B by any chance?” Timothy asked.
“No, I’m on K-I-L-L,” Mykel snapped, because he was tired of people asking him if he was on ‘the hillbilly station’ as he called it.
“Timothy, why is Mykel’s girlfriend getting a nicer ring than me?” Bethany whined, before she began ripping into him about how he could probably buy her a ring with a large diamond.
Timothy tried to explain that he was still going to get her a wedding ring and what she had was only an engagement ring. He also told her something about his father having to buy a new ambulance for the funeral home’s ambulance service. Bethany was throwing a major fit and people were watching it unfold in the line for cold drinks and corn dogs.
Mykel was sort of feeling sorry for Timothy as he was twisting in the wind. Sherry was enjoying this and slipping her lemonade through her grinning lips. To make it complete, on the overhead speaker, Roger Miller began singing “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd.” Sherry decided that since she lit the fuse on the dynamite, she needed to pour some gas on it for more destruction.
“By the way, Bethany, are you the girl Mykel bought a box of chocolates for on Valentine’s Day and then gave them to the football team, and they threw them at him?”
A look of horror crossed Bethany’s face as she realized Sherry had just pointed out one of her past sins. “That was in junior high. How did you know about that?”
“That wasn’t a very nice. As matter of fact, that was downright rude,” Sherry berated Bethany much like a teacher who caught a kid chewing gum. “Mykel bought me some candy for Valentine’s Day, and I shared them with him. It was so sweet and romantic. My previous boyfriend wouldn’t buy me chocolates or flowers.”
Mykel thought it might be a good time to end this, even though he was enjoying Sherry raking Bethany over the coals. “Well, it was nice to see you again, Bethany!” He was trying not to laugh.
“Nice to see you, Mykel.” Bethany said coldly and turned her head away with a sharp jerk.
Timothy, on the other hand, was more affable. “It was nice meeting you, Mykel, and tell you grandparents and mother that I said hello.” He shook Mykel’s hand and then shook Sherry’s hand, “It was nice to meet you too, young lady.”
“Come on, Timothy! We will need to get back into line,” Bethany chided her boyfriend. Mykel and Sherry went over to the picnic table and sat down.
“That was interesting,” Mykel was not sure what to say, as the overhead speaker began playing “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by the Beach Boys.
“The nerve of that girl! She just spoke to you just so she could rub it in your face that she was engaged. And that guy! He is creepy! He reminded me of Lurch from The Addams Family! Did you notice when we shook his hand? They were moist and icky!” Sherry paused. “You don’t think he had just finished embalming someone before he came here, do you? What does he have that you don’t?”
“Money and a big name in Lemming,” Mykel answered. “I think I know why you reacted the way you did. She reminds you of someone. Doesn’t she?”
Sherry has a contemplative look on her face. “Yes, she is another Alice Schnatsky.”
“Except both of Bethany’s eyes move,” Mykel said causing Sherry to also spew out some of her lemonade.
“Mykel, I’ve been kind of hard on you about your ideas about people and how they have treated you in the past, but just now, I saw why you feel that way. I also realize why you like me.”
“You know it was fun seeing that mean and mischievous side of you.”
WIP: DYNAMIC DUO OF THE OZARKS 