One Heck of a 'NIGHT 2-8-18

MORE OLD TIMEY STUFF

ONE HECK OF A 'NIGHT - Excerpt from my Book 2-8-18

I was still flying high from having Old Sam with us again. In many ways it brought the old farm and its memories back to us in Old Portsmouth. He had arrived just after the middle of August, after a long trip by Truck and trailer. So far Portsmouth was ignorant there was a Giant Living in the neighborhood. Only my 4 friends and their families had seen him so far. Uncle Ray had stayed on to see the parade on Labor Day.

There wasn't much to do in 1956 in Old Portsmouth unless you belonged to something. I had Scouts and My Mother and Pokey's mom had church.. we all did. Church was important and most people belonged to one church or another.

Uncle Ray came around the house and tugged me by the shirt sleeve like he always did when he had something percolating. Looking at the twinkle in his eyes, I could almost see the wheels turning behind them.. that same look when he decided to make Home Brew! I knew something was cooking.

"Are you gonna be in the Labor Day Parade?" he asked.

"Yeah", I said the Scouts are making a float and we are gonna pull the River Rat on a trailer. Charlie is gonna stand in front of the mast in his Blue Woollies and medal and flag the Scout Pledge!"

"That will be a sight!" said Uncle Ray Grinning. "How would you like to do something else?"

"Like what?" I asked, trying to figure out Uncle Rays new scheme.

"I am thinking of a way to put Old Sam in the parade,"he said, "if you are game."

Now nothing could tear me away from Scouts except Old Sam, and Scouts and Old Sam both on the same day was too much to ask for! "YOU BET!" I shouted almost dancing up and down.

Uncle Ray tugged on my shirt and we headed to the barn. My stepfather was already there and he had his blacksmith forge fired up and had been working on something for a while by the look of things.

"We are gonna suit you up in real armor, well sort-of, and put you up on old Sam like you was in the Crusades!" My Jaw dropped and my stepfather came over with 2 pieces of metal fashioned of sheet tin. It was the back and breastplate of my armor. "Stand still while I see how it fits." he said fastening it on me. The front and back hooked together above my shoulders with 'cotter pins' and we could all see it needed taking in some here and there. He was making marks on the metal with a piece of chalk before taking it off. "Don't move" he admonished grinning,and came back with an odd object in his hands. I recognized it right away. "A helmet", I exclaimed. "How'd you do it?"

"Hammered it out to shape on the anvil", he said grinning, "measured the shape with this!" He held out the small kick ball Pokey had given me on that Crazy Christmas. He slid it on my head carefully and it had sides almost to my shoulders all around the back and the top came down to just above my nose. He marked a few places with chalk.. "Your mother is making a liner.  You will have a shield too and shin guards of metal,and this"  It was a long wooden thing.. "Its an oak closet pole", he said, "eight feet long.  You can attach your scout flag on it and carry it like the Mounties do in their parades!  The women are making a coat for Sam too wait till you see it.  Mrs O'Donnell knows that royalty stuff and the mothers are all excited". I had a better Flag Idea.

I fetched Pokey from the house who was happily mooching cookies and we headed over to the Black Church. The minister lived in a Parsonage in the back and the Reverend Jackson was out front pruning the bushes. "Hullo Boys", he said, "is you here to work?" he asked hopefully, and Pokey nodded grinning. "yessa Reveren' I kin help some, rite now Danny wants to palaver". Then I realized probably all coloreds talked slow like Pokey, maybe moved slow too.

"Brother Jackson", I said, "I am gonna ride a great horse in the parade".

"You mean da horse is famous?" he asked surprised, and I launched into the story of Old Sam and how his ancestors fought in the Crusades in the Holy Land. "He is great because of his size,  Brother Jackson, he weighs over 2,200 pounds and stands taller than my Stepfather's head!"

"Oh Lawd!" he exclaimed, "We shore wants ta see dat! Yessir!"

"It gets better", I said grinning. "I will be wearing armor and the cross on the shield just like in the books.  Sam will be dressed too in red and gold with the Lion of England, and Brother, can I borrow the flag from the church?" His jaw dropped and his eyes got misty and it was some moments until he spoke.

"You mean you is going to wear armor and ride dis giant horse, dressed somehow with a lion and you wants to carry da Lawd's flag in dat Parade?" I nodded grinning.

"Oh Lawd!" he exclaimed again, "Halleaujah!  Da whole church will wanna see dat!  Never been nothing like it in Portsmouth before!  We shore wants ta see dat! Yessir!" and he was off running as fast as a 70 year old colored man could run, and disappeared into the church. He returned grinning and his wife Sarah behind him speechless and he had the Christian Flag trimmed with gold fringe in his gnarled hands, pole and all. I rolled the flag around the pole and I took it while Pokey tore into pruning bushes. Old Brother Jackson was singing Onward Christian Soldiers and stepping with his feet like the coloreds did at the fair when Pokey played the mouth organ. My Mind was percolatin' again.

When Uncle Ray saw that white flag with the blue field and red cross all trimmed with gold fringe he was speechless with amazement. Pokey's mom just kept mumbling "Oh Lawd.. Oh Lawd". None of us had ever seen it out in sunlight before only in a corner of the dimly lit church. It was impressive. I caught up with Robbie at the Scout room and they were working on how to make the dory be a float. Now if Pokey was the slow one, Robbie was ADHD 'cept they didn't call it that back then, everyone said "Robbie is wound up like an 8 day clock!"

"Gi hoom", he said grinning. "I'll fetch Da and meet you there".

I had been home a half hour when the O'Donnell's old car pulled out in front and they all piled out.. all seven of them. "Wi ya look at that!" exclaimed young Brian pointing at Sam. "He is taller than your Da, how tall is he?"

"Around 8 feet", I said, "and 3 and a half feet wide and around 11 feet long he weighs around 2,200 pounds!  Do you wanna meet him?"

Now no O'Donnell had ever been a coward and young Brian was no exception. He bit his lip and walked with me like he was heading for the gallows. Sam was snuffing my pockets and I pulled out an apple.. I always carried one. I quartered it and laid a piece on my open hand and Sam delicately took it and began to munch. "Now you do it" I said and laid a quarter on Brian's hand. "Just keep your hand open flat." Sam sniffed that small strange hand and his velvet nose brushed as his lips deftly lifted the piece of apple. "Oye it tickles!" Brian laughed. "How does he do that?"

"He's gentle", I said,"watch". I reached down and gripped one ankle as thick as my leg, and when he felt the pressure, he lifted his foot and held it up for me, the foot with a massive horseshoe the size of a dinner plate weighing 5 pounds.

"We wanna know if he will be afraid of the pipes" O'Donnell said. we nodded and he filled them with air, and as they began to wail, a funny thing happened. Old Sam stared right at the pipes and his ears stood straight. He almost smiled. I climbed the fence and slid onto Sam's back and held out my Hand and young Brian slid behind me. O'Donnell launched into the English Regimental song "Scotland The Brave".

"Gitup Sam", and he started walking. I caught the beat of the march and  geed him. "Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee" I said,  and Sam turned 1 step to the right with each Gee. This was so cool! Twelve Gees and I had twirled him in place. I tapped him on the shoulder in time and he matched the pace. It was like he knew it instinctively or something. We followed O'Donnell around the barn and twice I twirled Sam to the music. We stopped in front and the pipes wheezed to silence. Everyone was bug eyed. I was a bit stunned myself. We slid off onto the fence and climbed down.

"Can you play Onward Christian Soldiers?" I asked O'Donnell, and he grinned and nodded. I was percolating again. We would give seventy year old Brother Jackson and his little church something to really remember.

Labor day arrived and Robbie was going to march with us. He was a smaller version of his father in matching O'Donnell Tartan and he would march with the drum he sometimes used when they would march for a fireman's funeral. Pokey was wearing a white baptismal robe and he had the mouth organ. Young Brian, no longer afraid of Sam, would walk beside my right stirrup and carry the shield with the cross painted on it as a squire. They had my armor shining like silver rubbing it with steel wool. They had cut off a big metal funnel and slid it down the pole to form a hand guard like a lance.

You probably have never dressed a 2,200 pound horse before.. neither had we! Sam needed a lot of fabric to reach 17 feet wide by 14 feet long to fasten under Sam's throat. Under Mrs O'Donnell's supervision, they had painted, on the burgundy cloth, the Lion emblem of Richard The Lion Hearted in gold paint. The saddle went on and there were holes for the belly cinch to pass through. Uncle Ray loaded us both in the box trailer that had delivered Sam and towed us down to the point. The parade would march from there to the fairground like before.

We unloaded beside the scouts float and they had done an outstanding job  There was Charlie in the Blue Woollies. The rest of the troop had never seen Sam before and they flinched and moved back as he backed out of the trailer, but when I followed in shining armor in the sun, and Robbie with the drum and kilt, and Pokey with his white robe and mouth organ.. they were speechless. Uncle Ray had brought a step ladder and I climbed up on Sam, the troop was starting to mumble. They handed me up the flag and it set in a socket on the left stirrup like we had seen the Mounties do it.

I nodded to O'Donnell, "test", I said, and he grinned and filled the pipes with air. He blew and Scotland The Brave filled the air. "back, back, back," I said and Sam took three steps back in time to the music. "Git, Git, Git", I said and he moved three forward. " Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee " I chanted and Sam started to twirl to the music. At 2,200 pounds he did not step softly. Every step rang like a sledge hammer in time to the music. Robbie was drumming now and the military tattoo brought all the Scouts to their Feet cheering. Sam didn't even flinch or miss a beat. Nothing ever bothered Old Sam.

Boy Scouts was quite religious back in those days. They all agreed we were carrying God's flag, we should go first. Behind us the float and Charlie Flagging the Scout Pledge.

"On my honor, I will do my best. To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight." Charlie would Flag it and the Scouts would say it.

Most of Old Portsmouth had never seen Sam or the likes of him before. Well they had seen the Budweiser Clydesdale's once or twice on the 4th of July. The High School and VFW and DAR and so on all went first. When O'Donnell started Piping and Robbie started drumming, everything else fell silent in awe at the sight of the great horse garbed in red and gold lions and a shining armored figure riding with the Christian Flag. Everyone knew at once we represented "The Crusades". Robbie would do that regimental beat and I would twirl Sam "Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee" and we would march in place while Sam twirled, his great feet clanging on the cement. Streets were concrete back then not blacktop.

About halfway to the fairground we spotted Reverend Jackson and the whole congregation with him on the left. We stopped for a moment or two of silence, then O'Donnell started piping 'Onward Christian Soldiers' and we marched with the Flag and Robbie drumming the regimental style. Pokey had his mouth organ and he played perfectly with the pipes.. harmonizing, and filling in jazz and rhythm and blues.

We got near and Reverend Jackson grabbed Sarah, his wife, and dragged her along and out in the street they danced steps like colored folks do, and Sister Sarah waved her white handkerchief the whole congregation started singing Onward Christian Soldiers. Behind us Charlie was flagging and the Scouts were chanting "For God and Our Country". Lots of veterans were lining the sides and waving and stomping in time and shouting and every so often one would salute,and Charlie would Flag Back "Message Received" to their great delight

Young Brian with his Irish coat of green and hat stayed by the right stirrup holding the shield with the cross, and I would Gee and we would twirl around him like he was a center pole. It was how Old Sam Gee'd his way to plow a field, but out here with the music he seemed to know more, he transcended out of the realm of workhorse into something greater. We caught up to Reverend Jackson. "Back, Back,Back" three steps back. "Git, Git, Git" three steps forward. "Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee, Gee", around we twirled to the beat of Robbie’s drum and the pipes.

I don't think Reverend Jackson knew about Richard The Lion Hearted. He kept shouting "Da Lion of Juda is coming!  Da Lion of Juda is Coming!  Coming wid da flag of da Lawd!" all the time clapping and laughing and for that matter so was the whole church! My mother was among them. We had made their day. We had probably made their decade.

In shining armor, I had ridden a Great horse in the Crusades. I had graduated from hunting the Wumpus in the cellar, and like Sam, for a short time, I too had transcended into something greater. I was One Heck of a 'night.

Next year I would be too big for that armor, I kept it a long time until it was lost in moving as so many things were. I had it in my room along with my first wooden sword, the one I had used back when I was 7 to battle the fearsome Wumpus in the cellar!

© Copyright 2018 by Daniel Blankley. All rights reserved.

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