Deborah came home in the second semester with all A’s except for one B. She had carried all A’s during the entire semester. She didn’t do well on her last final exam which brought her last grade down to a B. Of all the subjects to get a B in, she failed her music theory exam. When I asked her how this could possibly happen after she had worked so hard her only comment was “I guess you are stuck making a record with me dad, that was our deal right?” Come to think about it, that was our agreement. We not only recorded my third solo release later that fall entitled “Dylan James Lost A Bet” but the following year the label released “Carolina Sky featuring Deborah James”.
Over the next few years the record label really flourished with the help of Duke and my constant scouting for new talent. We had a roster of about fifteen bands now recording on our label, to the point where we received serious offers to be bought out by larger companies. I didn’t have anything else to prove to myself or anyone else. I proved I could lead a company and a band. I also realized that after all these years I had in fact been in management like my dad wanted. I had managed a band and all the personalities involved in it. I also had to manage my daughters and my personal demons. I had to manage my relationships with my wives and families from my own mom and dad to my relationship with my in-laws and with Gordy. And of course I had to manage my relationship with my God. I was tired of running a record label and wanted to go back to only playing music. After all, at the end of the day, I was a song writer and musician. Some of that was being lost.
Carl arranged to take our record company public. I sold many of my shares. I kept enough to stay on as a Board of Director but the day to day operations were turned over someone with more experience. His job was to take the company to an even higher level. Duke kept many of his shares but he only wanted to be a producer and live part time on the big island of Hawaii. Carl and I took some of my capital gains from the sale of stock and we started to heavily invest in commercial real estate. The first property we purchased was the shopping plaza where Gordy Guitars was still in business. I reduced his rent to one dollar a year. The first thing the guy does is call me and remind me he needs a new store front window and the bathrooms need to be upgraded. Some things never change.
Diana recently got married. I am expecting my first grandchild. She is doing well with the rehabilitation center. Over time we took out a bank loan and purchased the building and the remainder of the business. Christina stayed on to assist with the day to day operations but she was turning more and more over to Diana. I think she was staying on until after the birth of the baby so not to put too much pressure on Diana. They have grown close. I have no doubts that Elise is smiling from heaven as she watches her named being used for such a good cause with her daughter in charge. Diana and her husband come over for dinner most Sundays with Lorenza, George and Rose.
My dear Deborah is still struggling along in the music business. I tried to get her involved a few times with the company before I sold it but she wants to, “Make it on my own”. Her band Carolina Sky is still suffering in my opinion from poor songs. They still refuse my help with hints on songwriting or in finding them a current song writer who fits their musical style. She was always the stubborn one and it is now hurting her but I have done all I can to help. I also tried to get her involved in the property management company that Carl and I formed but she only wants to make music. She has moved in with her guitarist boyfriend which annoyed me, since he is the reason they won’t accept my help. However, she is a big girl now and I have to let her live her life. It is a very tough way to make a living at her level but I keep my mouth shut and see her occasionally.
Linda Sweet has become a recluse. I begged her to make a third release of show tunes or play live with me but she refuses every attempt. It is a shame since I think her voice has improved over the years but she no longer wants anything to do with the music business. Lorenza and I stop by to see her when we are in the area but she is a shell of her former self. I suspect she has other issues at play but she swears she is fine. She just wants nothing to do with the public spotlight any longer. She sits overlooking the Pacific Ocean from her patio most days. Maybe she has the right idea.
Debby remarried and her two kids have moved on in life as well. She still lives in northern New Jersey and is still very good friends with Kevin, who we went to high school with years ago. Debby and I sneak into veteran’s hospitals from time to time. We also are known to show up at open mic nights in Jersey bars when I am visiting her or my parents. This time I like her husband. I am very pleased she is happy. She is also going to be a grandmother in the coming months.
Duke comes around from time to time to beat me in chess. He is still in big demand as a producer, as well as occasionally playing bass, as a special guest on recordings. He invests with Carl and me on properties but he likes to stick with the music business for the most part. I also see him once a year at the annual board meeting for the record company. He is an incredibly talented musician and producer and has always been an even better friend.
If you stay up late, you might catch Billy playing drums for a late night television host. He still drums as a studio guy and calls me about making one last Overture recording but I don’t see that becoming a reality. He still chases women and drinks too much for his own good but he’ll never change. Maybe that’s what I like about him. Maybe Billy was always my alter ego.
Sasha, well she has certainly lived the American dream. Not bad for someone who defected to this country decades ago with less than one hundred dollars in her pocket. She has fashion lines here in the United States as well as Russia. Her company is expanding into Europe and she is Chairman of the Board. She invests with Carl and I in our real estate deals but honestly I think she does it too keep in touch. I see her about once a year somewhere and we speak occasionally over the phone. I have to get through her personal assistant to talk with her but it’s the price you pay I guess.
Carl has become the managing partner of his firm. He was always a brilliant man and I was lucky to have met him years ago. I know I get special attention now and again for being his first client before he even had a job. We stuck with each other when neither of us had anything. We have invested wisely over the years, though he still regrets not listening to me when I told him not to sell his shares of the record label to me. It was maybe the only time he guessed wrong with an investment. However, overall we have done well individually and collectively with our investments. His firm has grown over the years with many high profile clients. He and his financial people do excellent work representing their clients in contracts, creating a program for future security and with Carl, just being a good friend.
George and Rose still live on the farm and are looking forward to being grandparents. Rose is already over at Diana’s home picking colors and buying baby furniture. They have accepted Lorenza as another daughter. They spend many hours together and even traveled to Italy for a few weeks with her to see our home and meet her parents. I could not have asked for better people to have as my in-laws.
My own mom and dad are doing fine. My dad and brother still show up for hunting season now and again even if I don’t trust my dad with a gun in his hand any longer. I won’t go near him when his gun is loaded, that’s for sure. His reflexes are not as good and his eye sight is not the best. My mom will be showing up more and more as the baby’s birth nears, I am sure. They have both long retried and have nothing better to do than harass me about something. I know they are proud of me.
Lorenza does not let me far from her sight. I have been so blessed to not have one but two women who have loved me with no reservations. She stuffs me with homemade pasta to the point where I constantly have to try and diet. She gets more beautiful every day. I will sit on the back porch about once a week and play music for her ears only. She takes such great joy in hearing me play. It’s the least I can do to pay her back for all the love she offers me on a daily basis.
Gordy Davis still offers guitar les
sons in that old shop of his. I visit every now and again and harass him and his students. When he threatens to toss me out, I tell him I will raise his rent. We did replace his store front window. Over my last visit, he surprised me with the same Martin D-45 that was sitting in his window back in 1969. The person who purchased it had it sitting in his closet for years and wanted to resell it back to Gordy. I bought it instantly. It sits in my home in North Carolina. Gordy is now grey and frail but still has that biting sound when you don’t practice your scales. I owe him so much, for so many things, but for now all I can offer is free rent and one day, some new bathrooms. He refuses to accept anything else from me. Gordy still bitches when I refuse the checks he sends for his rent at the old rental rates. He is a very proud man and I love him dearly.
For me, I am simply a kid from Jersey who made it big in the music business. Rumor has it that Linda and I will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame but they have not finished building it yet. The Overture has been mentioned with regards to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland but so far that has not happened. None of that really concerns me. I would hope that others have enjoyed our collection of works over the years. I realize now I really can’t control it if they do or not. It’s all out there for the world to have a listen. If they appreciate it, I will smile. I still think I have one or two great recordings left in me. I will do my best to deliver them, because that is what I do. However in recent times my mind is starting to fail me.
After years of my doctors telling me I suffered from depression, when I knew I didn’t, they are now telling me that I have early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. I know that can’t be possible since I am far too young for such a disease but even my own Diana claims it’s possible. I have been tested and we are waiting the results. I want to think it’s more me getting older than to think there is something more wrong that that. If it’s true then I will accept it and live my life as best I can till I am taken from this earth.
I bought the local church a new sound system and a larger stained glass window so I can count new tiles. I do listen to the sermons mostly because Lorenza now knows what I am doing and pinches me when she notices me not giving Pastor my full attention. I do believe in God. But I also still question many things about my faith. I no longer think my God was punishing me when I failed. I do believe it was humanity reminding me I am here on earth for a reason. I don’t have all the answers as to why I am here on earth, nor do I punish myself for not knowing. Every time I think I know what the plan was for my life, it changes. I have to now accept that today is a new day and maybe another phase in my life is about to begin.
I am so blessed. I have lived a life few ever have in so many ways. I have met people from around the world and been adored by people I will never be able to meet individually. I have done my best never to take advantage of others. I am a human being like anyone else, only maybe God’s plan for me was to entertain. I was given a gift and I did my best to use those gifts. I still do my best to be a good father as well as being a good husband for Lorenza. If my mind does eventually fail me, don’t feel sorry for me. As I sit here, I hear a song on the radio reminding me about how memories may fade over time but dreams, they never do. I have lived my dream. I am at peace with my life and the man I am today. Looking at the clock I see it’s the time of day that I like to write music, so as I sign off, I wish you all the best. I trust you will find the happiness in your heart and the peace in your soul that I now have in mine.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Cantwell, CCIM is a resident of South Florida with his wife and children. This is his first novel. He was raised in New Jersey where he attended Notre Dame High School and later LaSalle University in Philadelphia, PA. He is a commercial real estate agent in South Florida and has served as a volunteer on many committees and board of directors in the area. He has also been a Junior Achievement volunteer for many years. He worked as a disk jockey in the South Florida market in the 1980’s. He is known to occasionally play his Martin guitar when no one is listening.
A Beautiful Song: A Musical Soul Story Page 28
