Third Time Is a Charm

by Ed Nelson

  “Even the Federal government had enough of him when he killed Indian Chief Tegunten who was on his way to sign a peace accord. This set back the government’s expansion plans. They charged him with murder but he was set free by the settlers. Among those was Simon Kenton. They called him a hero.”

  “Without a doubt he was one heck of a fighter, he could reload a muzzle loader while sprinting. His favorite method though was the ambush, thus Death Wind. He killed so many Indians that to this day the Shawnee leave charms on his grave to keep him in it.”

  “He was hired to guard a party for John Monroe, brother of the future president. He paid more attention to killing Indians rather than protecting his party leading to Monroe’s death.

  “Then there is Simon Kenton who led settlers and soldiers. He also was captured and forced to run a gauntlet. In movies the gauntlets have ten or so people on each side and the person would have to run fifty feet. Kenton had to run a gauntlet of half a mile.”

  “He was then sentenced to be burned at the stake but was saved by Simon Girty. Girty was credited with saving many captives, buying their freedom with money out of his own pocket.”

  “Before you think too kindly of him he also participated in the torture and burning at the stake Colonel William Crawford at Zanesfield, Ohio. Crawford was a land speculator and personal friend of George Washington.”

  “So who would your hero be?”

  “It would be Oliver Spencer’s father. In real life he wasn’t but after Oliver was kidnapped by Indians we can have him hunt for Oliver. He found Oliver who was adopted and treated well. I don’t know the real story but for our movie he was adopted by a young beautiful Indian widow, thus our love interest. The icing on our cake is that in real life Oliver was one of those that Simon Girty helped to be freed from the Indians.”

  “Of course in the usual Girty style he wanted to split Spencer’s ears at the lobe so they would hang down, as a souvenir of his captivity. Fortunately Oliver was able to hide long enough to avoid that fate.”

  “I never heard of splitting the ear lobes.”

  “It was a bit of a fashion statement. One Indian Chief during peace talks would chew on his lobes as they hung so low. What an unnerving sight that must have been.”

  “Wow Rick, that could be the basis of a powerful story, it’s a shame we don’t know much about how they dressed during that period. I suspect our Plains Indian costumes won’t work.”

  “I know a man that might be able to help. He is Doctor Chief Alex Redfoot of the Shawnee Tribe. He is the Head Curator at the Shawnee Tribe Heritage and Cultural Center. Or maybe it is Chief Doctor? Anyway if anyone knows he will.”

  “We’ve never had much luck in getting the real Indians to help us in the movies. They feel we always portray them poorly.”

  “Don’t we?”

  “Well yeah but that is what the public expects.”

  “It’s time we woke them up a little.”

  “How will you get Chief Redfoot to help us?”

  “Oh I think I may have an in. I’m sure he will help out a declared friend of the Shawnee.”

  Tom started to open his mouth to ask a question; then shook his head.

  “I’m not sure I want to know. If you had to scalp someone I don’t want to have knowledge of a crime.”

  “I swear I have never had anything to do with scalping people.”

  I hoped he didn’t ask about carrying around severed heads in a bowling ball bag.

  I changed the subject back to the movie. It is a story based on distant governments with an agenda and not knowing or caring about the people. It was about two groups of people who could not communicate on basic life styles.

  “I have another thought. I hate to sit through all those boring openings. Why don’t we have the movie start with an action scene that lasts five to ten minutes, that scene will only be an expectation setter not part of the main story? It will introduce the main character as a strong frontiersman.”

  “It will draw people into the movie before they realize it, a real adventure.”

  “I don’t know Rick; that is not how we do things. People expect it that way. The opening credits give them time to settle in.”

  “Please give it some thought.”

  “By the way if you and your writers think my storyline has merit I can loan you my Ohio History books and some other references to give a better idea of what it was like.”

  “Plan on it, Mr. Monroe was the one who suggested it, and he signs my paycheck. Also please call your Chief Redfoot for me to see if he is available.

  “I will try this evening but it might take several days, I will get back to you.”

  “Thanks, and see you later.”

  I stopped by Mr. Monroe’s office on the way out. He waved me in.

  “How did it go?”

  “Fine I think, I suggested an early Indian story set in Ohio around 1770-1780.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  I gave him the short version. Since I had given it once I think it flowed better when retold.

  “I like it Rick, a little bold for a low budget but I don’t see a problem.”

  “Just keep the mountains and cactus out of the shot and we’ll be okay.”

  “You mean Malibu is out?”

  It took me a second to realize he was pulling my leg.

  “Well it would take some fancy camera work. Though it would be interesting to see if people notice the Pacific moved to Ohio.”

  “We’ve done dumber things. Anyway I will follow up and see what they really think. Our public opinion people tell us the country is looking for changes. This might be the vanguard for movies, more serious and addressing social issues.”

  “Sir, just remember we have to make money while doing it.”

  “Now you are stealing my line, get out of here.”

  I laughed and headed home. I was at loose ends for the day so as planned I took the opportunity to plunge into my schoolbooks. They weren’t going to do themselves.

  While going through my physics textbook I saw a reference to Schrodinger’s cat. I don’t know why it hit me; it may have been something from a conversation on a movie set about acting. They were talking about the fourth wall and that it must never be broken. That is where the actor is aware of the audience and talks to them.

  If Schrodinger’s cat could break the fourth wall what would it say?

  “Meow.”

  I know I am weird. That was the high point of the session. Other than that it was to absorb new information and take notes to help ingrain it.

  Dinner was just us kids as Mum and Dad were going to some charity event. It was a pizza night so we were very happy to stay home. Let me see, jeans and pizza or a suit and rubber chicken.

  I’ll suffer and stay home.

  After dinner I called the number I had for Chief Redfoot. He was not at home but his wife took a message for him to call me when he could.

  We had a rousing game of Monopoly after dinner. Mrs. Hernandez and Mary teamed up and beat us boys.

  Chief Redfoot called just as we finished the game. Why couldn’t he have called before Mrs. Hernandez gave Mary Park Place?

  I explained to him that I needed his help as a technical advisor on a movie with the Shawnee in it. At first he was lukewarm. When I explained how I wanted to show the good and bad on both sides he got interested.

  He finally agreed to come to Hollywood at our expense if the studio chose to follow up on my suggestions.

  As he put it, “They always show the bad side of the Shawnee, it will be a victory for us if they show both our good and bad, plus the white man’s good and bad. Telling the truth about that psychopathic Wetzel makes it worthwhile by itself.”

  I went to my room and read about a detective’s first trip to Hollywood and the starlet with the gangster boyfriend. I guessed the sibs secret early on. I think the people in the book were modeled on some people I had met out here.

  Chapter 23

  I play
ed golf early in the morning going directly from breakfast to the course. When I signed in at the pro shop they told me that there was a roped off area on the edge of the fairway on the sixteenth hole.

  Apparently a gopher was really tearing the course up. They had tried trapping it, poisoning it to no avail. . They were talking about dynamite.

  I think they were joking.

  Steve Whitney was with me as was becoming the norm. My caddie was with someone else today, I hadn’t got the word to him on time. I was getting spoiled. Steve and I had two of the regular caddies and they were good, just not my John Jacobs.

  I was learning the course. It was straight forward in its presentation. It was just the execution that was difficult. The challenge for today was to figure out how to play the course to my strengths. Like hitting a long ball which would set me up nicely, but in a position most players couldn’t reach.

  This of course led to some shots not doing what I hoped for. A missed shot at Riviera came at a cost. I had plenty of practice with nasty lies in the rough and fried eggs in the traps.

  I learned a lot about what I could and could not do on the course so it was a well spent morning.

  I was able to get home for a late lunch. A set of drawings for the garage expansion had been delivered; they were laid out on a large table in the library. Mum left a note that she liked the exterior shown. I liked the fact that there was plenty of work space, enough power provided and storage. Dad’s note approved the oil changing area.

  I initialed the drawing the same as Mum and Dad had to show that we were giving permission for them to let it out for bids.

  After that I drove down to LAX for my multi-engine class. First there was my quiz on the last chapters in the book. Again I had no problem with any of the questions. I almost felt they were too easy.

  When I shared that thought I was told that the quizzes on these last chapters had an average score of seventy-eight percent. I guess hard work pays off. Well not really even hard work. More like persistence of effort. Yeah I like that thought.

  Instead of the simulator we actually went out to a real aircraft. I did the walk around very carefully but apparently there were no tricks as all was as it should be. I don’t think if I missed a trick Mr. Smith would let me take off.

  I used the checklist every step of the way. After taxiing and talking to the tower I was allowed to take off.

  In the air I continued being very cautious sticking with the checklist all the way.

  Mr. Smith told me to turn off the starboard engine and restart it. I did; then repeated with the port. He had me change fuel tanks. The last thing he had me do was land with one engine down.

  “Rick we have to get the hours in your log book but I think you can safely fly this aircraft.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You are not what they call a natural pilot: you have to work at it. The point is you do work at it. With your attitude I predict many successes in life. That is easy for me to predict when you have had so many already. That said well done.”

  When I got home I remembered to call the studio and let Mr. James know that if the studio chose to proceed, that Chief Redfoot would participate if we paid his way.

  He took Chief Redfoot’s number as he had been instructed by Mr. Monroe to investigate this thoroughly. Not only travel expenses would be paid but also a consulting fee for this and any other work he performed. He asked me to drop off the Ohio History text books I had told him about.

  While I was on the phone with Mr. James a delivery truck had dropped off the books ordered. These were the books in the bibliography of my text books. Of course I had to unpack, and place them in order on the shelfs. This also included making up a card for them and a label with the Dewey decimal system number on the spine of each book.

  I wonder when we would have enough books to justify a librarian on staff. I didn’t like this job, but would hear from Mum if not done promptly and correctly.

  Life is not fair, the other kids would probably need these books later and all this work would be done. Then I thought of Mary and the Dewey decimal system and had the grace to laugh at myself. She would probably color code the books with crayons and glued on sparkles.

  No this was a job that needed to be done, and done now by me. I need to stop whining about things I can’t control. Needless to say I only got about half way through the task as I kept stopping to glance through many of the books. Some of them caught my attention for many pages at a time. I broke for dinner, gave my report for the day.

  “Fine.”

  I think that is the legally required teenage response to parent’s questions. Then I went back to the books.

  I was so engrossed that Mum let me know it was eleven o’clock and time for bed. Since I had been getting up at five a.m. to work out every morning this was late for me. Off to bed I went looking forward to finishing my job with the books.

  I gave riding George a pass in the morning. Instead I ran an extra-long course; at least longer than I normally ran. It had me deeper into the park than I had ever been. Ever alert for tigers I explored new territory.

  It is funny how being attacked by one tiger can change your outlook. I knew intellectually that my chances of ever seeing a tiger in the wild without going to Asia were nil. The reptilian part of my brain thought otherwise.

  I didn’t run into a big cat. It was a small cat, as matter of fact a kitten. It was sitting in the middle of the path as I came around a corner. It just sat there as I approached it. I slowed down so as not to frighten it, but the way it stood its ground I don’t think it scared easily.

  Stopping short of it I crouched down. It was a cute little black cat with two white front feet.

  “Hey little guy what are you doing out here by yourself?”

  I don’t care what its tough guy attitude thought. It wouldn’t last a night with the coyotes out here. Of course the kitten didn’t answer me. It didn’t run either.

  I held out a hand. It sniffed then moved a little closer to me. I patiently waited for it to come to me which it did probably taking five minutes for the whole process.

  It finally was close enough to sniff my fingers. While it did I ran one finger over its head. It backed up from me. Again I patiently waited for it. We played like this back and forth for a while until it was letting me scratch its ears. This it liked.

  I looked around expecting to see a mother cat glaring at me. Mothers do that you know. There was no sign of one. How did this kitten get here? She, I looked, wasn’t more than two months old, barely weaned.

  When I picked her up she didn’t fight me. I jogged back to the house holding the kitten carefully. She watched the path as though she was a princess touring her kingdom.

  Arriving back at the house I sought out Ben who was doing his morning chores.

  “Ho, what do we have here?”

  “It’s called a cat dummy.”

  The veterinary student gave me a look that resembled the glare I was expecting from the mother cat.

  “I meant, where was the cat when you found it?”

  “I found her way back on the trails, I have no idea how she got there. I couldn’t leave her as coyote bait.”

  “Are you going to keep her in the house or the barn?”

  “I hadn’t thought of that. I suspect she will be more welcome as a barn cat.”

  “What’s her name?”

  Now I hadn’t given that any thought so I was as surprised as Ben when it came out.

  “Schrodinger.”

  I then had to explain what the Schrodinger’s cat would say when it broke the fourth wall. By the time I explained Schrodinger’s box and what the fourth wall was there wasn’t a laugh to be found.

  Ben volunteered to get her shots and spayed; since she was to be a barn cat no declawing.

  At breakfast I told the family about our new member. That may have been a mistake as Mary disappeared as soon as breakfast was finished.

  I headed over to the studio. I needed to bru
sh up on what I thought as my acting skills. I spent the morning with swords; fencing foils, sabers, broad and bastard, then daggers. I took on anyone that would pick up a bladed weapon.

  It was fun.

  A small crowd gathered and before it was over money was changing hands. I wasn’t as rusty as I thought I was and anyone who bet against me lost their money.

  From sword fighting I went to boxing. I was glad I wore a head protector and a mouth piece because I would have been knocked silly. Coach must have been frustrated about something as he really worked me over. My sword fighting may have been great but while I knew the moves and could do a movie scene, a boxer I wasn’t.

  Unarmed combat was fun. By this time I was as loose and as limber as I was going to get. The important thing here was that I had practiced this for real life not movie scenes. My muscle memory was still there as I fought to a draw.

  The crowd from the sword fight had followed me to each session and money continued to change hands. I should demand a cut or arrange to throw a bout.

  Nah.

  My last session was with the bow. Here I excelled once more. The next time I was in England I might have a chance of doing well in a tournament.

  I had worked through lunch at the studio and would have missed it at home, so I stopped at an In and Out on the way home. Two cheeseburgers and fries with a vanilla shake would last me until dinner.

  When I got home the guard at the gate had a message for me.

  “Your Mum needs to see you as soon as possible.”

  “Thanks, I will look her up immediately.”

  He must have called her because she was waiting for me at the side door from the garage.

  Chapter 24

  “Rick, the Chinese laundry called. Your suit is ready and needs to be picked up this afternoon.”

  “They said it wouldn’t be until next Monday.”

  “I know but they stressed it needed to be picked up today.”

  “Okay, I will leave now.”

  “Remember the place is being watched.”

  “No problem.”

  Yeah no problem, you ever drive up to a place and strive to look nonchalant when you know the CIA has the place under surveillance? Well it was probably the FBI doing it for them if the CIA was following the law. I am sure it would never occur to them to break the law.