Monday, September 6, 1926 Lexington, KY

The circus crew packed away the tents all day on Sunday, and by early Monday morning, we were on the road heading East through the winding country roads past wealthy horse farms with neatly cut grass and white washed wooden fences. We kept the windows of our wagon open, yet I sat in a puddle of my own sweat. 

“How did you get the boss to make this detour, Harvey? This seems rather odd to me,” said Ambrose, looking out the window.

“My fiddle’s cracked and he said that his nephew in Maysville could fix it for me.”

Ambrose shook his head in approval. “Way to go, Harvey. I’m impressed.”

We entered a small town called Paris. Old store fronts lined the main street of the sleepy town. Small children and startled adults gawked as we passed through. I suppose these people had never seen a site like us before.

Somewhere between Paris and a tiny village called Millersburg, our caravan pulled off to the side of the road. 

“What happened now?” Ambrose groaned, opening the door and looking up the road. “Looks like somebody has engine trouble,” he said, releasing a big sigh.

The disk in my pocket vibrated with an ever so slight hum. The pull was becoming much stronger.

Someone was running outside the wagon, their footsteps thudding on the dirt, and then a banging at our door. Jimbo burst inside huffing and puffing. “Harvey, Clyde wants you right now. Looks like we might be here for a while and he wants you to lead the elephants down the road to the river. Grab your fiddle and follow me.”

“I glanced over at Ambrose and winced. He smiled, and said good luck as he lay back and took a nap.

I stood beside Clyde’s wagon with my hands in my pockets. He opened the door and growled, “Clown, take these elephants to the river and don’t you be getting drunk. I’m watching you.”

“Yes, Sir, I haven’t had a drink in days,” I said, but I wanted one so bad it hurt. The elephants were led down the steel ramps of the trucks, and once they were all unloaded, Jimbo said, “Take this. You might need it just in case,” he said, handing me the bullhook. 

I shook my head no, and waved him off. Jimbo shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, letting his contempt for me be known. 

The trees in the distance looked blue from the humid air. Tall white clouds billowed high in the afternoon sun, a sure sign of stormy weather to come.  As we marched down the road, the elephants asked where we were going. I told them we were heading to the river to get water. They picked up the pace and started to trumpet with joy. Jimbo and Bo Dandy followed behind us, as I led the elephants right down the middle of the street.

About a mile or so down this dusty, desolate road with tobacco farms to either side, the wind picked up, blowing dust across the dry cracked soil, as dark storm clouds loomed menacingly to the west. Soon, big drops of rain pounded against the pavement as lightning flashed in the distance. I played some sad tune that just popped in my head for some reason. I noticed a strange feeling of Deja Vu. The surrounding countryside shifted. Trees appeared where none existed before, while buildings vanished. The paved road was now a rough, dirt road with well worn ruts. The sound of heavy iron chains around my ankles clanged as it was drug across the dirt, as rain soaked my clothes. Men on horseback rode to either side of the path. A black man playing a fiddle similar to mine marched beside me. I glanced back and saw two rows of black men and women marching slowly behind me in a sombre parade with their heads hung low. 

One of the men on horseback snapped at me. “Eyes forward, Jasper.”

I continued to play that sad tune and thought perhaps I was having hallucinations from withdrawal. On the side of the road, I spotted a man who looked out of place, fixing a tire on a brand of automobile I had never seen before. He glared at me strangely as I passed by.

One of the men on horseback rode up beside me, eyeing me with contempt. I whipped my head forward and continued to march. We passed through a tiny town with old fashioned buildings on either side of the street. There were no street lights, or cars, or even a paved road. Lanterns were mounted on posts, instead of cars there were horses and buggies, and the road was made of cobblestone. The townsfolk were dressed in old clothes from a time long past, as they lined the side of the street staring oddly at us. Little children threw rocks, and others would jeer. No one seemed surprised that we were bound in chains as we were being marched through the middle of town all wet and cold. I was in a nightmare that I couldn’t escape from.

The other fiddler and I, led the way as they marched us out of Millersburg heading east. About a mile or so outside of town, the wind shifted and the temperature rose a good bit. The tune I was playing changed to some sort of waltz. The weight of my chains fell away and when I looked over, the black fiddle player was gone. All alone up front, I turned and saw that once again I was being followed by the herd of elephants with chains around their ankles. I rubbed my eyes thinking I was dreaming. I stopped in my tracks as the elephants drew near. 

Jimbo and Bo Dandy sprinted towards me yelling, “Harvey, where in the hell are you going? The boss is going to be so mad when he hears about this.” Suddenly, I snapped out of my daze. I had led the elephants past the main strip of town.

“I, I can’t remember how I got here.”

But it was too late, Jimbo turned around and saw the circus wagons approaching  as the town’s folk stood in the streets waving and cheering. 

The boss got out of the first wagon yelling, “What the hell’s going on here? Did you put on a free show?” he said, pointing his finger at Jimbo.

“I thought it would be free publicity,” said Jimbo, trying to cover for me.

The boss thought it over and said, “No harm done I suppose. Get those elephants in the wagons. We need to be in Maysville before dark.”

“I thought we were going to let the elephants wallow in the creek.”

“No time for that now. I’ve arranged for a show tonight on the fairgrounds. Nothing big, but the guy is paying handsomely for a show.”

Jimbo walked over to me and said, “You owe me big time, Harvey. Get your act together or I’ll not be so nice next time.”

We arrived in Maysville around dusk. Mr Addler drove me and Tim to a small farm at the edge of town. It was a two story farmhouse with a fancy flower garden lining the walkway. A small older woman with her hair in a tight bun sat on the porch in a red iron chair. She stood and put her hand to her brow, straining to see through deep wrinkles, who had driven on her property.

“Raymond, is that you?”

“Yes, Sadie, it’s me. I’ve got Timmy with me, but there’s been an accident.”

The woman gasped as Timmy got out of the passenger door walking towards her.

“Momma, I got my arm cut off,” he said, raising the stump wildly to show her the damage.

“Oh my Lord, child! What happened to your arm?” she said, turning to her brother with a sneer.

“Sadie, it was a freak accident with the hammers. We got to him in time to save him, but the arm was too damaged. I’m sorry.”

“You promised to keep my boy safe,” she said, giving Tim a long hug.

“I’m sorry, but what do you want me to say?”

“Momma, is Leonard home?” he said, running towards the door.

“Yeah, he’s out back working on his automobile.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze, letting out a grunt of disapproval. I got out of the car and moseyed to the porch. She looked at me and squinted. “And who might you be?” she said, placing her hands on her waist.

“Howdy Ma’am, I’m Harvey Jones,” I said, tipping my hat.

“This here is the famous, elephant charmer, the one and only, Fiddling Clown,” the boss says, patting me on the back.

“I’ve heard of you. The Pied Piper of Elephants. Pleased to meet you, Mr Jones.”

“Sadie, I’d love to stay, but I’ve got business with Leonard. It seems that Mr Jones has broken his fiddle and we’re looking to have Leonard fix it if he can.”

“Well, if anyone can fix it, I suppose Leonard would be your man. He’s out back.”

Beneath a big elm tree, in the cool dappled shade, a tall lanky man with a huge nose leaned against the side of his Model T frowning in disbelief as Tim waved the stump of his left arm in his face. He looked over at us and sneered. “Uncle Raymond, what the fuck happened to Timmy? You weren’t supposed to let him get hurt.” The tall gangly man strutted  towards us squinting with the sun in his eyes. 

“I did my best to watch out for Tim. He’s a good worker. Sometimes accidents happen. But what we wanted to talk to you about is if you still work on fiddles?”

“Yeah, sure. You take up playing the violin?”

“Not for me. It’s for my employee, Mr Jones.” 

I stuck out my hand to shake and he says, “You must be that elephant charmer. Music to soothe the savage beasts, huh?” He spat out a brown stream of tobacco chaw from between his teeth. “Nice to meet you, Mr Jones.” He grabbed my hand and gave a vigorous shake. 

I handed him my fiddle and he turned it over in his hands, plucking the strings and running his finger around the neck. “What did you do, sit on it?”

“Yeah, actually, I did.” I held my head in shame with a slight smile.

“Oh hell, I did worse than that. I can fix it with a strong cement glue, or I can build a new neck, but that might take a while.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Well, if it were me, I’d just glue it back. Ain’t gonna hurt the sound much, it won’t look as nice, but unless you were playing it, no one could tell. You need to let this glue set for at least a day, then it will be good as new.”

“Thanks, Raymond. I knew if anyone could fix that fiddle it would be you. Well, I need to get this crew back.” Mr Adler said, all in a rush.

“Please don’t leave, Uncle Raymond, we don’t get a chance to see you very often. Mom talks about you all the time. The least you can do is stay for dinner.”

Mr Adler pulled out his daily planner, looked it over carefully, and sighed. “Sure, I’m certain that Mr Jones wouldn’t mind staying for supper, do you Mr Jones?”

I looked to Raymond and then to Mr Adler, shrugged my shoulders, and grinned. “I have no objections.”

“Come on in and get washed up,” she said, holding the screen door open for us. As we walked inside the tidy sitting room, a large pink sofa surrounded by smaller chairs. In the corner sat a tall wire bird cage with a red parrot sitting on a perch. The room was filled with small ceramic chickens and assorted birds. 

I followed Tim to the wash room. He seemed thrilled that I was a guest at his home. He eagerly handed me the soap and a towel.

I wasn’t used to sitting at a fancy table for dinner. I felt awkward. Mrs Granger, Mr Adler’s sister, had made a fried chicken dinner. I sat beside Tim to my right and his brother across from me. Mr Adler sat at the far end to my right and Mrs Granger sat at the opposite end. 

I was about to take a bite of the chicken, when Mrs Granger glanced across the table, giving me a disapproving look.

“Raymond, would you like to say grace?”

People sitting around the table joined hands. Tim looked over, smiled and grabbed my hand with the only one he had left, as Mrs Granger took my left hand. Everyone lowered their head and closed their eyes. I felt awkward. I peeked and looked around the table.

“Dear Lord, bless this food that we are about to eat. And bless my dear family who I haven’t seen in years. In God’s name we pray, amen.”

It was really a feast. I had not eaten this well in a very long time. 

“Would you care for a glass of wine, Mr Jones?” Mrs Granger said, picking up a bottle of red wine.

“Uh, I…” I looked towards Mr Adler with my mouth hanging open. Yes, I wanted a glass of wine so bad. I craved that glass of wine. Mr Adler looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. 

I expected him to stop me, but he simply said, “Sadie asked if you would like wine.”

“Is that a yes?” she said, picking up the wine glass in front of me.

I tried so hard to say no, but it was just a tiny glass. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. “Yes please. Just a little bit,” I said, as she poured the glass half full. I licked my lips in anticipation.

I picked up the glass and put it to my mouth. Ah the smell. I took a sip and I felt that familiar taste as it went down my throat. I took another sip that turned into a gulp. “Ah,” I said, smacking my lips. Soon the glass was empty.

“Tell me about your playing, Mr Jones. What is it about the music you play that calms the elephants?” Sadie said.

“I’m not sure, Mrs Sadie. I was sitting beside the watering hole one day playing a sad waltz and noticed the elephants had stopped their activity and began watching me at first out of curiosity. Then one of the older elephants began to sway back and forth, then she walked towards me and soon the other elephants began to sway back and forth as if dancing.”

“Oh, that sounds so wonderful. To control wild beasts with music. How does it feel to be the star of the show?”

“I suppose it feels fine. I never got so much attention in my life. It’s kinda scary and exciting. Not used to people clapping and cheering at me. I’m more used to having people laughing at me.”

“Yes, I would imagine so,” she said, grinning. “Would you like another glass? I see you’ve already finished that one,” she said, picking up the bottle.

“Yes,” I said holding my glass as she poured. This time she filled the glass to the top. I took a big gulp. I could feel the warmth as it slid down my throat. I felt a bit more sociable.

“Mr Jones is now my hottest attraction. The tents are packed to capacity every night. He is a real money maker, this one,” Mr Adler said, slapping me on the back. “In fact I’m planning to purchase another elephant. With Mr Jones help and the bull hook, we should have that new elephant trained and ready in record time. You can do that, can’t you, Harvey, my boy.”

“The elephants don’t need a bullhook Mr Adler. They hate being treated like slaves.” I took another gulp of the wine. The thought of using a bullhook on a gentle beast made my skin crawl.

“Those elephants are just dumb beasts, Mr Jones. Sometimes the bull hook is necessary to show them who’s boss. We can’t have them doing what they want or else they’d cause havoc,” Mr Adler said, a louder tone. “Isn’t that right?” he said, glaring at me across the table.

I finished off the wine in one gulp. I looked over at Mrs Granger and said. “Gracie, Unfortunately the bull hook  has been used to keep them submissive and afraid. The elephants hate captivity. My music reminds them of their sorrow. You wouldn’t believe it, Sadie. They take a newborn baby from its mother and…”

“That’s enough, Mr Jones!” Raymond snapped. “Perhaps you’ve had a bit much wine, don’t you think?” he said, glaring at me. One of his eyebrows was raised, while the other down. It was a look of disapproval. I had crossed a line and Mr Adler let me know this. 

I fell quiet and sat back in the chair.

“Well, well. Perhaps we should retire to the porch. I’ve had a bit too much wine myself. We should get some air,” Sadie said, trying to change the subject.

“Yes, you are absolutely right, Sadie. Things can get a bit stressful before a show. We should probably get going. Are you coming with me Tim, or are you staying here with your mother?” 

Tim glanced at me, then back at Mr Adler. “You coming back with us or not. It’s up to you boy.”

Sadie looked eagerly for his reply, but he chose to go back with us. Sadie’s eyes sank as she put on a fake smile.

“You take care of my boy, Raymond. I don’t want to see him get hurt worse than this. Promise me,”

“He’ll be fine. I won’t have him swinging those hammers again.”

The boss hugged his sister and nephew goodbye, and she wished me good luck as we got in the car. I sat in silence as the boss drove us east to the fairgrounds.