“Oblivious” — a short story by Carolyn Geduld

April 7th, 2020

 

.

.

“Oblivious,” a story by Carolyn Geduld, was a short-listed entry in our recently concluded 53rd Short Fiction Contest. It is published with the permission of the author

 

.

.

.

 

 

 

photo by Bill Wilson (cropped and converted to b&w)/CC BY 2.0

.

.

 

Oblivious

by

Carolyn Geduld

.

……..Her granddad shook Bridgett awake. He was sniffling.

……..         “What’s the matter? Are you sick?” She propped herself on her elbows.

……..       “It’s Morrison. Gone.He was standing there in a faded tie-dyed shirt, smelling  musty. His thinning gray hair, reaching past his waist, had not been tied back, but he was wearing his love beads.

……..        Now what?

……..           “Who?” She said.

……..     “Morrison. One of the greats. Gloria. Brown-eyed Girl. Tupelo Honey.” He tried humming a few bars of something, broken up with sniffles.

…….. “What’s the fucking time? Tell me what this is about, already, so I can go back to sleep.”

…….. “Wait.” He left the room. A few seconds later, he came back with the local newspaper, probably the last of the print editions in circulation. He tossed it on the bed.

……..     “Van Morrison. Dead.” He shook his head.

……..        Bridgett grabbed the paper and looked at the headline. “Dad, it’s not Van Morrison, whoever that is. It’s Toni Morrison.”

……..       “Who’s he?”

……..She shook the paper at him. “She. He’s a ‘she.’ Toni with an ‘i.’ Not a ‘y’. The writer. Okay? Not Van. Now go away and let me sleep.”

……..He was looking at the photo accompanying the headline. “Oh. Yes. It’s a black woman. Not Van. That’s good. Fuck. I was scared there for a minute it was Van.” He shuffled out of the room looking at the paper.

…….. “And no weed,” she shouted after him. “It’s too fucking early.”

……..“Gotta calm my nerves. I thought it was Van.” He was speaking from the kitchen. As thin as the walls were, he could have still been in Bridgett’s room.

……..She was wide awake now. Out the window, the sky was a sullen gray. Somewhere, someone, a son, a lover, a friend was planning a funeral, lighting a cigarette as she was now doing, thinking of the words that must be spoken to fill the yawning absence.

……..Granddad came back into her room with two beers. He handed Bridgett one.

……..“Reminds me of Jim Morrison and The Doors. Roadhouse Blues had a great beat. He died in 1971, you know. They say it was drugs, but nobody’s sure.”

……..She was staying at her granddad’s two bedroom log cabin while she was between jobs. He was paying her a minuscule amount of money to clean up the place and cook for him. Most of the time, he was out on the porch, playing his guitar and getting high. All the guys in his old band, the Dreamers, were in nursing homes or dead. As he liked to repeat, “I’m the last one standing.”

……..“Thanks for the beer, but I’d rather have coffee when I wake up—especially when you wake me up for no damned reason. Now, can I have some privacy please?” It was no use trying to sleep.

……..When he left the room, she took a sip of the beer and placed the can along with her cigarette on the nightstand. Climbing out of bed, she ran her hand over her shaved head. It was an agreeable sensation. She wasn’t going to be a long-haired hippie like her granddad. Just the opposite. She threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. If her granddad was on a roll about old Rockers from fifty years ago, he’d want to talk to her about them, play some of his old LPs, and reminisce. That’s the other thing he paid her for. To listen.

……..It was already noon. Half the day gone. With nothing else to do, no job, no relationship, no friends nearby, she could sleep for hours. She went to the kitchen and started some coffee in an ancient metal percolator, which she had to scour out before using for the first time. Everything in the room had been coated with grease and crust when she moved in—pots and pans, dishes, appliances that dated back decades.

……..She knew about Toni Morrison from an on-line American Literature class she had taken. She hadn’t actually read any of the assigned books, looking up summaries on the internet instead. One of the lectures, about writers of color, rated Toni Morrison the top-of-the-top. But Bridgett preferred books about people like herself, white women in their thirties in romantic situations that had happy outcomes. She was a devotee of Harlequin paperbacks. Novels by African-Americans or not set in small American communities or about events she was unlikely to experience did not hold her interest.

……..At least she read. She had never seen her granddad even look at a book, let alone read it.

……..According to the newspaper, Toni Morrison had lived eighty-eight years. That was how old Grandma was when she died two years ago. Thoughts of Grandad’s fourth wife, technically her step-grandmother, made Bridgett want to cry.

……..The percolator was quiet. Bridgett filled a mug and went outside to join Granddad.

……..Without knowing these words were going to spring from her mouth, she said, “Granddad, I think we should do something to honor Toni Morrison.”

……..He strummed a few chords on his guitar. “What do you mean?”

……..“I’m not sure. Toni Morrison was an important black woman leader. We’re white. Maybe we owe it to her.”

……..“The Dreamers opened for The Temptations, once. There were black performers at Woodstock. Richie Havens was first in the lineup. Jimi Hendrix, of course. Santana was Latino. Sly and the Family Stone.”

……..“Woodstock. Let’s not go there right now.” Grandad’s time in Woodstock was a source of his repeated stories about the Dreamers. If he was stuck in the past, it was at Woodstock. “Even if rock music was sometimes an exception, I bet it wasn’t often. I wouldn’t know. But let’s face it. In every way, it hasn’t been as rough being white.”

……..“I don’t know what you’re saying,” he said.

……..“I don’t know either. I just think we should find a way to honor Toni Morrison.”

……..She sipped her coffee. He strummed harder, making an angry sound, typical of Protest Rock.

……..“Then we should honor Jim Morrison. Van Morrison was the better musician, but he’s alive. The Doors were classic. They were important leaders, too.”

……..“Granddad! The Doors were white.”

……..“So? And?”

……..“I don’t know, exactly. I have to think about it.” She went back inside. Images of Grandma came into her mind, of her making candles and wearing wool shawls. She was so kind to Bridgett when her parents died in a motorcycle accident. Granddad put her through a lot. Other women, all the money spent on drugs, always on the road with the Dreamers, never telling her if he would show up at home between gigs.

……..When she finished her coffee, she borrowed Granddad’s fifty-year-old VW Beetle. Who knew how many miles would have been on the odometer if it still worked? It may have been one of the last original Beetles on the road. It was covered with decals—peace symbols, flowers, marijuana leaves. It chugged to the library. In the rear of the building, there was a sale room where duplicate or unneeded books could be purchased. Several well-used Toni Morrison novels were there. She bought ten for five dollars.

……..Back at the cabin, Granddad was playing the guitar and singing when she got out of the car with the books in her arms. His voice was gravelly, no longer the tenor that it was in the heyday of the Dreamers.

……..“All those?” He said. When she didn’t answer, he continued his song.

……..My brown-eyed girl.

……..You, my brown-eyed girl.

……..Bridgett dumped the books on her bed. There was nowhere else to put them. The cabin did not have a shelf. The furniture was sparse. Only a bed and a nightstand were in her tiny bedroom. She kept her clothing in black plastic bags in the closet. The books lay on the chenille bedspread in a pleasing array of bright colors. The jacket of “Beloved” was red with yellow lettering. “Song of Solomon’s” was blue. “Sula’s” was green with pink lettering.

……..It reminded her of tie-dying with Grandma. The pails of fabric color. The shirts twisted and rubber-banded. The empty Ketchup squirt bottles filled with dye. The sunburst patterns. The shirts hanging on a line in the back yard where breezes billowed them like festive balloons. Together, she and Grandma made costumes for the Dreamers and clothing for themselves. Hippie clothing. Peace and love clothing with Grandma. The best memory Bridgett had.

……..That was years ago, when Bridgett was a small child, before Grandma’s hands shook with palsy. Most of the clothing was worn until ragged, then discarded, except for a few Dreamer shirts Granddad still kept. Tie-dye was old-fashioned now. Craft stores sold kits for hobbyists. But it was mostly aging Woodstock veterans who still wore shirts dyed the original way.

……..She rejoined Grandad on the porch. He was so frail that two of him could have squeezed into the Adirondack. He bent over the guitar as he strummed, resting it on his knee.

……..“How old are you, Granddad?” She sat next to him. It was dusk. Fireflies were sparking in the yard. Moths were bouncing off the porch light. The smell of weed floated around him. A blunt lay across a beer can between his feet.

……..“I was born in 1936. I guess that makes me 83. I’m the last one standing of the Dreamers. There were five of us. We were one of the substitute bands at Woodstock, in case one of the performers didn’t show. Some didn’t. They were stuck in traffic. Jim Morrison didn’t come because he didn’t like performing outdoors. Anyway, we were never called on. The organizers forgot about us. Nina Simone didn’t come because she was headlining the Black Woodstock in Central Park in the city. That was another thing that happened back then. Two Woodstocks—a white one and a black one.”

……..As he was rambling on, Bridgett was thinking that if he was 83, he might not last much longer. When he died, she would have nobody. No grandparents, parents, or siblings. No Woodstock generation to envelop her in tie-dye camaraderie. She would be alone.

……..“Want a tab?” Grandad reached into his jeans pocket.

……..“What the fuck. Why not.”

……..As she was beginning to feel the effect, she went into the bedroom and lay on top of the bed, with the Toni Morrison books rainbowed next to her. Sometimes, Grandma would lay down next to her when she was sad and cuddle her. In the haze of her altered state, which had come on fast, she imagined she was talking to Toni Morrison.

……..“I’m lost.”

……..I’m a brown-eyed girl,” Toni Morrison said.

……..“I don’t know what to do.”

……..A brown-eyed girl can’t help a blue-eyed girl.”

……..Maybe it was Toni Morrison. Maybe it was Grandma. Maybe it was a dream. The Dreamers. She should find them for Grandad. Have a reunion. A reunion concert at Woodstock. They should have their chance. Jim Morrison and the Doors would open. Thousands would attend. There would be love. She would be loved.

……..Quickly, she gathered up the books and went to the porch.

……..“Come on, Grandad. You don’t want to be late. Let’s go.”

……..Stiffly, he pressed down on the arms of the chair and got up. “Where to?”

……..“Woodstock. Bring your guitar.”

……..Grabbing his arm, she pulled him to the VW. He was wheezing by the time she got him seated. The guitar and the books, which would never be read, were placed in the back seat. The car key was in the ignition. She started up the road, with no map, no GPS. The little compass that hung from the rearview mirror indicated “E” for east. That was the right direction.

……..She could see the stars spinning like a roulette wheel, then slowing to point the way. If red, go left. If black, go right. In between, straight ahead. That’s all she’ll need to know. East. First to Toni Morrison’s funeral, which probably would be someplace near her home in New York. Then on to Woodstock.

……..All she had to do was follow the stars.

.

.

_____

.

.

.

Carolyn Geduld is a mental health professional in Bloomington, Indiana. Her fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies. Her novel .Take Me Out The Back .is being published by Black Rose Publishers in 2020.

.

.

.

Short Fiction Contest Details

.

.

.

 

Share this:

Comment on this article:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Site Archive

In This Issue

painting of Clifford Brown by Paul Lovering
A Collection of Jazz Poetry — Spring/Summer, 2024 Edition...In this, the 17th major collection of jazz poetry published on Jerry Jazz Musician, 50 poets from all over the world again demonstrate the ongoing influence the music and its associated culture has on their creative lives.

(featuring the art of Paul Lovering)

Feature

photo of Rudy Van Gelder via Blue Note Records
“Rudy Van Gelder: Jazz Music’s Recording Angel” – an essay by Joel Lewis...For over 60 years, the legendary recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder devoted himself to the language of sound. And although he recorded everything from glee clubs to classical music, he was best known for recording jazz – specifically the musicians associated with Blue Note and Prestige records. Joel Lewis writes about his impact on the sound of jazz, and what has become of his Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey studio.

Interview

Interview with James Kaplan, author of 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool...The esteemed writer tells a vibrant story about the jazz world before, during, and after the 1959 recording of Kind of Blue, and how the album’s three genius musicians came together, played together, and grew together (and often apart) throughout the experience.

Publisher’s Notes

photo by Rhonda Dorsett
On turning 70, and contemplating the future of Jerry Jazz Musician...

The Sunday Poem

painting by Jennylynd James
”He Jazzed His Way," by Susie Gharib

Click here to read previous editions of The Sunday Poem

Essay

“Gone Guy: Jazz’s Unsung Dodo Marmarosa,” by Michael Zimecki...The writer remembers the late jazz musician Michael “Dodo” Marmarosa, awarded Esquire Magazine’s New Star Award in 1947, and who critics predicted would dominate the jazz scene for the next 30 years.

Short Fiction

Impulse! Records and ABC/Dunhill Records. Photographer uncredited/via Wikimedia Commons
Short Fiction Contest-winning story #66 — “Not From Around Here” by Jeff Dingler...The author’s award-winning story is about a Jewish kid coming of age in Alabama and discovering his identity through music, in particular the interstellar sound of Sun Ra..

Click here to read more short fiction published on Jerry Jazz Musician

Playlist

“‘Different’ Trios” – a playlist by Bob Hecht...A 27-song playlist that focuses on non-traditional trio recordings, featuring trios led by the likes of Carla Bley, Ron Miles, Dave Holland and Jimmy Giuffre...

Feature

Excerpts from David Rife’s Jazz Fiction: Take Two – Vol. 5: “Scott Joplin: King of Ragtime”...A substantial number of novels and stories with jazz music as a component of the story have been published over the years, and the scholar David J. Rife has written short essay/reviews of them. In this sixth edition of excerpts from his book, Rife writes about jazz novels and short stories that feature a theme of “mystery.”

Interview

Interview with Larry Tye, author of The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America...The author talks about his book, an intensely researched, spirited, and beautifully told story – and an important reminder that Armstrong, Ellington, and Basie all defied and overcame racial boundaries “by opening America’s eyes and souls to the magnificence of their music.”

Poetry

John Coltrane, by Martel Chapman
Four poets, four poems…on John Coltrane

Feature

What we discover about Kamala Harris from an armful of record albums...Like her or not, readers of this site will enjoy learning that Vice President Kamala Harris is a fan of jazz music. Witness this recent clip (via Youtube) of her emerging from a record shop…

Short Fiction

Munich University of Music and Theater/© Raimond Spekking/via Wikimedia Commons
“The Pianist (Part One)” – a short story by J. C. Michaels...The story – finalist in the recently concluded 66th Short Fiction Contest – describes the first lesson at a music conservatory of a freshman piano-performance major who is more accustomed to improvising than reading music. It is an excerpt from a novel-in-progress.

Poetry

“Revival” © Kent Ambler.
If You Want to Go to Heaven, Follow a Songbird – Mary K O’Melveny’s album of poetry and music...While consuming Mary K O’Melveny’s remarkable work in this digital album of poetry, readings and music, readers will discover that she is moved by the mastery of legendary musicians, the wings of a monarch butterfly, the climate and political crisis, the mysteries of space exploration, and by the freedom of jazz music that can lead to what she calls “the magic of the unknown.” (with art by Kent Ambler)

Book Excerpt

A book excerpt from Designed for Success: Better Living and Self-Improvement with Midcentury Instructional Records, by Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder...In this excerpt, the authors write extensively about music instruction and appreciation records dealing with the subject of jazz.

Interview

The Marvelettes/via Wikimedia Commons
Interview with Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz, authors of But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?: An Oral History of the 60’s Girl Groups...Little is known of the lives and challenges many of the young Black women who made up the Girl Groups of the ‘60’s faced while performing during an era rife with racism, sexism, and music industry corruption. The authors discuss their book’s mission to provide the artists an opportunity to voice their experiences so crucial to the evolution of popular music.

Short Fiction

photo via FreeRangeStock
“Hip Replacements” – a short story by William Torphy...The story – a short-listed entry in our recently concluded 66th Short Fiction contest – is a humorous take on a septuagenarian attempt to resurrect a revival band.

Art

photo of Leroy Jenkins by Giovanni Piesco
The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Leroy Jenkins...photos of the eminent free jazz violinist, taken at Amsterdam's Bimhuis on January 4, 1999.

Short Fiction

Shisma, CC BY 4.0  via Wikimedia Commons
“Nostalgia” – a short story by John-Paul Cote...Harlan has an addiction. A most illegal addiction. It drives him from morning until night. He dreams of it. How can he escape it before it brings him into the arms of the law? Down a dark alley he will find out just how far he is willing to go.

Essay

“Like a Girl Saying Yes: The Sound of Bix” – an essay by Malcolm McCollum...The first time Benny Goodman heard Bix Beiderbecke play cornet, he wondered, “My God, what planet, what galaxy, did this guy come from?” What was it about this musician that captivated and astonished so many for so long – and still does?

Trading Fours with Douglas Cole

Trading Fours, with Douglas Cole, No. 21: “The Blue Truth”...In this edition, the poet riffs on Oliver Nelson’s classic 1961 album The Blues and the Abstract Truth as if a conversation between conductor and players were caught on tape along with the inner monologue of some mystery player/speaker of the poem.

In Memoriam

Hans Bernhard (Schnobby), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
“Remembering Joe Pass: Versatile Jazz Guitar Virtuoso” – by Kenneth Parsons...On the 30th anniversary of the guitarist Joe Pass’ death, Kenneth Parsons reminds readers of his brilliant career

Book Excerpt

Book excerpt from Jazz with a Beat: Small Group Swing 1940 – 1960, by Tad Richards

Click here to read more book excerpts published on Jerry Jazz Musician

Jazz History Quiz #176

photo of Lester Young by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
While legendary as a saxophonist, his first instrument was a violin and his second the piano — which he played well enough to work as an accompanist to silent movies. Ultimately it was Lester Young’s father who taught him the saxophone well enough that he switched instruments for good. (It was during this time that he also saved Lester from drowning in a river). Who is he?

Community

photo via Picryl.com
“Community Bookshelf” is a twice-yearly space where writers who have been published on Jerry Jazz Musician can share news about their recently authored books and/or recordings. This edition includes information about books published within the last six months or so (March – September, 2024)

Contributing Writers

Click the image to view the writers, poets and artists whose work has been published on Jerry Jazz Musician, and find links to their work

Coming Soon

An interview with Larry Tye, author of The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America; an interview with Jonathon Grasse, author of Jazz Revolutionary: The Life & Music of Eric Dolphy; A new collection of jazz poetry; a collection of jazz haiku; a new Jazz History Quiz; short fiction; poetry; photography; interviews; playlists; and lots more in the works...

Interview Archive

Ella Fitzgerald/IISG, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Click to view the complete 25-year archive of Jerry Jazz Musician interviews, including those recently published with Judith Tick on Ella Fitzgerald (pictured),; Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz on the Girl Groups of the 60's; Tad Richards on Small Group Swing; Stephanie Stein Crease on Chick Webb; Brent Hayes Edwards on Henry Threadgill; Richard Koloda on Albert Ayler; Glenn Mott on Stanley Crouch; Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom on Eubie Blake; Richard Brent Turner on jazz and Islam; Alyn Shipton on the art of jazz; Shawn Levy on the original queens of standup comedy; Travis Atria on the expatriate trumpeter Arthur Briggs; Kitt Shapiro on her life with her mother, Eartha Kitt; Will Friedwald on Nat King Cole; Wayne Enstice on the drummer Dottie Dodgion; the drummer Joe La Barbera on Bill Evans; Philip Clark on Dave Brubeck; Nicholas Buccola on James Baldwin and William F. Buckley; Ricky Riccardi on Louis Armstrong; Dan Morgenstern and Christian Sands on Erroll Garner; Maria Golia on Ornette Coleman.