Tombatone, Jekyll Island and Venita's Humor

'Doc Holliday's Road to Tombatone'
Excerpt:
Tuesday, November 1, 1881

Judge Spicer took the bench at nine a.m. rapped his gavel and gestured for the prosecution to call their witness.
A young spare built man with gray eyes took the stand and in answer to the first question said, "My name is William Allen. I live in Tombstone."
The lanky district attorney said in a quiet voice, "Tell us if you know any of the men who were involved in the difficulty on the afternoon of October 26, 1881?"
"I knew all of them, at least on sight.”
District Attorney Price slowly paced in front of his witness, chewing on a yellow pencil. "When were you first made aware that any difficulty existed between any of these men?"
"Well, that morning, I heard there was some trouble between Isaac Clanton and Doc Holliday. I also heard from Henry Fry that Tom McLowry had been hit with a pistol, by Wyatt Earp."
Tom Fitch got to his feet and said, "I object, Your Honor, the witness is testifying to hearsay."
"Objection sustained." Spicer then admonished the witness, "Just tell them what you yourself saw or heard."
The lanky Price gave his witness a not to worry look before he continued. "When did you first see any of the participants on the day of the difficulty?"
"I first saw Frank McLowry, pretty near the Grand Hotel, as they were riding into town. Frank McLowry and Billy Clanton were with an old gentleman I'm not acquainted with."
"What was the time of day when you saw these men and what occurred at that time?"
"It was about two o'clock in the afternoon. Frank McLowry, Billy Clanton and the old man went inside the Grand Hotel."
“What did you do?”
"I followed them into the bar. They were about ready to have a drink, and they asked me to join them."
“Did you all take a drink?”
"No. I called Frank off to one side and asked him if he knew what was going on, that Wyatt Earp knocked Tom McLowry down with a gun, on --"
"I object to this line of hearsay and request to strike from the record," Tom Fitch said.
"Sustained. Court reporter, strike that last statement from your record," Spicer then glared at the prosecutor.
The district attorney shook off the rebuke and gently asked his witness, "Then what happened after your conversation with Frank McLowry?"
“Frank McLowry said, ‘We won’t drink.’ Those are the last words I ever heard him say. They went out the door, got on their horses and rode off. Just before that he said, ‘I will get the boy’s out-of-town.’"
Doc scribbled a note to bring up the point of Allen's recollection, two sets of Frank's last words?
More Excerpts: (To be continued)
Georgia's Heritage
Jekyll Island
For sixty years prior to World War II Jekyll Island was the most exclusive private club in the world. The clubhouse was a most imposing Victorian structure and within those rooms slept the Astors, the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, the Goulds and Pulitzers.
From mid winter to Easter the richest men in America made Jekyll Island their retreat and they brought along their wives, their children and sometimes their mistresses.
Most members lived in individual houses, which they referred to as cottages, but to the average person they looked more like small mansions. However there was no great effort on their part to buy lavish interior furnishings, and the inside decor of most cottages looked like that of a typical beach house.
The most important part of their social life was the large gathering for their evening meal. The meal generally consisted of several courses that lasted from three to four hours. A special chef was loaned to them and imported in from Del Monico's in New York.
In the club's heyday from about 1890 to 1920 it is said that their membership controlled about one sixth of the country's wealth.
William Rockefeller's stock dividends alone amounted to more than two million a year and that was at a time when the American worker was bringing home about seven dollars a week. Of course those figures ar peanuts when compared to current business executives and their multi million dollar golden parachute rewards.
The Jekyll Island Club activities ceased at the beginning of World War II, however, the island had a long history before and after the Jekyll Island Club. The island was named by General Ogelthorpe after his friend and benefactor Sir Joseph Jekyll.
The year of 1859 saw the darkest hour of Jekyll Island's history. It was when the last cargo of African Slaves were unloaded onto the island nearly a half century after congress had outlawed the importation of slaves.
They were brought to the island on a sleek vessel named the Wanderer that flew the flag of the New York Yacht Club. On deck was an old iron kettle that was used to cook the corn meal mush that was fed to the slaves on their journey to America. That kettle was off loaded from the Wanderer and remains in a prominent location on the island. Legend has it and some islanders say that on nights when a hot wind blows off the marsh you can hear sounds and moans of what can only be described as unhappy human beings swirling around that old iron pot.
An expansive lawn spreads from the club house to the Jekyll River where many of the club members anchored their yacht's. And it was the main playground of the millionaires where they played tennis, croquet and swam in the pool that is still in use. To give you and idea of the power yielded by this group you would have to go no further than this one story.
At four o:clock on the afternoon of January 25, 1915. one of the first telephones on the island rang and was answered by a member of the club, Mr. Theodore Vale. Vale was the president of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. On the other end of the line in Washington was President Wilson, Alexander Graham Bell was in New York and Thomas Watson was in San Francisco. And that was the first transcontinental telephone call. The conversation was of no significance, but the technical accomplishment of that call was a giant step in the area of communications.
(To be Continued)

Writers Notebook:

A friend of mine writes a humorous Internet blog and a while back she wrote: I Find it absolutely impossible to stay in a bad mood while singing Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-A, My Oh My What a Wonderful Day, Plenty of Sunshine Heading My Way Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Zip-A-Dee-A…Mr. Bluebird on my shoulder etc.
Her name is Venita Louise and she applies that kind of humor. In her novel 'Mixed Nuts.' Venita has written a comedy using all the elements of farce without the pratfalls.
Review written by Tom Barnes.
Jingle writer, and head of the household, Frank Beal has distractions flying around his piano workplace like boomerangs. Son Matt has a slew of knock knock jokes; daughter Melinda is the moppet version of Inspector Cleseau with a hardhat while wife Joan angles for a new car in order to keep up with the Jones’s. And that’s just inside the house.
The next door neighbor’s gardener Tito is sure Frank Beal controls the outdoor snail population and accuses Frank of sending his snails next door, “to Meester Robert’s yard.”
You’ve got to empathize with Frank though and wonder how he is able to turn off the madness and produce jingles.
But you soon find out he’s had prior experience with madness when his brother Gene shows up in a skirt. Well, it’s not really a skirt, the clannish Uncle Gene shows up wearing a Kilt.
Venita’s world also includes a special mix of goofballs, voodoo spells, hex’s and a wandering peacock.


Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
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