______________________________ EARLY JUNE TO MID JULY OF 1959 In the farming community of Abbyville, Kansas, Elias Ferret had turned age 18 on May 7th, and graduated with his high school classmates in early June of 1959.
Like many homes in the local rural community back in the 1950s, the home of Elias Ferret's family didn't have phone and electrical service. Toilet facilities were still an old fashion out-house, and water was drawn from a well with a pail and a rope on a paw cranked reel. They used Kerosene lamps for light, and had a wood stove for cooking and heat.
Elias was gifted with very good talent in music, which earned him a place in the high school band before he graduated... However, Elias' most special musical talent was with the hollow body acoustic guitar. His family and friends were always impressed and loved to hear him play the folk and country songs he knew so well. Like everyone else though, when you start getting into those seemingly magical adult years, it gets to be a time to consider what you are going to do as far as a career. On evening at the dinner table, Elias Ferret's dad, Jake Ferret, offered, "Elias. Now that you finished school, I still got a job position open on the farm. Once you get the go of things, I can pay you what I is paying Clem and Henry". "Well...I appreciate the offer, Dad", Elias replied. "But my heart is in music. I want to try to make it as a music star someday". Mama Zella Ferret asked Elias, "I ain't trying to knock down your dreams, Son. But how do you plan to make it big as one of those there celebrities?". "Mom. I'll never know if I never try", Elias retorted. Elias' older brothers, Clem and Henry, even tried to talk Elias into taking up on Dad's offer as working as a farm paw. His sisters, Samantha, Jenny and Dorthy, even tried to talk youngest brother Elias out of pursuing music stardom. Finally, Daddy Jake mentioned, "Well you know, Zella. That King of Rock -n- Roll out of Memphis started out as a nobody". "I know, Jake", Zella replied. "But that kinda stuff is like shooting dice. What's the odds?". "Okay. Let him try it out", Jake confirmed. "Like Elias said, he'll never know if he never tries". Daddy Jake then said to Elias, "If you do make it, Son, we'll all be proud hearing your music on the radio someday", then followed with, "But if you don't, that farm position will always be open for you". "Thanks. I appreciate it, Dad", Elias replied. Over the following month and a half, Elias Ferret saved up some money for a motor vehicle by getting some gigs playing in some bars and night clubs in the nearby city of Hutchinson... Elias found an old 1951 Studebaker pick-up truck for sale for about $75. It was an old shake-rattle-n-run truck, but it was reliable. Even though the music gigs earned Elias some decent tip money from the patrons. However, it was still kind of rinky-dink at best as far as being compared to Elias' grand dreams of an avenue to big time stardom. Then in mid July, some friends who meant well told Elias Ferret that he might have a good shot at getting well known in El Paso, Texas...They should have directed Elias to Memphis or Nashville...But as they say, sometimes the road to disaster is paved with the best intentions. Elias mentioned his plans to Mom and Dad about going to El Paso. "Are you going to have the means to get there?", Daddy Jake asked. "I have some money saved up from gigs I've played in Hutchinson", Elias replied. "And I know that truck of mine will get me there". Elias had also been working for his Dad on the farm when he wasn't playing music gigs in Hutchinson during that month and a half, thus had even more cash to make the trip. On July 20th, 1959, Elias Ferret packed several travel bags, some blankets, a sleeping bag, his backpack, and got his Martin guitar into the cab of his truck. Elias Ferret's family, and several friends, saw him off and wished him luck just before he left for El Paso. "What's this for?", Elias asked his dad, not recalling any money his dad owed him. "It's gift money, Son", Jake answered. "Oh, thank you, Dad", Elias replied. After everyone bid Elias Godspeed, Elias then proceeded out to go down the road to follow his dreams as the family watched that old Studebaker pick-up go out of sight...Elias Ferret was now on his way.
______________________________ MID JULY OF 1959 TO LATE JULY OF 1960 It took two days for Elias to make it to El Paso...During a night along the way, Elias spread his sleeping bag in the bed of his Studebaker truck and slept that night in a truck stop parking lot just outside of Santa Rosa. Once Elias Ferret arrived to El Paso, he did have enough money to rent from a rag-tag apartment...which was a classic roach motel with paint peeling from the doors and walls. Once Elias got settled in, and got familiar with the area, it didn't take Elias long to get some music gigs in the bars and night clubs. For about the first month since Elias Ferret ventured from his home in Kansas, it seemed like the beginning of the road to Elias' dream of fame and fortune was getting off to a good start. However, there was one catch 22...Back in Hutchinson, everyone liked the folk and country music that Elias Ferret knows...In El Paso, even though everyone liked the folk and country that Elias knew so well, they also wanted the Latino style music that Elias had never gotten acquainted with. Over the next twelve months, Elias would get jobs to play for bars or night clubs easy enough. However, after about a month or more, managers would eventually ask Elias that question that went along the lines of, "We all like the cowboy music you can play. You're really good...But do you also know any Latino tunes?". Elias realizing he should have practiced some Latino tunes being he was in El Paso, had to reply, "I don't know any of those songs...Sorry". Elias then would have to hear a manager of a night club reply, "I'm sorry too. If you can't give the patrons what they want, I'll have to let you go". Each gig Elias Ferret and night club managers made arrangements on would eventually end the same way...lasting for about a month before the manager would let him go and get someone else. Because Elias didn't know any of the music that was popular in that area, it finally got to where he couldn't get anymore gigs playing music. However though, being Elias Ferret had that Studebaker truck, he would eventually find odd jobs either doing temporary hauling work, or doing yard work for a homeowner. Elias did okay being self employed with his little new found junk hauling and clean up business...It didn't by any means make Elias rich, and because he was still living in that rag-tag apartment, salvaging through the junk for usable items to sell was out of the question. Because the landlord was a stickler about apartment rules, everything Elias was paid by customers to haul away had to go straight to the dump. As the female French poodle who owned the apartment complex reminded Elias Ferret, "This is an apartment complex, and not a junk processing center". Elias Ferret managed to at least keeping an income going, until his junk hauling eventually came to an abrupt end... The day came when Elias was on his way to the dump with a load of junk, that old truck threw a connecting rod out through the engine block, rendering the truck as running it's last mile as Elias coasted it over to the side of the road. The truck was now needing a new motor, thus the only thing to do now was to hitchhike back to town and call a garage to send a tow truck for it. On the following day, Elias Ferret found out what he had suspected since the truck broke down the day before...The $350 it would cost to replace the engine would cost more than what Elias could afford...Back in that time era, that $350 was about one sixth the cost of a brand new truck. In fact, the opossum who was the owner/head mechanic of the garage that had Elias' truck towed in, said to Elias, "I really don't like putting to you this way. But with all the money you have, that might buy the cam shaft to a new motor. But hey...That's a start". As Elias thought to himself about the opposum's remark, "Nobody likes a wiseguy", it became apparent the truck wasn't going to be repaired...not while Elias owned it anyway.
This was after nearly a year that Elias Ferret had been in El Paso when the motor blew in his truck. During the following couple of weeks or so, Elias had put in applications with various businesses looking for a job. However, employers generally don't hire anyone who doesn't have transportation, which Elias didn't have since the engine blew in his truck. After two and a half weeks of trying to find work, but to no avail, Elias finally wrote a letter to his family back home, stating that things weren't going so good, and he would be coming back home...Sending a letter was the only way Elias had from El Paso of contacting his family back home. That's because Elias' family, as well as their neighbors, never had a phone...And as we all know, e-mail and public internet didn't exist back in 1960 either.
______________________________ WEDNESDAY, JULY 27th 1960 Roughly three weeks after Elias had lost his truck, it was on that day that Elias Ferret didn't have the money to make the rent on that roach motel apartment he was staying in, and was finally evicted. There was nothing to do now but put his tail between his legs and head on back home near Abbyville, Kansas to Mom, Dad, siblings and friends. Elias Ferret was nearly broke...It would have been nice to find a pay phone so he could call his Mom and Dad collect to send some money via Western Union to get a bus ticket to get home on... Though finding a pay phone in El Paso was not the issue, Elias' family never had a phone to receive a call on... Also, friends and neighbors, like his family, never had phones either. Thus it was going to be hitchhiking as a means to go home...The only things he had left with him now was his backpack, what belongings he could pack in it, and his old Martin guitar that been in the family since 1897. Elias did get a ride north along Highway 54, however it got him only as far north as Corona by nightfall. The motorist who gave Elias the ride did give Elias a couple of dollars. Elias slept that night sleeping on the ground behind some field shrubs on the outskirts of the town of Corona. Fortunately, the weather that night was warm and pleasant with no rain.
______________________________ THURSDAY, JULY 28TH, 1960 That morning, Elias set foot out of Corona north along Highway 54, hoping to get the ride he had not so far gotten. After seven hours of walking, Elias arrived to Duran where he stopped in at a cafe' on Highway 54 and got a meal with what little money he had left. It was a little after 4:00 in the afternoon when Elias paid his bill then headed further north along Highway 54. Still, no ride. Occasionally a car would go by. But still no ride. No one would stop. Elias even walked past a rock formation that hid a utility building from the highway that had a time travel machine in it, and had no idea it was even there. Elias noticed a brand brand new, grayish blue and white, Plymouth station wagon, driven by a coyote, going southbound the other way. The reason why Elias took special notice of that station wagon was because of it being such a nice looking car, and that the cargo area was loaded down with building materials...But that car was headed south in the direction of Duran, and Elias was walking north in the direction of Vaughn. It is about 12 miles between Duran and Vaughn, putting Elias making his way to Vaughn at about 8:00 in the evening. Being in the month of July, it wasn't quite dark yet at 8:00...By now, lightning flashes could barely be seen on the western horizon from an approaching storm though it was still very far away. Elias Ferret, anticipating he could make it to Pastura before that storm ever arrived, decided to press onward from Vaughn. Almost two hours later, a while after 9:45 at night, Elias Ferret found himself out on a lone stretch of Highway 54 with a thunderstorm bearing down upon him, and it was a bad one with lots of lightning too...
...And he was out in the middle of nowhere with the nearest town being the city of Vaughn he had already left several miles behind almost two hours ago. Getting wet with rain was the least of Elias Ferret's worries. This storm was hot with a lot of lightning, and Elias feared he might get struck. Elias was also worried that once it started down pouring , the rain would ruin his old Martin guitar that had been in his family for going on the 4th generation. Lightning was beginning to pop around everywhere on that lone stretch of highway 54 as the storm started moving in with the smell of rain in the air. There hasn't been a car come by since an hour ago, and it's been an hour since nightfall...And Elias Ferret figured there won't be car come by for another hour, or possibly two hours. To turn around and head back south to Vaughn, it would be two hours on foot...A lot can happen in a thunderstorm of this magnitude even in two hours if he chose to head back to Vaughn. To press on north to Pastura is more than a four hour walk. "If this guitar gets wet, it's ruined", Elias Ferret thought, although a guitar getting wet right now was the least of his worries. Elias was afraid he could get struck by a bolt of lightning before he could even think of making it to a town where he could find safe shelter...even if shelter was in an all night gas station until the storm passes. Elias Ferret took notice of a pretty fair size bush near a Highway 54 route marker sign. Elias knew it wouldn't be long before it would start to rain, thus he began contemplating getting a blanket out of his backpack to drape alongside that fair size bush as a makeshift tent to crawl under. Though a blanket tent would not be the most ideal shield against the coming rain, it was the only resource Elias had to try to minimize himself and his guitar from getting wet the best he could. Elias then noticed the glow of car headlights to the south several miles away coming from Vaughn, and it had not yet started to rain, thus he held off on that blanket tent idea.
"With this storm bearing down on me, I'm sure who ever's driving that car would have to stop", Elias thought as the distant car continued approaching, and the lightning continuing to flash. Once the car got close, lo and behold, a blessing for Elias Ferret...That northbound car, a light blue, 1952, Cadillac convertible (an eight year old car at the time) slowed down and came to a stop (with the top up of course). The wolf driving the car let the window down and asked the Elias Ferret, "Hello there, Fella. Need a ride?". "Oh yes, please", Elias replied as lightning continued popping around. "Hop in", the wolf offered. "You can put your guitar and backpack on the back seat if you want".
"Oh I sure appreciate this", Elais said as he wasted no time opening the passenger's door.
Elias then placed his backpack and guitar over to the back seat and got in. Immediately after Elias closed the door and wound the window up, a bolt of lightning shot very close overhead lighting up everything blue, followed by a bang so loud you'd swear it was ripping the top of the sky off.
"Oh I do have a fear of lightning", Elias admitted. "Hank's the name", the wolf introduced himself as he put the gear selector into drive, pressed the accelerator, and resumed driving.
"Elias Ferret", Elias introduced himself. "I really appreciate the ride". Hank wolf asked Elias Ferret, "What brings you out to the the middle of nowhere on a night like tonight?". "I'm trying to get back to my folks in Abbyville, Kansas", Elias replied", "I can take you as far as Santa Rosa", Hank Wolf told Elias Ferret. After Elias Ferret told Hank Wolf about his plight of not making it big as a musician in El Paso, the both of them made interesting conversation about the music trade...Meanwhile, an old song was playing on the radio of that old Cadillac. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1DDrMp3npM https://youtu.be/lCgicPdsxxg?t=10
During the conversation, Elias Ferret mentioned, "I've always had an inspiration to earn my place as a well known musician...The Hall of Fame". Hank Wolf asked Elias Ferret, "How well can you moan the blues? Make others cry when you play and sing? And can you bend them guitar strings?...Ya know, Boy. Make others feel what you feel inside?". "I mostly sing folk and country", Elias replied. "But I can twang those guitar strings pretty good". "Folk and country might be okay to some degree in El Paso", Hank mention to Elias. "But always remember...You also got to give 'em what they want". "I think I've been finding that out", Elias said, then mentioned, "I've been hoping to make it in the big league...You know...Cutting records. Having songs on the radio. Stuff like that". Hank Wolf let out a modest laugh, then said with a tone of sincerity, "Boy...Let me clue in on something. If you've got ambitions of being big star bound, I have to warn you it's a long hard ride...I know...I've been there and done it. I made it to that big league. Got well known and popular among many. And yes. It is a long hard ride".
As they rode through that bad thunderstorm in the comfort and safety of that old Cadillac, Elias Ferret couldn't help but to notice there was something strange and mystic about Hank Wolf...That ride for Elias Ferret was an experience as depicted in a song that would not yet come into being until another 23 years...It would be 23 years later that when ever Elias Ferret would hear that song, it would always remind him of this ride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2hJLa0T-Sw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6uR1rZjKkM They eventually passed through the community of Pastura, which not long thereafter they finally left that thunderstorm behind...Elias Ferret was sure glad to look up at the windshield and see that there were stars in the night sky visible overhead. Upon arriving to Santa Rosa, Hank Wolf said to Elias Ferret, "This is as far as you go, Boy. I'm catching route 84 out of here and heading back to Alabam' ". "Well gee, Mister. Many thanks for the ride", Elias Ferret thanked Hank Wolf as he retrieved his backpack and guitar from the back seat. "You don't have to call me Mister, Mister", Hank Wolf replied. "The whole world calls me Hank...Good night, Son". As Elias Ferret watched that old Cadillac leave down Route 84 into the night, it struck him like a ton of bricks, "Could that have been?...I would have said it couldn't be. But it being the popular star Hank Wolf was so real...Hank Wolf...Wow!". It was calm weather in Santa Rosa with a clear sky overhead, although the lightning flashes could be seen above the horizon to the south where Elias Ferret had just gotten a ride from...Santa Rosa is north of where the storm was, and the storm was moving toward the east. So after putting on his backpack, and with his guitar strapped over his shoulder, Elias proceeded walking up Highway 54 where it joins with Route 66 until he arrived at a truck stop just east of Santa Rosa, which was a while before midnight. It was in the TV room of that truck stop east of Santa Rosa where Elias slept for the night, making himself comfortable on a couch. As for truck drivers and other patrons watching TV, they were okay with Elias Ferret among them sleeping in the TV room. Elias didn't bother anyone, and no one bothered Elias. While sleeping in that TV room that night, Elias had a dream that he had been riding over a rough stretch of road in that old Cadillac convertible with Hank Wolf to a place called Music Hall of Fame . He dreamed he had been riding with Hank on that rough road for days and days and days. In the dream, Elias asked, "How much longer? We've been riding for days now". Hank Wolf answered, "Remember when I said it's a long hard ride to being big star bound?". "Well yea", Elias replied. "But do you have at least a clue when we'll get there?" Hank Wolf simply answered, "It's a long hard road, Boy...It's a long hard road". The dream then faded out as Elias began having a dream of being back home with his mom, dad and siblings in Abbyville, Kansas.
______________________________ FRIDAY, JULY 29TH, 1960 Elias Ferret woke up hungry early that morning, being the last time he ate was 4:00 in the afternoon yesterday at the cafe' in Duran. Of course, Elias didn't have any money left to get breakfast, thus there was no point in hanging around smelling the aroma of the breakfast he couldn't afford...However, there was a light rain that morning which prevented Elias from hitting the road right away. He had his guitar with him, and if he can't get a ride, rain would certainly destroy a guitar. So Elias went back to the TV room to wait out the light rain. On the TV was the morning weather report with a meteorologist, a raccoon, illustrating on a weather map how the morning light rain will be moving out of the central New Mexico area, including Duran, Vaughn, Pastura, Encino and Santa Rosa before long. "Now it will be partly cloudy Saturday", the raccoon on TV went on to say. "But there is no precipitation expected over the weekend. And expect sunny skies Sunday". The raccoon meteorologist did go on to report, "Now late tonight, there will be another round of light rain, but only as isolated pockets of precipitation around central New Mexico. As for the severe thunderstorms we had yesterday, they're gone for now. And after tonight, this system is out of here, making for a great weekend". The raccoon then signed off, "That concludes today's KSWS Channel 8 morning weather report. I'm Meteorologist Andy Raccoon. Have a pleasant day". After waiting for less than an hour in the TV room, sure enough the rain moved out of the area like Meteorologist Andy Raccoon on KSWS TV said it would, giving way to good weather. Now Elias can hit the road in hopes of getting a ride. As Elias Ferret made his way through the restaurant part of the truck stop as he was leaving, a waitress, who was a female fox, said to Elias, "You must be hungry. I noticed you haven't eaten anything since you've been here". "I'm broke", Elias replied. "No money". With that said, the waitress was kind enough to give Elias Ferret a glass of water, and then a large coffee to go...She even gave him a cream filled doughnut in a paper sack to put in his backpack. "I have to give you this coffee and doughnut to go", the waitress said to Elias. "I'd be in trouble with my boss if he sees I gave it to you for free". "Okay. I appreciate it", Elias said as he accepted the coffee and doughnut and then proceeded to leave. So with his backpack on, his guitar strapped over his shoulder, and sipping on his free coffee, Elias Ferret continued eastbound on foot along Highway 54 - 66. Not far down the road, Elias stopped long enough to fetch that cream filled doughnut from his backpack to eat with the rest of the coffee he had left...Needless to say, after not having anything to eat since the day before, that doughnut sure did taste mighty good. Elias then continued on, hoping he could get a ride at least to Tucumcari, Dalhart, or even as far as Pratt if he was really lucky. But no ride...No one would stop to pick Elias up. In fact, later that morning, a greyish blue and white, 1960, Plymouth station wagon passed by, driven by a mother coyote with her cubs. A while later, the Plymouth wagon was headed back the other way to Santa Rosa when a coyote cub called from an open window at Elias Ferret, "Hey! King of rock -n- roll!" Elias figured the cub's cat call remark was in reference to his guitar. The day went on hour after hour with no one offering a ride. Then, after ten hours of walking 30 miles, a fox and his wife in a 1956 Ford pick up truck stopped and gave Elias a ride...By then, it was 6:00 in the evening. "Where to?", the male fox asked. "I'm headed for Abbyville, Kansas", Elias Ferret said. "It's near Hutchinson". "We can take you as far as Tucumcari", said the fox. "That's 20 miles from here. Just put your stuff back there in the bed". "Let him take the guitar up front here", the fox's wife said to her husband as she scooted to the center to make a space for Elias to sit. "I wouldn't put that back there". "Okay", the male fox replied. "I appreciate it", Elias replied as he put his backpack in the bed, and got in the cab with his guitar, placing it between his knees. As they proceeded down the road, the male fox introduced himself and his wife, "I'm Reggie Fox, and this is my wife, Gwyndolin". "I'm Elias", Elias Ferret introduced himself. "So what brings you out here?", Gwyndolin asked Elias as they were riding along. Elias Ferret explained a brief account of his situation over the past year, and that he was on his way back home. "Part of this road becomes a short run of Interstate 40 before you get to Tucumcari", Gwyndolin informed Elias. "You don't want to be walking that". "They still left the old 66 as a side road", Reggie mentioned, then said to Elias, "Yea, you'd get a ticket if they catch you walking along an Interstate" "In my situation, that would be the last thing I want", Elias said. "But I would have walked the old route anyway". "We're headed out to a bar we often go to", Reggie said to Elias. "You're welcome to hang out with us a while if you like". "Well, I'm kinda broke", Elias replied. "We could spring for him a drink or two", Gwyndolin Fox suggested to her husband. "I turned 19 this past May...And this is New Mexico", Elias mentioned. "Yea. That knocks that out", said Reggie Fox "Drinking age is 21 in this state". "Well, I wasn't necessarily referring to alcohol, you know", Gwyndolin mentioned. "Oh. Well. Okay", Reggie replied. "So how 'bout it?", Gwyndolin asked Elias. "Whata ya say?", Reggie added. "I'd be glad to. Thanks", Elias Ferret thanked the fox couple. Within a few minutes after picking up Elias Ferret, they did arrive to where Route 66 became I-40. However, it didn't run long as I-40 before it was again the old route further down the road. Within 20 minutes, they were finally arriving in Tucumcari, and where Highway 54 and Route 66 fork separate ways...Then they arrived to the bar. Upon pulling into the parking lot of to the bar in Tucumcari, Gwyndolin Fox suggested to Elias, "You might want to bring that backpack and guitar in. That stuff might get stolen being left out here. "Remember, this is a bar", Reggie Fox added. "Someone might break into the truck to go after those things". So it was that after the truck was parked, Elias Ferret brought his backpack and guitar in with him as he and Reggie and Gwyndolin entered the bar. The bar was one of those cozy buildings built in the 1920s, with plaster walls, wood plank flooring. There was a four sided counter in the center, and tables and chairs. It had no A/C...The windows and door were open, and a few industrial grade pedestal fans kept most of the summer heat off everyone. There was an old 1941 Wurlitzer 850 jukebox that played music nice-n-loud. It was quite a hoppin' and jumpin' joint, and they even had a 7 foot, bar size, pool table and several dart boards. They also had an old upright piano in a back corner that was only seldom played since they got the jukebox (used of course) a few years ago. The atmosphere and surrounds were much like the bars you'd expect to see depicted in those old Max Fleischer Popeye cartoons from the 1930s. And the song that would not yet be released until 43 years later, I Love This Bar, portrayed that bar very well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtcnsPtv_kk "Not a bad little bar", Elias commented. "Gwyndolin and I come here quite a bit", Reggie Fox replied. Everyone knew everyone, and the patrons consisted of animals of European descent, African descent, Latino and Native American spices. And it's seldom they ever get a silly, wisecrack, smart ass jerk coming in who thinks he's an indestructible bad ass...Someone like that would be shown the front door only once. After that, a trouble maker can either walk out, or be carried out to an ambulance. Several bikers and two Korean War vets who know everyone there even drop in occasionally...No trouble maker in their right mind wants to start crap in that bar when those boys are around. Otherwise, everyone there is friendly and neighborly, and is happy to extend a warm friendly welcome to anyone who is cool...In short, if you're cool toward everyone, everyone there is cool toward you. That's not to say there's never been a fight in the parking lot now and then...After all, it is a bar. "Hi there, Eugenio", Reggie Fox greeted the bar tender, Eugenio Fenic Fox. "Hi Reggie. Gwyndolin", Eugenio returned the greeting. "Hi Eugenio", Gwyndolin added. After the fox couple introduced Eugenio Fenic Fox and Elias Ferret, they both ordered a beer, and Elias ordered a Pepsi Cola. Jump Jive An' Wail by Loman Panther (irl; Louis Prima) had been playing on that old 1941 Wurlitzer at the time Reggie, Gwyndolin and Elias walked in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4V8pbg3rNU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmT7jwEKiXo Music on that old 1941 Wurlitzer 850 jukebox played loud, thus everyone had to talk a bit loud to hold a conversation. The next song playing was Jump Cat Jump by Piano Red (IRL, Jump Man Jump by Piano Red). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrPXzhtv6Vw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UN9Pycl6DQ "I see Elias is a musician", Eugenio Fox said over the loud music playing on the jukebox, noticing Elias' guitar. "I tried to get a start to going big time in El Paso over the past year", Elias said to Eugenio Fenic Fox. Then Eugenio Fenic Fox said, "Excuse me a moment", then called out at Diego Coatimundi and Jaxson Weasel over 'Jump Cat Jump' playing loud on the jukebox, "Hey! What did I tell you two about betting on the pool table?! You trying to get me in trouble?!". "Okay. Okay. Everything's cool", Diego Coatimundi replied. "Sure sure",, Jaxson Weasel added. "Everything would be cooler by not betting on that pool table", Eugenio told Diego and Jaxson. "Now put that money away". Eugenio then said to Reggie, Gwyndolin and Elias, "Sheesh. It seems like ya gotta watch some of them in here like watching cubs". "Gosh, that's gambling", Gwyndolin replied. "As if that church down the street ain't been tryin' to close me down as it already is", Eugenio mentioned, then said to Elias Ferret, "Elias, go ahead. As you were saying". Elias Ferret then continued to explain the experiences he had in El Paso over the past year to Eugenio Fenic Fox. "It can be easy to learn music being you got the talent for it", Eugenio advised Elias. "But getting that lucky magical break to being famous. Well. That's a different story all together...It's like trying to hit it big at a casino if you know what I mean". The next song on the jukebox was Night Train, by Roy Anteater and his Orchestra (IRL, Ray Anthony And His Orchestra). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWT5kcqDn0E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYoRJQsTE6w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENxZ54WVXS8 During the conversation, Elias began asking if there were anyone who could get him a ride further toward home. He had also mentioned that he hadn't had anything to eat in more than 24 hours. "We'd order something for him if you served meals here", Reggie Fox said to Eugenio. "Well, sorry this ain't a restaurant. But as you know, we do have snack food here for the patrons", Eugenio Fenic Fox offered. "And Elias is a patron". Thus, Elias helped himself to some chips, peanuts, a few mini bite size buritos and some pretzels...After about 27 hours since the last time he ate, that bar snack food seemed as good to Elias as a seafood platter in a five star restaurant. "I heard this cat say he's broke", Tyrone Hyena mentioned after he, Jessie Cheetah and Fabron Serval broke from a card game, then asked, "Ain't there anything we can do to help this boy get home?". "Broke and away from home too", Fabron Serval said. "The boy's in a jam". "I've been listening too", a European badger, Jeffery, added. "I know Hutchinson's a good haul from here". Everyone still had to talk a little loud to be heard over the music playing on the jukebox, which at the time was April in Paris (the "one more time" song) by Count Bastion Mongoose (IRL, Count Basie). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCmcoZktZG4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmNeRAQUG2c "I'd be glad to stay after closing and help clean up and wash beer mugs to earn a little money", Elias Ferret offered. "Aww, you shouldn't have to do that", Gwyndolin Fox mentioned to Elias. "I too been hearing the poor boy's tryin' to get home", James Aardwolf said. Eugenio Fenic Fox thought a moment then asked Elias, "How good are you on that guitar you got there?" "I'm very good with it", Elias replied. "Mostly folk and country though". Eugenio then said, "After this last song finishes on the jukebox, I'm going to pose a proposition to everyone here". After the song, April in Paris, got finished playing, Edward Mongoose was about to drop a nickle in the jukebox. "Hold up before you drop that nickle in, Eddy", Eugenio Fenic Fox called out. "I have something to talk to everyone about". "Hold up, Eddy", James Aardwolf added. Eugenio Fenic Fox then got everyone's attention, then explained Elias Ferret's situation. "I have some extra cash I can give him", Diego Coatimundi offered. "Surprised you didn't gamble it away", Ricardo Kinkajou remarked with a slight laugh. Hey, come on!", Diego retorted at Ricardo. "Knock it, you two. This is about Elias Ferret...Okay?", Eugenio Fenic Fox told Diego and Ricardo. "My wife and I gave him a ride this evening from not far from Montoya", Reggie Fox mentioned. "Last night, I got a ride from someone I could have sworn was Hank Wolf", Elias also mentioned... ...Except for the pedestal fans running, it got so quiet for a moment, you could have heard a pin drop. "Hank Wolf?!", Jevonte Genet exclaimed, breaking the moment of silence. "The...Hank Wolf?", Edward Mongoose added. "It can't be", said Jessie Cheetah. "Hank Wolf died...uh uh, seven years ago". "Elias ain't the only one who's ever had that tale to tell, Jess", Eugenio Fenic Fox said to Jessie Cheetah. "I too have heard of an account of someone who got a ride with Hank Wolf", Victor Stoat said as his wife, Caroline, agreed. "And that account came from Westin Kinkajou", Caroline Stoat affirmed as her husband Victor agreed. "And we know Westin. He never makes up stuff like that". "Hey hey. My cousin and me...My cousin and me got a ride from that cat two years ago", Edward Mongoose affirmed. "We took a trip out to California at the beach, and our car blew it's motor, and we had to hitchhike back home". "What was it like?", Naylor Raccoon asked. Edward Mongoose mentioned , "Eerie for one thing. He drives that old blue Cadillac". Those who were believers in the legend replied, "Yeah!". "And it's for real too", Edward Mongoose said. Again, those who believed replied, "Yeah!". "And Hank drivin' that car seemed real eerie and Ghoooossst like", Edward shuddered. Again, those who believed replied, "Yeah!". "That had to be quite an experience", Eugenio said to Elias. "Hank and the car didn't look like anything paranormal. But you could feel it", Elias replied. "It was like that too for my cousin and me", Edward Moongoose affirmed. "You could just feel it". Eugenio Fenic Fox then said to everyone, "Elias Ferret says he's good with some folk and country music on a guitar. What do you all say we have him play some songs for us, and in exchange, we'll take up a collection to get him a bus ticket home and some traveling money?". "I'm up for it", James Aardwolf said. "Same here", Jessie Cheetah agreed. "Let's do it", Reggie Fox said as his wife agreed. After everyone else in the bar expressed their agreement, Eugenio Fenic Fox then asked Elias Ferret, "Whata you say to it?". "I'd be delighted to", Elias replied. "The floor is yours", Eugenio replied. Once Elias Ferret got out on the floor with his guitar, he announced, "Railroad Bill the title of this song is", then commensed to play. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaZLslf3cv0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylDYpFXFo0U After the song, and after everyone gave a round of applause, Marcie Prairie Dog asked, "Do you know the Wabash Cannonball song?". "Yes. It's one of my favorites", Elias answered as everyone cheered. "Mind If I sing along?", Marcie asked. "Why not?", Elias replied. Marcie Prairie Dog was a cute female, and with a charming voice. So as Elias Ferret played Wabash Cannonball on the guitar, Marcie Praire Dog sung the lyrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMiU_aknPDA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grj6LJuIdOo After the end of the song, Jessie Cheetah asked, "Do you know Midnight special?". "I sure do", Elias Ferret replied. "Honey, get me that Harmonica", Naylor Raccoon said to his wife, Orna. Orna Raccoon reached in her purse and got out the harmonica to give to Naylor. "That song's not complete without this", Naylor raccoon proclaimed as he held up the harmonica. "Whatcha say we sing along, James?", Edward Mongoose said to James Aardwolf. "I know the words". "I do too", James Aardwolf replied. "You got it". Thus, the next song was Midnight Special; with Elias Ferret on the guitar, Naylor Raccoon on the harmonica, and Ed Mongoose and James Aardwolf singing lyrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TVjsjqGMf0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XMVlhDbSiE A little more than half way through the song, everyone was clapping paws to the rhythm of the music. Further into the night, Elias Ferret entertained everyone with more songs he knew as various animals took a turn at singing along...Everyone, including Elias Ferret, had lots of fun. It was certainly an enjoyable evening. At about 9:30 pm, Gabe Wolverine mentioned, "If we're going to get that bus ticket for Elias tonight, the cafe' will be closing soon". "Yea, it is getting late", Eugenio Fenic Fox agreed, then had the collection taken up for Elias Ferret. "The cafe'?", Elias asked. "The cafe sells the Greyhound bus tickets in this town", Reggie Fox told Elias. "The cafe' is where the bus always stops", Gabe Wolverine added. "And it will be closing for the night here shortly", said Naylor Raccoon. "So we don't have a lot of time". It was 9:37 pm by the time the collection was taken up, and there was plenty more than enough for a bus ticket to Hutchinson, Kansas, and enough to get a good meal and still have some left over to arrive home with. "I really appreciate this. I thank you all", Elias Ferret announced to everyone. "We all thank you for the great time we had tonight", Eugenio Fenic Fox replied as everyone agreed. "Well, we need to get going to the cafe' ", Reggie Fox said. "Gwyndolin and I can take Elias out there". As everyone bid Elias good luck, he thanked everyone as he grabbed up his guitar and backpack and left with Reggie and Gwyndolin. With the backpack in the bed of the truck, and the three of them in the cab with the guitar, Reggie said as he fired up the engine, "The cafe' closes at ten. We still have time to make it". "Not a lot to spare though", Gwendolin said as they began to proceed the several blocks to the cafe'. And without much time to spare, they did make in time. As Reggie, Gwyndolin and Elias walked in through the front door, the proprieter, Ben Wolf, said, "I can get you some coffee to go. I'm getting ready to close up for the night". "We're here to buy a bus ticket", Reggie told Ben Wolf. "Well, there's still time for that", Ben replied. "Where to?". "Abbyville, Kansas", Elias Ferret answered. "But I think Hutchinson is gonna be the closest place". "Just the one ticket?", Ben Wolf asked. "Just the one", Reggie replied. "It's for Elias Ferret here. And he's got two parcels of luggage". Upon looking over a route chart, Ben Wolf said to Elias, "You are right. Hutchinson will be the closest terminal to Abbyville". As Ben Wolf was printing up the ticket, he mentioned to Elias Ferret, "Now the bus you'll be boarding here is a Wichita bound bus. When you get to Pratt, Kansas, there will be an hour and 40 minute lay-over where you will board a different bus for Hutchinson". "That should give you time to go out and get a good breakfast in the morning", Gwyndolin assured Elias. "The bus will arrive in Pratt at 6:35 in the morning. The bus for Hutchinson departs Pratt at 8:15", Ben Wolf added, then reminded Elias Ferret, "Now that will be Central Time. We're in Mountain Time here in Tucumcari". "Yes, I am aware of that", Elias replied. After Elias bought the bus ticket, Ben Wolf then told Elias, "That bus will be here at 10:55... five minutes before eleven. That's about an hour from now. And when it gets here, it's important you stand out where the driver can see you so he knows he has a passenger to pick up...Otherwise, he'll keep right on going". "Okay", Elias acknowledged, then asked Reggie and Gwyndolin, "With an hour to wait, can I get you to go where I can get some dinner?". "Everything's closed this time a night in this town", Gwyndolin said to Elias. "Except for the bar and a couple of gas stations", Reggie added. Well...At least Elias Ferret did have a good fill of snack food at the bar a while ago. So it wasn't like he was completely hungry. "What do say we wait here with Elias until the bus arrives", Gwyndolin asked her husband. "It will be an hour. I'm good with that", Reggie agreed. "Elias does look tired", Gwyndolin said to Reggie. "I'm worried about him falling asleep and missing the bus". "I am tired actually. I do appreciate it", Elias thanked the fox couple. There was also a 2nd reason Reggie and Gwyndolin had for staying with Elias until the bus arrives...When ever you give cash and buy a bus ticket for someone you haven't known long, you normally make sure that individual boards the bus and is still aboard when the bus leaves. Although Reggie and Gwyndolin knew Elias was being on square with everyone, patrons at the bar have seen their share of those whom they bought bus tickets for, only to later find out the recipient had refunded the ticket the next morning and use the money for aberrant purposes. After Ben Wolf and his waiter, Greg Mink, closed up the cafe', cleaned the place up, then went home, Reggie, Gwendolin and Elias sat in the cab of that 1956 Ford pick-up and talked a while as they passed the time waiting for the bus to arrive. A little more than an hour after purchasing the bus ticket, Reggie Fox said, "That looks it might be the bus pulling off of 66". The cafe' was several blocks south of Highway 66. And sure enough, looking down the street from the cafe' parking lot, the fox couple and Elias Ferret saw it was in deed the bus that just turned off of 66 to head down the street to the cafe'...right at 10:55 pm sharp. It was one of those split level Scenicruiser buses, and in the destination display above the driver's windshield was set to read Wichita, Kansas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYcE5Xl6zmY "You need to get out there now so the driver knows you're here", Reggie said to Elias . "We'll bring your guitar and backpack out to you". Elias Ferret made his way within view from the street just in time for the driver notice him and slow the bus down to pull into the parking lot. As the otter driving the bus opened the door, he said to Elias, "Almost missed you, there. You headed by way of Pratt and Wichita?". "Pratt is where I'll get a bus to Hutchinson", Elias Ferret replied. "This is the bus", the otter affirmed. "I have a guitar and a backpack", Elias said to the driver as Gwendolin was carrying the guitar to the bus, and Reggie was carrying the backpack. "These are going with him too", Reggie called out to the driver. "Bring them over to cargo bay", the otter replied as he set the brake and got up from the driver's seat. After the otter raised one of the cargo doors, he advised Elias, "You can put you Guitar on those duffel bags and that will protect it from getting scratched. Those bags will be there all the way to Wichita anyway". "Okay, thanks", Elias replied as he set his guitar on the duffel bags, and Reggie set the backpack in". "Well, take care", Reggie bid Elias as the bus driver lowered the cargo door and latched it. "We wish the best for you", Gwyndolin Fox said to Elias Ferret as she and her husband Reggie took a turn hugging Elias. "Well", the otter said to Elias. "I'm ready to go when you are". With that said, Elias Ferret thanked Gwyndolin and Reggie as he boarded the bus, followed by the otter bidding the fox couple, "Good night", as he got in back in the driver's seat. The otter then closed the door, released the brakes, then pulled up to the street and checked for traffic. Then he pulled out onto the street as the bus' twin, 4 cylinder, diesel motors could be heard revving up, then made the next right turn. Then around the block to turn back north on the street to head back out to where the highways are, as Gwyndolin and Reggie watched the bus leaving. There weren't very many other animals aboard that bus that night, thus there was a good choice of seats. Elias Ferret chose a seat by a right window on the upper deck just beyond the three steps going up. https://youtu.be/oYcE5Xl6zmY?t=89 As the bus left, it crossed Route 66 after the otter stopped and checked for traffic. Then the bus proceeded to Highway 54. While stopped at the intersection to go onto Highway 54, the otter had to wait for only one car (a '56 Oldsmobile) to go by...Though the car was traveling westbound, the otter had to swing the bus in a wide turn out into the westbound lane in order to make the turn onto eastbound Highway 54. Elias could notice the right turn signal of the bus sounding >click-click, click-click, click-click, click-click<. After the car went by, the twin, four cylinder, diesel motors of the bus sounded >rooouuuuuhhh< as the otter pulled out eastbound onto highway 54. The sound of the diesel motors at the rear of the bus accelerating RPMs as the otter shifted through the three gears seemed to be an extra reassurance to Elias that he was finally on his way home. After the bus was out of town, the otter then set the two speed clutch in higher range, giving three more shifts from the three speed transmission, then getting the bus up to a highway speed of 60 mph cruising down Highway 54, in which the hum of those twin diesel motors was like white noise to Elias to help him fall asleep. After traveling about 50 miles, the bus passed through Logan shortly before crossing the state line into northern Texas, thus crossing the time zone boundary at midnight Mountain Time, 1:00 am Central Time. Elias Ferret had already been fast asleep for nearly an hour as he slept like a cub to the white noise of the twin diesel motors while riding along at 60 mph in the night down Highway 54. Since leaving Logan, New Mexico, Highway 54 runs completely straight with no curves for nearly 200 miles between Logan and the Kansas state line...Thus, to the otter driving the bus, the more than three hours of driving at 60 mph along that stretch of Highway 54 always did feel like it runs seemingly forever, especially on his night runs going northeast...The only slowdowns were 45 and 50 mph speed zones in the few very small towns they passed through.
It was at 1:42 am Central Time when the bus passed through Dalhart, Texas. At 2:25 am, it was forty minutes ago since the bus passed through Dalhart that Elias Ferret had been asleep for nearly two and a half hours since his journey aboard the bus began in Tucumcari...That was about that time Elias Ferret had a dream 10 minutes before crossing the state line into the Oklahoma pan handle. ...In Elias Ferret's dream, he was standing on a large, flat, level plane in the darkness of night. The surface of the plane was blackish blue, and smooth and shiny like polished glass. Then an early 1950s, light blue, Cadillac convertible pulled up in the night darkness beside Elias and stopped. Hank Wolf stepped out of the car, approached Elias, and greeted, "Hello, Boy". "Oh. Hello", Elias replied. "You put on a good gig at that bar tonight", Hank said. "Oh, thank you", Elias replied. "You see?", Hank told Elias, "Your music is appreciated, and patrons love you...But if you still want to go big star bound, it is a long hard ride like I said it will be...Your choice, Boy".
Elias Ferret suddenly awoke from out of the dream, still finding himself riding homeward bound aboard that Greyhound bus in the middle of the night, along that long straight stretch of Highway 54 at 60 mph, as the RPMs of the twin, 4 cylinder, diesel motors seemed to keep an unbroken tempo along the highway. "Uh oh. Wow...What a dream that was", Elias said, then went back to sleep.
Elias Ferret was again fast asleep by 2:32 am as the bus continued at 60 mph along that straight stretch of Highway 54. The bus crossed the Texas/Oklahoma state line at around 2:35 am, and Elias slept all the way through the hour or so it took to travel the 55 mile stretch of Highway 54 that ran diagonally through the Oklahoma pan handle. Elias was still getting a good night's sleep by the time they entered Kansas at around 3:40 am. Shortly before 4:15 am, Elias Ferret remained asleep through a street side stop the otter made in Plains, Kansas so a fox returning home from a Holbrook, Arizona business trip could get out a few blocks from his house. The fox was sitting on a seat directly behind the driver, and the only items he had to grab were a travel bag placed on a ceiling rack as carry on luggage and the jacket to his suit on the seat next to him, thus the stop was not more than a half a minute. "Have a good night. What's left of it", the fox bid the otter as he exited the bus. "Morning actually", the otter replied. "By George, you're right", the fox agreed. "Have a good morning", the otter said. "Do the same", the fox replied just before the otter closed the door and pulled away. After that brief stop, the bus was again on it's way.
______________________________ SATURDAY, JULY 30TH, 1960 After more than five and a half hours sleep, Elias Ferret awoke at 5:40 am as the bus continued along Highway 54. It was still dark, but not very long before it would be dawn...At least now however, Elias Ferret was in his home state of Kansas. There wasn't yet hardly any other traffic on the highway...Just a westbound semi tractor trailer rig they met that was going the other way. A while before arriving to Pratt, there was a stop to be made in Greensburg shortly after Elias had awaken. The stop was nothing more than a curbside stop on Highway 54 going through town, in which was the destination for a mother bear and her male cub, Greensburg being their hometown. The bus was 15 minutes ahead of schedule when it arrived in Greensburg at 5:45 am, thus there were 15 minutes to spare at that stop, in which the otter pulled over onto the street shoulder. Before opening the cargo bay for the mother bear to get her travel bag, stroller and other belongings, the otter took the bus keys and announced, "There'll be a slight delay. We're ahead of schedule. I'll be back in a few minutes". After the bear and her son got their belongings, the otter walked to a nearby early morning cafe' he knew of in Pratt to get a cup of coffee to go...It was still dark, thus the otter had left the clearance lights of the bus on so it can be seen by other motorists easier. As the otter returned to the bus with his coffee, Elias Ferret moved down to the front lower level, and to the seat where the bear cub had been sitting earlier, then ask the otter, "How far does this bus go if you don't mind my asking? "This bus stops in Chicago", the otter replied, as he was waiting until 6:00 before pulling out from Greensburg. "Wow!", Elias exclaimed. "I'm impressed how you guys stay awake long enough to do all that driving. I know I'd never be able to do it". The otter laughed then replied to Elias, "Oh, no one driver drives an entire route. I picked up this bus in Albuquerque last night. When we get to Pratt, my relief driver takes this bus on to Wichita, then on to Jefferson City. Then another driver takes it from Jefferson City to Chicago". "Oh, so it's like drivers doing a relay", Elias acknowledged as they continued waiting. "It has to be", the otter said after taking a sip of his coffee. "This bus started out in L. A., and as I said, it's going all the way to Chicago". "Yea. I guess no one can keep driving that far without a rest", Elias said. "I can't even imagine it", the otter replied before taking another sip of coffee. Elias then asked the otter, "What are we waiting for anyway?". "I'm not scheduled to leave here until 6:00", the otter answered Elias. "Yea, so I've heard", Elias said. "But isn't being early a good thing?". "Not always", the otter replied. "If I leave now, that could cause someone to miss this bus...even if they'd make it here on time". "Oh, yea. That does make sense", Elias acknowledged. A opossum, who had moved to the front seat beside where the fox had been sitting an hour and a half ago, added, "One of my brothers drives for Trailways. He once told me if you drive for any form of public transportation, you never ever leave a stop or a station early...My brother told me it's worse than arriving to the next one late". "Your brother is absolutely correct", the otter affirmed to the opossum. Speaking of late, a communication came in rather broken up on the driver's two way radio, "Three sixty*** t* five twelve. Over". "This is five twel**. Go a**** three sixty-one. Ov**", the repliy followed. "Five twelve? I'm surprised I'm picking it up this far away", the otter mentioned as the communication continued, "Wh**'* **** ETA, five twelve? Over". "Must be signal skip. How far away?", the opossum asked. "That's coming from clear up in Minnesota", the otter answered. "Five twelve left westbound out of Saint Paul three and a half hours ago". Despite the signal breakdown due to distance, the otter and the opossum were able to make out the rest of what was said, "I'm five min**** out. Had a traffic de*** nea* Fergus Fal** becaus* ** *** road blocked by ** acciden*. Over". "Five twelve is running ten minutes late", the otter mentioned. "They should have been in Fargo five minutes ago". "Only ten minutes late ain't bad for being held up by a wreck on the road", the opossum added, as only static could now be heard on the radio as bus five twelve and bus three sixty-one signed off. The otter and the opossum then shared a conversation in which they exchanged some stories about experiences along the routes the otter and the opossum's brother drive... While talking, the lighter blue of dawn could barely be seen on the eastern horizon. The otter had finished his coffee by the time he checked his watch and seen it was 6:00 am. "Well, it's 6:00", the otter said as he started up the bus and turned on the headlights. "If anyone misses this bus, it's on them now". The otter then released the brakes, put the bus in gear, pulled back onto the street, and they were on their way. Greensburg is a very small town, thus in practically no time they were back to cruising along open highway at 60 mph with only 30 to 35 minutes to go before arriving in Pratt...Traffic was still rather sparse as they met only one car while leaving Greensburg. While traveling along Route 61, Elias Ferret talked about his experiences out on the road since he left El Paso, including that ride he got from Hank Wolf. "Hank Wolf?", the otter questioned as he continued driving. "He's that country folk singer years ago", Elias replied. "I know who he was", the otter replied. "My two sons have some forty-fives of his songs". "Hank died a long time ago", the opossum said to Elias. "And in the 23 years my brother has been driving for Trailways, Hank's ghost never been aboard his bus, or anyone else's bus he knows of... Not one time". "Well think about it", the otter said to the opossum. "If Hank Wolf's ghost was still among us in this world, he has his own car. He has no need to ride a bus anyway". "Oh yea yea...Well, that does add up", the opossum admitted. "I have no reason to doubt that was Hank Wolf's ghost on that night", Elias Ferret affirmed. They encountered the next car since leaving Greensburg...A black, 1958 Ford traveling at 70 mph passed by at 10 mph faster than the bus. As the '58 Ford continued on ahead down the road, it's lights were still on because it wasn't completely daylight yet...However, as it was becoming dawn, the sky on the eastern horizon had begun showing a lighter blue. Before arriving to Pratt, the otter radioed, "Four twenty-one to eight sixteen. Over". This is eight sixteen, Fred speaking. Go ahead, four twenty-one. Over", a hound's voice came back with the sound of his bus in the background. "I'm five minutes from Pratt", the otter radioed. "What's your ETA, Fred? Over". "ETA at 8:13, Sam", the hound replied, recognizing the otter's voice. "I left Enid 45 minutes ago. I'm right on time. Over". "Over and out", the otter replied. "Over and out", came back on the radio. Within a couple of miles of Pratt, it was finally sunrise as the sun began to appear above the horizon a few minutes after 6:30...Of course for the otter, driving the bus eastbound toward the rising sun isn't exactally comfortable on the eyes. However, the good thing was, there were only a few more minutes left to his shift before his relief driver has the bus. The bus was finally arriving in Pratt at 6:35 in the morning, just as Ben Wolf had told Elias it would last night in Tucumcari. And like as was with the stop where Elias boarded the bus in Tucumcari, this stop too was simply a spot where a local business was contracted to sell bus tickets. There were a few other animals also getting off the bus along with Elias Ferret at that stop in Pratt. After the otter turned off the bus headlights being it was now daylight, he set the air brakes, then went out to open the cargo bay so those departing the bus can fetch their belongings. As Elias Ferret was retrieving his guitar and backpack from off the duffle bags in the cargo bay of the bus, the otter reminded Elias, "Your bus to Hutchinson will be coming from the south on Highway 281 in an hour and forty minutes from now. It leaves here at 8:15". "I don't plan on missing it", Elias replied. "Hello, Sam", a skunk greeted the otter who had been driving the bus. "Hi there, Sylvester", Sam Otter replied. "How was your drive last night", Sylvester skunk asked. "It was a good drive", Sam Otter replied. "Did see some thunderstorms while coming out of Albuquerque. Mostly light rain though". "I heard about those storms they had out your way the past few days", Sylvester Skunk said as he collected ticket stubs from a weasel family and a raccoon boarding the bus. "It was good weather though once I got past Santa Rosa", Sam Otter replied. "Oh by the way. Any special instructions?", Sylvester asked. "No one so far has special needs on this run today", Sam assured Sylvester. "Well. I'll see you on the rebound", Sylvester said just before he got in and took his place in the driver's seat. "I'll see you", Sam Otter replied. "Oh, by the way. If Gary Mink is driving today, tell him I said hello when you change off in Jefferson City". "This is one of Gary's days to take the bus into Chicago. I will be seeing him today", Sylvester assured Sam Otter. "I appreciate it", Sam Otter replied just before Sylvester left with the bus. As the bus left, Sam Otter headed for the motel where he usually stays in Pratt when he's away from his hometown near Albuquerque, and Elias Ferret headed out to a cafe' for the first real meal he'll have in nearly two days. And when Elias found a cafe', he noticed there were several breakfast specials...including one they call "The Big Breakfast Special"...It was a no brainer that Elias Ferret ordered the big breakfast special. Needless to say, that was a breakfast Elias Ferret really enjoyed...And he did keep tract of the time. At 7:55, Elias left a tip, paid his bill, grabbed up his guitar and backpack, and headed back out to the bus stop to catch the bus bound for Hutchinson. Elias didn't have to wait for the bus very long once he got back out there...In fact, there was a male raccoon and a female meerkat who Elias and them made good conversation while they waited for the bus to arrive. "There it is", the raccoon said at 8:15 as the Greyhound bus with the destination display set for Hutchinson, Kansas came pulling up...It too was a Senicruiser. When the Basset hound driving bus opened the door, Elias and the raccoon let the female meerkat board first. After the raccoon boarded, the Basset hound set the brake and was about to leave the driver's seat to open the cargo bay for Elias' guitar and backpack. "I'm gonna want to get out just short of Hutchinson", said Elias. "Oh that being the case, I'll let you take it aboard as carry on", said the Basset Hound. "My bus ain't crowded today. All I ask is that you take a seat up front here so you're not squeezing past other passengers with that stuff". "Okay. I appreciate it", Elias replied as he boarded with his guitar and backpack". As the Basset hound closed the door, released the brakes and proceeded along State Route 61, Elias Ferret knew this was the last leg of his journey home. On the way out of Pratt, already up to 50 mph, the Basset hound suddenly blew the horn and let his foot off the accelerator, prepared to hit the brakes. "WOW!", Elias exclaimed as two fox cubs zipped across on bicyles, barely getting out of the way of the bus in time. "If I was their dad, I'd take a strap to their behinds good", the Basset Hound said as he continued driving. "I noticed those cubs were laughing about it too", said Elias. "They were playing chicken with this bus", the Basset Hound replied. "We bus drivers do encounter that at times. Mostly near the big cities though". As they continued along Route 61, now at 60 mph, it wasn't long before Elias Ferret and the driver opened conversation. "Fred Basset Hound", the driver introduced himself. "Fred's the name". "I'm Elias Ferret", Elias introduced himself. "Pleased to meet you", Fred Basset Hound replied. "I was surprised to find out how far each of these buses go", Elias mentioned to Fred Basset. "I was told by the driver of the bus I was on last night, that the bus I was on goes all the way between Los Angeles and Chicago". "You must have come off of Sam Otter's run", Fred replied. "I did", Elias answered. "This bus runs between Houston and Duluth, Minnesota", Fred Basset said to Elias Ferret. "Wow. That's a haul", Elias replied. "I run it between Oklahoma City...That's my home town by the way...and Omaha, Nebraska", Fred continued. "When I get to Omaha this afternoon, my relief driver will take it from there into Duluth". "Then it's getting a ride back home", Elias pondered. "Naw", Fred Basset Hound replied. "Greyhound pays for my hotel stay in Omaha overnight. I pick the bus up tomorrow evening to drive it back to Oklahoma City. Then I get two days off at home before I have to go back out again". "You get two days off after each run out?", Elias asked. "I can't complain", Fred delightfully replied. Being already daylight since two hours ago, there was now some traffic on the road to speak of, though still being occasional due to it being a very rural area...They met a red and white, 1960, Chevy Impala...Then later, met a blue, 1959, Dodge Coronet...Later, they met a white, 1959, Dodge, flatbed truck. As they continued conversation while along Route 61, Elias shared his experiences with Fred Basset Hound about his journey from El Paso. Elias even mentioned about that ride he got with Hank Wolf two nights ago. "Hank Wolf?" Fred Basset exclaimed as he was driving along. "That must have been quite a treat". "It was a strange trip for sure", Elias replied. "An experience like that would leave you awestruck...It did me". "Trust me", Fred replied. "In my profession as a bus driver, I get to hear a lot of stories about a lot of strange things from a lot of animals". Fred Basset Hound wasn't so much skeptical about Elias' account of that strange ride as much as he was entertained by it...In fact, as Elias Ferret and Fred Basset continued their interesting conversation, Elias' account of his ride with Hank Wolf would be yet another story among the collection of other stories Fred Basset has heard as a bus driver. Shortly after telling Fred about that ride from Hank Wolf, Elias gasped as an old, light blue, Cadillac convertible passed the bus at 75 mph. Fred Basset, figuring why Elias let out the gasp, assured Elias, "That's '57 Cadillac. As I recall, Hank Wolf's Cadillac is a '52 model". "Oh...Seeing that car kinda struck me with the heebie jeebies I guess", Elias admitted. It was only an hour ride from Pratt to Hutchinson, which the conversation seemed to have made the time pass more quickly. At one point, they met a freight train approaching on the tracks that ran parallel to Route 61. A call then came in on Fred's radio with bus station terminal sounds in the background, "Seven fifty-nine to eight sixteen. Over". Fred picked up the mic and replied, "This is eight sixteen. Go ahead, seven fifty-nine. Over". I've just pulled in to Hutchinson. What's your ETA, eight sixteen. Over", the driver of Bus Seven Fifty-nine asked. "I'm 25 minutes out. Right on time with my ETA at 9:15", Fred Basset Hound answered. "I have one drop-off before I arrive. Over". "Over and out", came back on the radio. "Over and out", Fred replied, then set the mic back in it's cradle. "I heard the otter driving the last bus I was riding make a radio call on one of those", Elias Ferret mentioned. "If it was just before you arrived in Pratt, that was my voice you were hearing on the other end", Fred Basset said to Elias. "Now that you mentioned it, I do recognize it was your voice", Elias replied. "You said you wanted to get out before we get to Hutchinson", Fred reminded Elias just past 8:50 am, and almost 25 miles miles before Hutchinson. "Oh yea. That's right. Just a little ways up ahead. Before we get to Arlington", Elias replied as they were not very far from Arlington, Kansas. The bus was beginning to catch up to a slow moving vehicle that appeared to be a small truck with a load. Fred, Elias and a few other passengers aboard the bus have been noticing the slow vehicle miles down the road since before passing through Langdon. "I'd call that quite a load", Fred Basset said as he checked his left mirror, gave a left signal, then proceeded over into the left lane to pass what was a pick up truck pulling a farm wagon loaded with hay at 30 mph. As Fred cruised on past, overtaking the slow rig, maintaining the bus at 60 mph, Elias looked out the window and recognized the green, 1951, Chevy pick up pulling the hay wagon, along with the old, male goat driving who was wearing a straw hat and round, wire frame glasses. "Thats Homer Goat", Elias said as Fred changed back over to the right lane. "You know him?", Fred asked. "He's one of our neighbors", Elias answered. "I can let you off here, and maybe you can flag him down for a ride to your house", Fred Basset Hound suggested. "I think we're past where he's gonna turn off though", Elias replied. "Yea, you're right", Fred Basset said as he looked in the left side view mirror. "I see he's turning onto a side road now". "Well, it was worth the thought", Elias said. At 8:54 am, after the bus continued down Route 61 a few more minutes, Elias Ferret said to Fred, "It's right up here. Sterling Road". "You got it", Fred Basset Hound said as he slowed the bus to a stop at Sterling Road, and Elias grabbed up his guitar and backpack. As Fred opened the door, he said to Elias, "If you ever get another ride with Hank Wolf, tell him I said hi". "I'll be sure to. If I'm lucky, I'll get an autograph", Elias jested as he and Fred laughed just before they bid each other good bye. https://youtu.be/BruLDeMf4u4?t=20 After the bus continued on to Hutchinson, it was a about a 7 mile walk for Elias Ferret to get home...Elias thought how it would have been nice if the bus driver had past Homer Goat much earlier...Riding that last few miles would have been nice...However, even walking those seven miles left to go, Elias would make it home in two hours or so. Once Elias Ferret walked across Route 61, he stood by the roadside and watched that Greyhound, Senicruiser bus go down Highway 61, until it was out of sight going on 8:57. Then, much to Elias Ferret's amazement, when he turned to begin walking north along Sterling Road, there was that old, light blue, Cadillac convertible parked on the left side of the road just beyond the railroad crossing...And it was not that 1957 model that passed the bus on 61 a while earlier...It was a 1952 Cadillac convertible. "It couldn't be", Elias said as he walked to the railroad tracks, across the crossing, then toward the convertible, which now had the top down. "Hank Wolf?!", Elias exclaimed upon arriving to the car. "You've been through a lot in the past few days", Hank Wolf said to Elias Ferret. "Let me give you that last seven miles home. Hop on in, Boy". "Well, yea...Thank you...I, uh, appreciate it", Elias thanked Hank Wolf, then commented, "You got the top down today, I see". "Why not?", Hank Wolf replied. "It's lovely weather today...Come on. Hop on in, Boy". "I sure appreciate this", Elias replied as he placed his guitar and back pack over the quarter panel onto the back seat, opened the passenger's door and got in. As Hank Wolf started up that old Cadillac and began driving along that narrow, paved but unmarked, Sterling Road, he asked Elias, "You still have your sights set on going big star bound?". "No. Not anymore", Elias answered as they continued riding along past the seemingly endless wheat fields. "If I can be well known locally, I'm happy". "Probably the best decision you can make", Hank Wolf replied. "What about you?", Elias asked. "Have you had any regrets about making it to the top?". Hank Wolf simply answered, "If I never made it big, would everyone have the music I've recorded to enjoy?". "Gee. I guess not", Elias replied. "Big star bound is not for everyone, Boy", Hank said to Elias. "And even then, it is a long hard ride getting there..It can take a lot out of ya". After riding and talking for ten minutes or so, the home of Elias Ferret's family began to come into sight. Elias Ferret then asked Hank Wolf, "Oh, by the way. Back there at the highway, you said, the last seven miles home. How could you have possibly known my home is seven miles from the highway?". "You know?...I really don't know how I knew", Hank Wolf admitted. "I just knew". "Well this house here is it", Elias said as Hank Wolf brought the car to a stop on the roadside in front of the house. "Well, take care, Boy", Hank said as Elias was getting his Guitar and back pack from the back seat. "As before, I thank you for the ride", Elias said, then remembered and added, "Oh, a Greyhound bus driver, Fred Basset Hound, asked me to say hi for him". Hank Wolf replied with a smile. "Oh hold up, Hank", Elias then said, and asked, "Can you wait here long enough to met my folks?". "Naw. Sorry. I'd like to, Boy. But I'm not allowed to do that...Bye", Hank Wolf replied, then drove off. As the car left, Elias Ferret was hoping to get his family to come out to the roadside in time to see a fleeting glance of that Cadillac going away...But when Elias looked down the road again, the car was out of sight. "How can he be out of sight so quick?", Elias thought. "These roads run perfectly straight for miles and miles and miles...and over open land?". Because it takes a while for a car to go out of sight on those roads, it didn't seem possible...However, that old, 1952 Cadillac was already out of sight in an instant without even a glimpse of it to be seen. It was now 9:12 am when Elias walked up to the house and knocked on the front door of home. Daddy Jake was the one who answered the door, and when he announced, "Hey, everyone! Elias is home!", everyone was so happy to see him. And Elias was so happy to be back home with his family again. Mama Zella mentioned to Elias, "We got your letter in the mail a few days ago that you were coming home". Daddy Jake added, "Well, Son. I'm sorry to hear you didn't make it in El Paso...That job offer here on the farm is always open though". "I appreciate it, Dad", Elias replied. "After how things turned out, I have to say there's no place like home". Elias did tell his family about that ride he got with the ghost of Hank Wolf in New Mexico two nights ago, including about that recent ride coming down Sterling Road a while earlier. Elias' siblings found that story to be interesting, though Daddy Jake was skeptical about there being a ghost of Hank Wolf giving rides to animals still in this life. Mama Zella, however, affirmed that she had known of other animals who have heard of those getting rides in that old Cadillac with Hank Wolf. Around noon time, the family went into Hutchinson for the day to do things together with Elias...And at the end of the day, Elias had his first bath he had in four days, which felt good after three and a half days of being on the road. And it was the first night since a year ago that Elias Ferret slept comfy and cozy in his old bed at his mom and dad's place...Elias Ferret was finally home.
______________________________ IN THE WEEKS, MONTHS AND YEARS THAT FOLLOWED Elias Ferret took that cue from Hank Wolf and never again chased after that big league music stardom. Daddy Jake's job offer to Elias on the farm was still open, which Elias gladly accepted. And the local bars and night clubs in Hutchinson still welcomed Elias to play music for them as it was before he left for El Paso. And Elias eventually got a girl friend, Lorina Ferret...Elias and Lorina eventually got married and had cubs. And Daddy Jake deeded a parcel of acreage to Elias and Lorina from his farm for them to build their own house on. During recent years, Jake Ferret had also deeded parcels of land to Elias' older siblings who had been married and started families of their own...Being Daddy Jake's property was a square mile plus, there was plenty of land that could be deeded off to the offspring Life has been good, thus, everyone lived happily ever after.
The story, Clarence Coyote and Project Courier, is still to be continued.
Elias Ferret travels far from home to try to make it big in the Music Hall of Fame. Things didn't go for Elias as planned, however, the ordeal did turn out to be an adventure.
This story is an addendum to the story, Clarence Coyote and Project Courier.
this was amazing! I LOVE the way you wove songs and other video clips into the story, it really brought it to life and WHERE did you dig up that road stop clip? that was almost custom made for the story! VEry Well Done my friend 5 Stars --GF
this was amazing! I *LOVE* the way you wove songs and other video clips into the story, it really b
That my friend is the human condition at it's most honest. This is the story of a boy becoming a man through the trials we all must face. I hope someday he relives this journey of his under better transport options.
I myself relate well to him. I'm not a musician and won't ramble about the details but I was in his shoes (same brand as well!) but didn't reach it despite honestly working hard for it in a diligent manner. Sadly those who work the hardest are usually those who don't get it and many who don't work so hard for it, get it from outside means, they are hollow in the end. Those few who both do work their butts off and get it are the ones I respect!
This story also has a bit of advice for all those going into the arts...go for it, but have a backup!
WOW!!! That my friend is the human condition at it's most honest. This is the story of a boy becomi
Yeah, for me it was going after an illusion that both I and others made up around me, I was a total fool. Was taught too use my disabilities as a crutch and expect support for them and that there were options where there were none.
But yeah, this story would make a great film! Boys do not become men by storming some blood soaked beach in some place who's name they can't pronounce, they do it by striving for it, going all out and accepting the outcome regardless of it.
Yeah, for me it was going after an illusion that both I and others made up around me, I was a total
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