By
Gary Whitmore
This story is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author"s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to events or places or cities or rock bands or rock stars or persons, living or dead, or songs is purely coincidental.
Copyright 2014 by Gary Whitmore
Image courtesy of nuttakit/FreeDigitalPhotos .net
Maybe it all started with Elvis Presley on July 5th, 1954, when he recorded Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s” That’s All Right song in the Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. It became a popular record.
Elvis Presley did not take long to become popular in the fifties, with so many women falling in love with him. Then, many other young men wanted to cash in on the hysteria. The thought of girls screaming and desiring them would be a dream come true.
This was true for five young men who grew up together in Manchester, New Hampshire. These were Jackie Brooks, Burt Clark, Carter Collins, Delmar Lee, and Sigmund “Sig” Ward.
All five guys had been best friends since they were babies and were all born during the summer of 1942.
They wanted to start their rock bands when they arrived in their teens.
They finally started their own rock band, The Rocking Tones. Their parents thought the kids would lose interest and the band would fade away in due time, so they hoped.
But the band did not fade away. On the contrary, the teens in the early sixties started to fall in love with The Rocking Tones.
They fell in love with their sound, a mix between The Beatles and the Dave Clark Five.
So 1964 rolled around, and The Rocking Tones grew the same long hairstyles as The Beatles and Dave Clark Five. They figured this was the change of the times and went with the new trends.
Then, on September 20th, 1964, The Rocking Tones had a lifetime opportunity. They were selected to be the opening act for The Beatles at the Paramount Theater charity concert in Brooklyn, New York.
After that performance, The Rocking Tones performed daily at concerts around the New England area. It was a busy time for the young men.
Jackie was the lead guitarist, playing a white with brown wood-grained pick guard Domino Californian electric guitar.
Burt was the rhythm guitarist and played a sunburst Gibson Les Paul.
Carter was the bass guitarist and played a two-toned Fender bass. Delmar was the keyboardist and banged his fingers on the keys of a Fender Rhoades.
Sig was the drummer and loved his red Pearl drums.
The band got another huge break when they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, October 4, 1964.
During that show, the Rocking Tones 1953 silver with red stripe GMC Coach bus was parked in the rear of the Ed Sullivan Theater.
The old bus was converted inside, and a large closet was installed in the rear, along with a toilet. The closet allowed the guys to hang up their suits after a concert. Behind the driver was an installed wall with a table and semi-circle bench seat.
The bench seat could seat eight people around the table.
Then, six chairs were installed on each side of the bus by the windows behind the table. They were spaced far apart to provide ample legroom during the trip.
Middle-aged Gus McMillan, the driver, sat in one of the seats. He reclined it back and took a little snooze. Gus was not fond of rock and roll music but needed the job, so he tolerated the band’s kids.
An hour passed, and The Rocking Tones were finished with their historic television appearance. They knew this would propel them to greater stardom.
Roger and the band walked out the stage exit door with a four-officer NYPD escort.
The Rocking Tones wore standard golden brown suits, tanned dress shirts with dark brown ties, and brown leather ankle boots.
Roger always wore a black suit, a white shirt with a white tie, and wing-tipped shoes.
The NYPD had barricaded at the ends of the street where sixty fans of The Rocking Tones gathered. They cheered at the sight of their favorite rock and roll band members.
But not all sixty people behind the barricades were fans of this rock band. Fifteen of the sixty people did not cheer at the sight of The Rocking Tones. They were members of a Baptist church located in the Deep South. They had strong feelings that Rock and Roll was tearing down the morals of the country.
A tall and lanky Pastor named Elmer Watson from Montgomery, Alabama, led this group of religious Baptist fanatics. Elmer always had his beloved old Bible and an extreme hatred in his heart for rock and roll bands like The Rocking Tones. His Bible was passed down from his grandfather, who also was a religious Baptist fanatic. His grandfather was a member of the KKK back in his earlier youth.
This religious group protested behind the barricades and held four signs up in the air. These signs read “The Rocking Tones Are Pure Evil”, “Sinners!”, “Rock and Roll is Music of the Devil” and “Rot in Hell!”
Two NYPD police officers kept a watchful eye on the pastor and his followers. They were tipped off recently to keep an eye on Elmer, as they were deemed a threat to the band.
Jackie, Burt, Carter, Delmar, and Sig walked to the front of their bus. They waved and blew kisses at their adoring fans behind the barricades. They loved this feeling and noticed the crowd of adoring fans had grown over the past year.
They turned around and got inside the GMC bus. Gus closed the door and started up the bus engine.
Roger walked over and talked with two roadies named Tom Westham and Kenny Whitestone, who were waiting by two Chevrolet G10 white vans. These guys were in their early thirties and had been with The Rocking Tones since they started going on the road.
After briefly discussing the trip to Chicago with Tom and Kenny, Roger walked to his brand new red 1964 Corvette Stingray Coupe parked behind the bus.
Tom and Kenny went back into the Ed Sullivan Theater to retrieve the band’s instruments from the show.
Gus drove the bus drove away and headed to the opening of the barricade provided by the NYPD.
Roger’s Corvette drove after the bus.
While the bus made a left turn onto the street, those religious protestors hurled rotten tomatoes at the right side of the bus. Tomatoes splattered all over the bus windows.
“You sinners will burn in hell!” Elmer yelled out with fire while he held up his Bible at the passing bus.
Roger’s Corvette still followed behind the bus, and some rotten tomatoes pelted the windows and the right side of his sports car. He was pissed.
The bus and Roger” ’s Corvette continued their drive down the street.
Elmer watched The Rocking Tones bus drive down the street with piercing eyes. “All sinners will burn in hell,” he said.
A few of his followers heard him and nodded in agreement.
An hour passed.
The bus and Roger’s Corvette stopped for a quiet dinner at a small diner off a two-lane country road in Pennsylvania.
The place was called Walter’s Diner. Roger had preplanned this stop and paid the owner extra money to ensure no other customers were inside to bug the band members.
An hour passed, and Roger, Gus, and the band members left the diner.
Roger got behind the wheel of his Corvette while Gus and the band members got inside the bus.
The bus and Corvette drove out of the diner parking lot.
It was now 3:15 in the morning, and Gus drove the bus down Interstate 80 heading west.
The Interstate was quiet, and the only vehicles on the road were the bus and Roger’s Corvette. Roger had kept his car a safe distance behind the bus. Then Roger let off the gas, let his car
coast farther behind the bus, and anxiously watched the rear of the bus.
Then, the bus suddenly exploded into a huge fireball with intense heat.
Pieces of flaming pieces of metal flew at Roger’s Corvette.
He swerved his car to the left to avoid a flaming piece of the bus. His brand new shiny Corvette flipped over a few times, finally resting on its roof in the grassy median.
The highway was still quiet except for the crackle from the flames of the burning bus.
The driver’s door to the Corvette creaked open.
After a few seconds of silence, Roger crawled out of his smashed sports car in pain.
He crawled twenty feet in the grass to get away from his car. He painfully sat up on the road on his butt and watched that GMC Coach bus burn. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he leaned over and passed out.
A Ford Galaxy drove east on Interstate 80. The driver screeched on its brakes the second he spotted the burning bus in the westbound lanes. The driver sped away to find an emergency phone along the shoulder of the highway.
The next morning arrived, and all of the newspapers across the country had headlines that the members of The Rocking Tones band perished in that bus explosion.
The police investigation initially suggested that a deranged anti-Rocking Toners nut placed a bomb under the bus. They theorized that the person installed the bomb under the bus while it was parked at the rear of the Ed Sullivan Theater. They figured security got lazy, and the fan slipped through the barricade.
Fans all around the country mourned the deaths of their favorite rockers.
Roger only suffered a broken collarbone from his accident with his Corvette, but that scared him, so he quit the music business and decided to go back to college to complete his marketing degree.
After months of investigation, the FBI raided the home of Elmer Watson in Montgomery based on an anonymous phone call. The call said they saw a 1952 Chevrolet Bel-Air with Alabama tags leaving Walter’s diner that night. The tag number was traced back to Montgomery, where it was traced to a member of Mister Watson’s church. That member claimed his tag was stolen a week before. The black 1952 Bel-Air was eventually found abandoned in some woods outside Jackson, Mississippi. It was charred from someone setting it on fire.
While the FBI searched Elmer’s garage, they found a timer similar to the timer on the bomb that exploded on The Rocking Tones bus.
Elmer was arrested, extradited to Pennsylvania, tried, and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of the members of The Rocking Tones.
For years afterward, the music of The Rocking Tones never left the hearts of their many adoring fans, one of whom was Diane Dakota.
It was June 2003, and Diane was a middle-aged old widow who lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Diane had worked as an administrative assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since 1963 and planned to retire in a few years.
Diane had been a huge fan of The Rocking Tones since their Banging the Beat song came out.
She eventually became the President of The Rocking Tones fan club chapter in Massachusetts.
Because she was the President of the local fan club, she met Jackie Brooks, who gave her an autographed picture of The Rocking Tones. Jackie signed it with “To Diane, my number one fan, Jackie Brooks.” She cherished that picture, and it always hung on one of her walls wherever she lived.
Diane spent countless hours listening to The Rocking Tones’ two albums. Later, she would play them for her seven-year-old grandson, Danny Dakota.
He also became a huge fan of The Rocking Tones and loved living with his grandmother and hearing her countless stories of the 1960s.
Young Danny moved in with Diane after his mom and dad were killed in a car accident thanks to a drunk driver. Danny was only six years old on that horrible day.
It was now October 2014, and the air was cooling down all across the New England countryside.
Danny Dakota had grown up into a fine young man. He was now a freshman at MIT majoring in music. Danny was awesome with the guitar and dreamed of being a rock star. His grandmother, Diane, told him countless stories about The Rocking Tones, which gave him the bug to pursue music as a career.
It was early in the evening and Danny was in his dorm room that he shared with fellow freshman Bobby Eastman.
Bobby had short, black, spiky hair and believed he was a lady’s man on campus.
Danny relaxed on his bed on the right side of the small dorm room.
He studied his textbook on music history. On his bedside table to the left of his bed, a CD player played one of his favorite The Rocking Tones songs – Rockers at Heart.
Next to the CD player was a framed picture of Jack and Heather Dakota, both in their mid-thirties. They were his parents, long gone but still vivid in a few memories.
While he listened to that song and read his textbook, he would glance at an old poster of The Rocking Tones on his wall.
This was a small gift from Diane that she had when she was a teenager.
The room door opened, and Bobby Eastman entered with three textbooks.
Bobby rolled his eyes the second he saw Danny and heard that song from the CD player—a song he heard over and over again. “I can’t believe you always listen to that old sixties music,”
he said while he walked over and plopped down exhausted on his bed.
“What do you mean? These are great tunes and inspired so many rockers of the eighties,” Danny replied, then hummed along with the song.
“Whatever. I’m going to rest my eyes for thirty minutes.
The gig starts in two hours. I hope you’re up for it,” Bobby replied, then closed his eyes the second he got on his bed, and his head hit the pillow.
“I am.”
“That’s Good because I heard Cindy Perry was planning on showing up tonight,” Bobby replied, knowing Danny had a huge inch to date Cindy.
Danny got nervous while glancing at Bobby.
He had the hots for Cindy the first time he saw her during his American History class last month.
Two hours passed.
The Detention Center was a nightclub located off the MIT
campus. It was a favorite hangout for many MIT students after classes.
Instead of stamping a student’s hand to show that they paid the five-dollar cover charge, the nightclub would hand out a Detention Slip to the student. This slip was better for some of these students than the Detention Slip they received when they attended high school.
The nightclub was packed tonight as so many students needed to unwind from a grueling day of hitting the textbooks, taking exams, or listening to their boring professors.
There was a bar at the rear of the club, then a small stage and dance floor at the front. In the middle were scattered round tables that typically sat four customers. But, ten more students crowded around tables to party with their friends. Besides providing booze, the bar also served food like sandwiches, hamburgers, and chicken wi—nothing fancy but good enough for the students.
Thirty minutes ago, a drum set, two electric guitars, a bass guitar, and a keyboard were set up on the stage. This was the third time this band had played at this bar.
Ricky walked onto the stage and sat behind the black Ludwig drums. A few of the students, mainly Ricky’s friends, started clapping.
Wendell walked onto the stage and sat behind his Yamaha keyboard. Wendell’s friends started clapping.
Kent walked on the stage and over to his brown Ibanez bass guitar. He placed the guitar strap around his neck while his friends clapped.
Bobby walked on the stage and placed his ash-colored Fender Telecaster electric guitar strap around his neck while his friends clapped.
Then Danny nervously walked on the stage. A few of the students in the bar gave him mediocre claps, one of which came from Cindy Perry.
Cindy was a drop-dead gorgeous blonde with silky hair down to the middle of her back, perky breasts, a nice shapely ass, and large soft brown eyes.
Danny stared at the audience while placing the Sunburst Les Paul guitar guitar around his neck. His knees got weak when he noticed the bar was packed tonight. Then he spotted Cindy sitting near the front, and his knees almost gave out completely.
Bobby walked over to the microphone at the front in the middle of the stage. He saw Cindy and then winked at her.
“Hello, we’re the Hard Tones. And welcome to our rock show where we do songs from the eighties,” he said into the microphone.
Danny looked at all the eyes of the audience that were on him. Bobby motioned for the band to start playing.
The band started a rock song. They started their version of Slash’s By the Sword song.
The drummer started to bang out beat by hitting the cymbals.
Danny stared at the audience while the fingers of his left hand rested on the six non-vibrating strings. He started to sweat, get pale, and feel weak in his knees.
Bobby looked at Danny for the intro riff. Danny stood in a stupor.
So Bobby had to jump in and play Danny’s opening riff. He was furious while his fingers moved around the six strings.
Bobby noticed Cindy and smiled at her.
Cindy gave Bobby a little smile and wave in return.
Danny passed out and dropped to the floor, almost taking Bobby down with him. But Bobby was quick and could hop over Danny’s body. He did not miss a note.
The band stopped playing.
“Ah, we have a little technical issue to resolve. Give us a minute, and we’ll be right back with our rocking show,” he said into the microphone.
Bobby knelt down to Danny.
Some MIT medical students rushed to the stage to help Danny.
Cindy looked concerned from her seat.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Danny was removed from the stage.
Carl Jenson filled in for Danny, and the Hard Tones put on a great show for the patrons of The Detention Center nightclub.
Hours passed, and Danny sat on his bed back in his dorm room, looking ever so sad. He was upset with himself for passing out on stage again.
The dorm room door opened, and Bobby entered with his guitar case and amplifier in hand.
Bobby remained quiet. He had something to say, and he was not looking forward to it.
He tucked his guitar case and amplifier inside his closet. He turned around and looked at Danny, who looked so sad.
“I hate these moments,” Bobby thought while staring at Danny.
Bobby walked over to Danny’s bed.
“Ah, listen. The guys and I talked and agreed that the Hard Tones would survive if Carl Jenson was our rhythm guitarist,”
he said after he finally got the courage to tell Danny.
Danny looked at Bobby in disbelief that they kicked him out of the band.
“This was the third time you passed out in front of an audience. And this was our third gig,” said Bobby then he hesitated. “I don’t understand it. I mean, you wail during practice and give us the sound we need. But you freak out in front of an audience. So, I’m sorry we had to kick you out of the band, but we’ll never make it with your stage fright.”
Danny looked at Bobby. “I understand.”
“I see you later. I have this hot blonde inching, so meet with me,” Bobby said, then headed to the door and left the room.
Danny glanced over at The Rocking Tones poster. “I guess I wasn’t meant to be a rocker,” he pouted.
Danny got out of bed and headed to his door. He needed some fresh air to ponder how he could have a rewarding career in music.
It was nighttime across the New England area.
The MIT campus was quiet, but a few students still milled around the grounds. Some had just finished their night classes, and some were returning from a night of partying.
Danny bought a cup of coffee at the Caffeine Palace located on campus. This coffee shop stayed open late on school nights to provide the nighttime students with their much-needed caffeine.
Danny sulked on a bench by the sidewalk, pondering his life while drinking coffee.
Then Doctor Richard Youngblood, an elderly professor, walked down the sidewalk toward Danny.
Dr. Youngblood had his old brown leather attaché in hand.
His thinning gray hair went everywhere as if he did not believe in combs. His gray beard was straggly and in dire need of a trim.
His appearance was not important to the professor. Physics was the driving force in his life and the main reason he never married.
Dr. Youngblood’s eyes widened at the sight of Danny sitting on the bench, staring at the sidewalk.
“Hello, Danny,” Dr. Youngblood said while he stopped at the bench.
Danny glanced up and saw Dr. Youngblood standing in front of him. “Hello, Professor Youngblood.”
“Why are you sitting out here so late? You should be in bed studying or sleeping,” Dr. Youngblood said while sitting on the bench beside Danny. He spotted the cup of coffee in Danny’s hand. “Of course, coffee will keep you up all night,” he added, noticing Danny’s depressed look. “What’s wrong? You look so down. Are you having trouble with your classes? If so, maybe I can help.”
Danny took a drink of his coffee. “No, I’m doing fine with my classes. The problem is that I got kicked out of my band tonight.”
“Kicked out? Why? You’re a talented guitarist like your father.”
“I pass out whenever I’m in front of a crowd. Stupid stage fright.”
“I can’t help you there. That’s something you need to work out for yourself.”
“I know. So, how have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I’ve been busy with classes and research projects,” he said, then hesitated briefly. “How’s your grandmother?” he asked to change the subject.
“She’s doing great.”
“Give her my love the next time you talk with her.” Dr.
Youngblood said while he stood up from the bench.
“I will.”
“I’ll see you later, Danny. And don’t worry, you can work out your stage fright,” Dr. Youngblood said while he walked away. After taking a few steps from the bench, he turned around. He looked back at Danny and wanted to say something else but decided he might do so later.
He walked away feeling sorry for Danny and his stage fright that was ruining his dreams.
Danny stayed on the bench, sulking and drinking his coffee.
Then, way off in the background, Danny spotted Bobby walking hand in hand with a female. He only saw their backs but recognized Bobby’s shirt, which he had worn at the bar. He did not recognize the blonde, as he could only see her long blonde hair end in the middle of her back. He shrugged it off, got off the bench, and moped back to his dorm room.
The next day arrived, and Danny started to forget about last night’s incident at The Detention Center.
He decided that it would be best to move on with his life.
He could teach music as a career. He figured Dr. Youngblood had enough connections to get him a teaching position. Maybe he’ll work towards his doctorate? “Dr. Dakota,” he said to himself, thinking that sounded nice.
So, Danny spent the first day in classes and studying hard.
He wanted to strive for a three-point six-grade average or above.
Then nighttime fell all over the MIT campus.
Danny relaxed in his bed while he studied his Music Theory textbook. First thing in the morning, he had a test and needed to ace it. He was confident he knew the material but wanted to review it one last time.
His iPhone rang from his bedside table. He reached over right, grabbed his iPhone, looked at the viewfinder, and smiled.
“Hey, Grandma,” he answered the call.
“How’s your studies going?” Diane Dakota replied from his iPhone.
“Good. But I got kicked out of the band last night.
Passed out from stage fright, again,” he told her, as he never could keep a secret from Diane. She always found out anyway.
“We need to find a way for you to overcome this fear,” she sounded concerned.
“I know. Oh, I saw Professor Youngblood on campus last night.”
“I haven’t seen good ole Richard in years,” she said, then paused for a few seconds. I believe I last saw him at your father’s funeral,” she said, sounding a little sad.
“He sends his love.”
“I figured he’d be retired by now. But I guess he loves having the campus for his special projects,” she said, then paused and chuckled from the iPhone. Well, enough of him.
So, I hope to see you Sunday for dinner. Around six if you can make it. If you have other plans or a date, I’ll understand.”
“No plans or a date, grandma. I’ll see you then.”
“Good, I’ll see you on Sunday,” she replied, and then there was silence. “There will be an episode about The Rocking Tones tonight on channel five’s Facts or Lies show. This is a new one about the band. It should be good and starts in a few minutes,” she added.
Danny’s eyes lit up. “I’ll definitely have to watch it,” he said. “I’ll also be watching,” Diane said.
“I’ll see you Sunday,” he said, then disconnected the end of the call.
Danny disconnected his end of the call. He grabbed his remote off the bedside table. He turned on his 32-inch HDTV
on a stand on top of his dresser at the end of his bed. He surfed through the channels and soon arrived at Channel Five.
A commercial for a local attorney wanting your business for medical malpractice was still in progress.
Danny glanced at his textbook to kill some time.
The introduction to the Facts or Lies show started with its theme song.
Danny glanced up from his book.
Martin Montvale was the host of the show. He stepped into view where the large “Facts or Lies” logo hung on the wall behind him.
“I’m Martin Montvale, and welcome to Facts or Lies.
Tonight’s episode is about a rock band from the nineteen sixties.
This band was called The Rocking Tones,” Martin told the audience while an old publicity photo of The Rocking Tones appeared on a screen behind him.
Danny’s ears perked up, and he placed his textbook beside him. His eyes were glued to his TV.
“The Rocking Tones comprised five young men from Manchester, New Hampshire. The members were Jackie Brooks, Burt Clark, Carter Collins, Delmar Lee, and Sigmund
“Sig” Ward,” Martin told the audience.
Then Roger Beaumont, now older with thinning white hair, bags under his eyes, and the beginnings of a turkey neck, appeared on the screen in his den in his West Chester, New York home. The “Roger Beaumont, former manager of The Rocking Tones” graphic title appeared on the screen while his interview started.
“They were all young kids with dreams of becoming famous musicians. Those dreams started that Sunday night when they saw Elvis Presley perform on the Ed Sullivan Show in nineteen fifty-six. So they eventually raised money for instruments, then started their band in the fall of nineteen fifty-seven. All of their fathers were police officers with the Manchester Police Department. In fact, they came from a long line of family history, with all the men joining the police department after graduating high school. So instead of wanting to join their family traditions, these boys took the chance to see if their band could make it big like Elvis,” informed Roger.
An old faded black-and-white photo of The Rocking Tones playing in Burt’s garage with a crowd of young teens in the front yard and driveway appeared on the screen.
“I first saw The Rocking Tones play in Burt’s garage on May of nineteen fifty-nine. The driveway was packed with all the local kids. When I heard the band play, I knew they had a sound that the world would love. So, two days later, I offered my services as their manager. I studied Marketing at Hesser College then and knew I could help them grow. They accepted, and I dropped out of school.”
Martin Montvale appeared on the screen. “The Rocking Tones’ first song was Banging the Beat, and it was in the top fifty hit list at the number forty-four position,” he informed the audience.
The song Banging the Beat by The Rocking Tones played in the background.
Thirty more minutes passed, and more historical information about The Rocking Tones was presented.
Danny was so engrossed in the show that he ignored his studies.
“The Rocking Tones were on the road to huge successes,”
Martin told the audience. At the same time, an old recording of The Rocking Tones on the Ed Sullivan Show was visible in the background.
“They appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on September twenty-seventh, nineteenth sixty-four,” Martin told the audience.
Then he paused and looked somber as the recording of the Ed Sullivan Show slowly faded away.
“Then it happened. It was three fifteen in the morning of the fifth. The band’s converted nineteen fifty-three GMC Coach bus was headed west on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania. Their destination was Chicago for a concert later that day. But they never made it. The bus suddenly exploded, killing all the members of the band and their driver,” Martin said. Then, a police photo of the charred bus on Interstate 80 appeared in the background.
Danny’s eyes were still glued to the TV while munching on a bag of pretzel sticks.
“The investigation by the police and FBI eventually led them to Pastor Elmer Watson of Montgomery, Alabama. He led a group of religious fanatics. This group hated rock and roll bands like The Rocking Tones extremely much. There was proof that Pastor Watson and his followers followed the band to Harrisburg and New York days before the bus exploded,”
Martin informed the audience.
In the background, an old, faded black-and-white photo of Elmer standing outside his church with a Bible in hand appeared on the screen.
“While the FBI searched Elmer’s garage, they found a timer device similar to the timer used on the bomb that exploded on The Rocking Tones bus. Elmer was arrested, extradited to Pennsylvania, tried, and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of the members of The Rocking Tones,” Martin informed the audience. At the same time, the mug shot of Elmer appeared on the screen in the background. “But Mister Watson denied planting that bomb,” Martin added.
Then, a jailhouse interview with Elmer Watson, old and frail, appeared on the screen. The “Elmer Watson” graphic title appeared at the bottom.
“I did not have anything to do with planting that bomb on that bus. I did not condone bands like The Rocking Tones ruining the morals of our great country. We just protested, and that’s all. We were not a violent group. We were just using our freedom to protest what we thought was evil. If you find out the person or persons that framed me, then you’ll have the culprit behind killing those kids. I’ve spent the last fifty years in prison for a crime I didn’t commit. I hope someone will find it in their heart to prove that I’m innocent,” Elmer said during his short interview, tears going down his face, and he looked sincere.
Martin reappeared on the screen. “Then a sudden surprise of information surfaced last year. On his deathbed from cancer, seventy-seven-year-old Victor Burrows confessed his sins of being heavily involved with the mob during the fifties, sixties, and seventies,” Martin told the audience.
In the background, a 1959 mugshot of a young Victor Burrows appeared on the screen. Victor was arrested for battery ass, assault, and attempted murder. The charges were suddenly dropped, probably because of his mob connections.
“But his biggest confession was that he claimed he had two associates plant that bomb underneath the bus belonging to The Rocking Tones. Mister Burrows claims that they installed that bomb that night of September twenty-seventh at Walter’s Diner out in the Pennsylvania countryside. But Victor died before he was able to provide more detailed information on who hired him to have his two associates plant that bomb. Or identify those two associates.”
Danny’s mouth dropped open, as this was the first time he heard that information.
“I never heard of a Victor Burrows. So, it might be possible that Elmer Watson was the one who paid Mister Burrows to plant that bomb. I loved the guys of The Rocking Tones. We were like family from when their concerts were out
of the garage of Burt’s parents’ home to their success on the Ed Sullivan Show. I don’t know why Mister Watson won’t admit he was behind the placement of that bomb on the bus. After all, it was later determined that Mister Watson was a member of the KKK. So, it was him,” Roger said in his interview, looking serious.
Martin appeared on the screen.
“It was also revealed by Mickey Hanson, the mystery author working on his book titled “The Day They Died Mystery,” that the FBI could not prove Elmer Watson was anywhere near Pennsylvania that night the bus exploded. So, many believe that Elmer Watson is innocent,” Martin told the audience, then paused. “And there you have it. Another mystery from the past that may be a fact, or it just might be a lie.
Maybe one day, the truth will be known. Good night,” Martin told the audience, then smiled warmly.
Martin faded out of view of the audience. Then, the show’s ending credits appeared with old photos of The Rocking Tones.
Danny watched the credits roll and looked extremely curious. He glanced at the poster of The Rocking Tones on his wall. He looked down at his Music Theory textbook. He leaned over and turned on his CD player. The Banging the Beat song started playing.
Danny lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling. He was deeply thinking while he was thinking about that TV show.
When Friday morning arrived, the MIT students were busy listening to lectures, taking exams, or studying.
Danny was in his Music Theory class taking his exam. He struggled since last night’s Facts or Lies TV show played reruns in his mind. He knew the material, but The Rocking Tones were more important for some unexplained reason.
After Danny finished his exam, his curiosity got the best, so he headed off campus.
A large bookstore called Bruce’s Books and Odd Things was not too far from The Detention Center nightclub. Danny entered the store and immediately headed down the aisle for mystery books.
He walked up and down the aisle and scanned the titles of the books. Nothing interested him, so he went to the other aisle and scanned the titles of all the books.
He stopped at the end of that aisle, and his eyes lit up when his search produced the desired results. There were ten copies of the paperback book with the “The Day They Died Mystery” by Mickey Hanson mentioned on that TV show. The cover had a copy of one of their publicity photos and that famous police photo of the charred remains of the band’s bus.
He turned the book over and saw a recent picture of middle-aged Mickey Hanson with thinning white hair and his trademarked nose crooked to the left. Then Danny saw that this book mentioned Mickey, who wrote other best-sellers like The Lost Couple, Murder On The Bus, and Living with a Murderer.
He walked away from that aisle with that book in hand.
Danny turned out of that aisle and walked down one of the main aisles, heading to the cash registers.
He soon spotted Cindy Perry walking toward him.
“Hi, Danny,” she said the second she looked at him.
Danny got nervous while she walked closer to him. “Ah, hi, Cindy.” Then Danny was left with a few seconds of awkward silence.
“How are you feeling?”
“Feeling?” he asked, a little clueless.
“Yeah, you passed out the other night at The Detention Center. I wondered if you were sick or something,” she asked, looking concerned.
Danny felt embarrassed and hesitated to respond. “I don’t know what happened. Things just went black. I’m not sick or anything.”
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t hurt when you dropped to the floor. You gave me a little scare,” she replied.
“Thanks,” Danny replied and felt that maybe he had a chance with her.
There was a few seconds of awkward silence for Danny.
“Ah, Cindy, I was wondering, ah,” he said, then suddenly got extremely nervous, and his mouth got dry.
Cindy looked at Danny and waited for him to finish his sentence.
“Ah, I was wondering, ah,” he added, getting even more nervous and his mouth getting dryer.
“Yes?”
Danny got a little brave. “I was wondering if you’re ready for the mid-term in American History in a couple of weeks.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m getting a little behind. I’ll have to stay up all night for next week. Are you ready? I could use some help during the wee hours of the night,” Cindy replied, dropping a hint for Danny.
“I believe I’m ready.”
A few more seconds of awkward silence for Danny as he was still nervous.
Cindy anticipated a hopeful response he would spend alone time with her tonight.
“Well, good luck studying,” he said, then rushed away.
Cindy was disappointed, and she walked off in another direction. “I guess he’s not interested,” she said, then shrugged it off while she headed down that aisle of mystery books.
Danny turned around and looked for Cindy. She was not in sight. He smacked his forehead a few times. “I’m such a chicken,” he said while smacking his head several more times.
An elderly woman saw Danny and wondered if he was loony.
Danny saw the woman, got embarrassed, and headed to the cash register.
In the background, behind the mystery books, Danny does not notice while Bobby walks Cindy out of that aisle. They headed off to the rear of the store, where there was a small coffee shop with couches and tables for reading.
Out in the parking lot of Bruce’s Books and Odd Things, Danny sat inside his 2004 Toyota Corolla. He eyed the store and pondered if he should go back in there and ask Cindy out on a date. He started his Corolla, then glanced at the store’s front entrance. He chickened out again, then pulled out of his parking lot and back onto the street.
While he drove off down the street, he did not see Bobby and Cindy, and they walked out of Bruce’s Books and Odd Things.
A little while later, Danny parked his car back on campus and headed to his American History class.
While the professor lectured, Danny discreetly glanced at Cindy, who sat three rows down from him. She was too engrossed in the lecture to even think about Danny.
Danny sighed and regretted not asking her out at the bookstore.
So, he did his best to concentrate on the professor’s lecture.
The rest of Friday was boring since it was also filled with lectures.
So that night, Danny relaxed in his dorm room and decided to read the book he bought earlier. Bobby was on a date with the new girl he found the other day. But he would not tell
Danny who she was for some reason, and Danny did not want to pry.
So he just relaxed in bed, opened the book, and started reading the first chapter.
By ten that night, Danny was on the second chapter.
He fell asleep with the book on his chest.
He started to dream..
In Danny’s dream, he was walking all alone down the shoulder of a highway in the wee hours of the morning. It was dark and quiet and void of any vehicles.
A deer ran across the highway and startled Danny. He looked around for other critters. It was safe.
He continued to walk along the shoulder of the highway.
Some headlights came out of nowhere straight at him. It was a bus.
Danny kept on walking down the road.
The headlights of the bus got closer.
Danny was mesmerized by the bus’s headlights shining in his eyes, so he kept on walking down the road toward the lights.
Then the bus exploded into a huge fireball.
Back to reality. .
Danny woke in a panic from his dream. For a split second, he thought he had died. He looked around the room in a bit of a daze. Then, it dawned on him that he was very much alive.
He glanced down at his book and realized he had dreamt about that bus explosion.
Danny then looked at Bobby’s bed and noticed he was still out on his date.
He wanted some fresh air, so he got up and walked around the campus.
A little while later, Danny strolled around campus, where the night air was refreshing and the full Moon was beautiful.
He strolled down the sidewalks that were lit by lamps and the Moon.
He saw the occasional student on his way back to his dorms from an evening of partying. Some of them even staggered, indicating they had a wee bit too much beer.
Then Danny walked by Cindy’s dorm building. He stopped by the entrance and stared at it, wondering what she was doing at this exact moment.
He walked off down the sidewalk.
He got a little ways from Cindy’s dorm when he saw two people sitting on a bench on another sidewalk. He could not make them out, but the guy had spiky hair.
But they were doing some heavy kissing and petting. Danny did not think of that since that hairdo was common with numerous guys around campus.
He headed back to his dorm.
Fifteen minutes later, Danny was back in his dorm and in bed. He was soon fast asleep.
Bobby entered the room and did a little victory dance to his bed as his evening did not go as planned. Still, he was happy with the promising results.
Saturday morning arrived, and the MIT students were so excited about having a weekend to study, or some of them would party a little or a lot.
Danny got up, showered, and got dressed.
Bobby was still in bed, sound asleep from his Friday night date. Danny headed out of his with his paperback book in hand.
Danny walked out of his dorm, heading to the Subway on campus for a quick breakfast.
A little while later, Danny walked down Massachusetts Avenue and headed into the Stratton Student Center, which housed numerous restaurants, including a Subway.
While he walked up to the entrance of the building at the south end, he glanced at the Kresge Auditorium to the southwest. He thought nothing of that auditorium while he went inside the student center.
A little while later, Danny sat on a concrete bench outside the student center, just north of the Kresge Auditorium.
He started to eat his Black Forest, Ham, Egg, and Cheese sandwich and a large coffee. While he ate, he glanced at the auditorium, and for some strange reason, he became interested in the place. He could not figure out why because he had yet to attend a concert held there. He shrugged off that feeling and continued to read his “The Day They Died Mystery” book while he enjoyed his breakfast.
While he read his book, he could not get the Facts or Lies episode out of his mind. His curiosity started nagging at him again. This time, it was a strong nag.
After Danny finished his Subway breakfast, he returned to his dorm.
During the entire walk down the sidewalks, he read his book. He stepped off the sidewalk and into the grass a few times.
He eventually returned to his dorm room, where Bobby was out and about somewhere on campus or Cambridge.
Danny looked at his room and felt the day would be another bore. He wondered what he could do to kill time until he went to his Grandmother’s house for dinner. He looked at his book, and an idea flashed in his head. “Why not?” he said while sitting on his bed.
He opened his book and started looking for pages with pictures of special interest. When he found them, he placed a bookmark for each page.
A little while later, he had seven bookmarks in that book.
Danny then grabbed his iPhone and opened the Internet.
He opened Google Maps and started his search.
Ten minutes later, Danny had left his dorm and rushed down the sidewalk like he was on a mission.
Twenty minutes had passed, and Danny drove his Corolla north on Interstate 93. That paperback book “The Day They Died Mystery” sat in the passenger seat. The seven bookmarks were still scattered throughout the book.
An hour and a half had passed, and Danny continued his drive north Interstate 93. He entered the city limits of Manchester, New Hampshire.
Danny glanced at his iPhone in hand while he drove down Interstate 93.
Then, when he approached the northern end of Manchester, he got off exit 9S, turned left, and headed down Hooksett Road.
Then Danny turned left onto an older residential neighborhood.
After navigating through some streets, Danny eventually drove down Hillside Avenue.
He drove his car down Hillside, then stopped and parked along the curb when he reached 1804 Hillside Avenue. He opened up his book at the first bookmark.
He looked at the page where he saw an old black-and-white photo of that house at 1804 Hillside. He looked out his door
window and across the street. He looked back at the photo, which had the caption “Home of Jackie Brooks” under it.
“The place looks about the same,” he said while looking at Jackie’s old home. It was a white wood-framed house that looked to have only two bedrooms. He wondered if Jackie’s parents still lived there while he placed his car back in drive.
Danny slowly drove down the street and stopped three houses from Jackie’s house.
He opened the book to the second bookmark, looked at the page, and saw another black-and-white picture of another house. Under the picture was the “Home of Delmar Lee”
caption.
He looked through his passenger door window at Delmar’s house, a larger two-story home.
He wondered if Delmar’s parents still lived there while he placed his car back in drive.
Danny slowly drove down the street and stopped six houses from Delmar’s house.
He opened up the book to the third bookmark. He looked at the page and saw a black-and-white picture of a single-story wood-framed house. Under that picture was the “Home of Burt Clark - First Concert Location” caption.
He looked to his left and checked out Burt’s home, staring at the garage door.
“Just think, that’s where they had their first concerts for the local kids,” he said, then turned to the fourth bookmark.
He looked at a black-and-white picture of The Rocking Tones giving a concert, which was taken by one of the kids in the neighborhood.
Danny held up the book with that picture to look at both it and the actual garage. He began visualizing The Rocking Tone playing in that garage for the neighbor kids over forty years ago.
It was surreal.
He wondered if Burt’s parents still lived there while he placed his car back in drive.
Danny slowly drove his car down the street while following the directions on his iPhone.
He made a left turn down York Avenue.
He drove down York and then stopped halfway down the street.
He opened the book to the fifth bookmark and looked at the page where he saw a black and white picture of another one-story brick house. Under that picture was the “Home of Sigmund “Sig” Ward” caption.
Danny looked to his right and saw Sig’s home. He wondered if his parents still lived there while he drove away down the street.
He drove away down the street and then stopped three houses down the street.
He opened the book to the sixth bookmark, where he looked at the page and saw a black-and-white picture of another one-story wooden house. Under that picture was the “Home of Carter Collins” caption.
While Danny looked to his right at the home, someone knocked on his car window. That startled him, and he saw an old man standing by his driver’s door. He looked irritated.
Danny rolled his window down.
“What are you doing here?” the old man snapped at Danny, suspicious of his activity.
“Oh, sorry. I was just checking out a bit of history,”
Danny replied, then showed the old man his book.
The old man looked at the book. “Oh, yeah, those kids,”
the old man said, then paused for a few seconds while he reflected. “Nice kids, but lousy music. Too bad they died. So please move on. We’re getting tired of everybody coming down our streets rubber-necking,” the old man replied.
“Yes sir,” said Danny, then placed his car in drive and drove away. The old man watched while Danny’s Corolla drove down the street, ensuring he was, in fact, leaving the area.
He headed back to his house next to Carter’s house. What Danny did not know was that this old man was Carter’s neighbor when Carter lived there. The old man loathes that concert for the nearby kids.
The old man returned to his house once he felt Danny’s Corolla was long gone.
After some more navigating, Danny drove to the southern area of Manchester.
He eventually found South Willow Street and drove down it. He pulled into 716 South Willow Street and looked a little confused when he saw that it was a Pizza Hut.
He parked in an available parking spot. He opened up his book and looked at this last bookmark. That page showed a black-and-white picture of Bernie’s Lounge at 716 South Willow Street. Under the caption was “The Rocking Tones First Paying Gig Location” caption.
“They must have torn the place down,” he said, looking at the picture and then the Pizza Hut. His stomach growled a little. “Why not?” he said, turning off his car engine.
He got out of his car and figured he might as well eat lunch at the spot where The Rocking Tones had their first paying gig.
He went inside.
Danny was back on Interstate 93 an hour later and headed south back to Boston.
Later that evening, Danny pulled into the driveway of his grandmother’s house. He got out of his car and rushed to the front door.
He rang the doorbell.
After a few seconds, the door opened, and Diane appeared.
“Danny, you’re late. I was worried something happened to you.”
“Sorry, I made a little road trip, and traffic got thicker when I got back to Cambridge,” he told her when he stepped inside her house.
“Do tell,” she said while she closed her front door.
Danny walked with Diane to the dining room table, where two plates, two glasses of red wine, a bowl of spaghetti, and a plate of garlic bread waited.
They sat down and started to eat their spaghetti, and he arrived on time, as it was still hot.
“Tell me about this road trip you took today,” Diane asked, then drank her wine.
“I took a ride over to Manchester.” “Manchester, why there?”
“After I watched that episode of Facts or Lies the other night. I got really curious,” he told her, then ate some spaghetti.
“It was a good show, and I’m starting to wonder if maybe this Elmer Watson might have actually been innocent all along,”
she replied, then ate some spaghetti.
“I bought this book called The Day They Died Mystery by Mickey Hanson. It goes into more detail on the stuff mentioned in that TV show,” he said, then took a bite of his garlic bread.
“That sounds interesting. I’ll have to buy it soon,” she said, then took another drink of wine.
“What did you think of that mobster guy that claims he planted the bomb on the bus?” he asked Diane, then took another bite of his spaghetti.
Diane thought about his question for a few seconds. “I guess that’s possible. I mean, the FBI did find a similar detonating device in that preacher’s garage in Alabama. And they could not place him in Pennsylvania at the time the bus exploded. Maybe he paid that mobster guy to plant the bomb.
Maybe that’s what’s happened.”
Danny thought about her comment for a few seconds.
“That sounds plausible. That mobster guy died before he told who paid him to plant the bomb. So maybe this case is closed,”
he said, then drank wine.
“Maybe,” Diane said, eating some more spaghetti.
Diane went into deep thought.
“I wonder what would have happened if that bomb was never placed on the bus? How would their lives turn out?”
Diane pondered his question for a few seconds. “Many people thought they would have been as huge as The Beatles or the Dave Clark Five.”
Danny pondered her reply for a few seconds. “Do you think they could have gotten to be that huge?”
“I do,” Diane replied, taking another bite of her garlic bread.
“If you could only go back and change time.”
Diane thought about his response for a few seconds. She chuckled. “Your father would tell me how Richard Youngblood believed that time travel was possible,” she said, then took another drink of wine.
Danny thought about her response for a few seconds while he munched on some spaghetti. “Time travel would be cool, but it only exists in the movies,” he said, then took a bite of his garlic bread.
“Like you father said, Richard actually believed it was possible and wanted to build a functional time machine,” she said then chuckled. “What a kook.”
“If it was possible, he would have done it by now,” Danny replied, then poured more wine into Diane and his glasses.
“You’re probably right,” she said, then drank wine.
“But if it was possible, where would you go? What would you do?” he asked her.
Diane thought about his question for a few seconds. “I would go back to sixty-four and prevent The Rocking Tones from getting killed on that bus,” she said, then thought about her own response for a few seconds. It would have been nice to hear the songs they would have created over the years. Just imagine,” she said, then started to look really saddened.
“Yeah, just imagine,” Danny replied, thinking about time travel and how cool that would be if possible.
Danny and Diane continued eating their spaghetti and had a nice evening together.
Hours later passed, and Danny was back in his dorm room, asleep in bed.
He had another dream.
In Danny’s dream, he played a Les Paul guitar and sang into a microphone in front of a large and cheering audience.
In the front row of the audience, Cindy admired Danny.
She blew him kisses.
Danny smiled at the sight of Cindy blowing him kisses.
Danny turned around, and he played with The Rocking Tones.
He turned back to singing in the microphone.
Back to reality, Danny was still sound asleep in his bed. His mouth moved like he was silently singing.
Monday morning arrived.
Danny spent his entire Sunday in his room finishing up with his book about The Rocking Tones. He could not get the band members out of his mind and also began wondering how far they could have gone if they were not killed.
He did not talk to Bobby as he was out most of the weekend.
So that Monday morning, Danny was alone in his dorm room since Bobby headed out early to be with his new girlfriend.
Since Danny had no classes in the afternoon, so he sat on his bed with his Sun Burst Les Paul electric guitar. That book and his talk with his Grandmother last night got his creative juices flowing.
He jotted down a chord progression on a piece of paper.
He strummed out that progression and was satisfied with the way it sounded.
He thought for a few seconds, then jotted down some lyrics.
“We thought we were gone, but that did not last long.
Because they rocked and lived on, and we were forever rocking,”
Danny sang. He thought about his lyrics and smiled, thinking they were awesome.
Danny returned to strumming out that chord progression while glancing at the paper.
“We were for. .forever rocking,” he sang with a great singing voice fit for a rock band.
Danny strummed his Les Paul and looked satisfied while he repeated the song.
He stopped strumming and glanced back at his paper and then at his book. He got curious while thinking about his conservation last night with his Grandmother.
Danny put his pad of paper on his bedside table, got up, put his Les Paul away in its hard shell case, and tucked it in his closet.
Danny rushed out of his dorm room like he was on an important mission.
A little while later, Danny entered the library.
While he headed off to the books, he spotted Cindy sitting alone at the table studying in the study area.
He started to go over to her table, stopped, then chickened out. He walked away and headed to the computers to look up a book.
While Danny looked up the locations for books on time travel, he would look discreetly at Cindy sitting at the table, alone and looking so sexy. He planned to go for the gold after his search on the computer.
Then he glanced at the computer. His eyes widened when he saw a book of interest. “He wrote a book on this? Wow,” he said when he saw the “Is Time Travel Possible? I Believe It Is”
by Dr. Richard Youngblood.
Danny jotted down the location information of that book on a piece of paper provided by the library.
Just before he walked away, he took another discreet glance at Cindy. She was still studying alone. He smiled while walking away. Danny pulled Dr. Youngblood’s time travel book off the shelf a little while later.
He headed back to the study area.
He looked at the table where he saw Cindy earlier. She was gone. He was disappointed but figured there would be another day. After Danny checked out the book for two weeks, he left the library.
Danny walked down the sidewalk from the library. Then his eyes widened in disbelief when he saw two people kissing on a bench ahead. He wanted to cry the second he realized that Bobby and Cindy had their lips interlocked in deep passion.
He turned around, stunned. “I’m never going to get laid,”
he said while he rushed off in the opposite direction.
Danny rushed through campus and headed back to his dorm room.
Once he returned to his room, he sat on his bed. He thought about seeing Bobby and Cindy together.
He thought about them for five minutes.
He glanced at Dr. Youngblood” s book, then at Mickey Hanson” s book. “Fuck her,” he said, then decided she was not worth chasing after.
He picked up Dr. Youngblood’s book and opened it to the first chapter. He kicked back on his bed and started reading about time travel.
After an hour of reading Dr. Youngblood’s book, Danny’s curiosity ate away like a starving lion. He got off the book with the bed in hand.
He rushed out of his dorm room.
Once he left his dorm building, Danny rushed through campus and headed to the Department of Physics building.
He entered the Physics building and rushed down the main hallway.
He eventually found the “Dr Phillip Youngblood, Professor” office. He knocked on the door.
“Enter,” called out Dr. Youngblood from inside his office.
Danny opened the door and stepped inside his office.
Danny closed the door behind him.
Dr. Youngblood glanced up from the test papers he was grading. He did not look thrilled with the student’s results so far. His eyes lit up over his glasses. “Danny, what a wonderful surprise. What brings you to my neck of the campus?”
Danny held up the book. “I didn’t know you wrote a book on time travel.”
Dr. Youngblood looked at the book in Danny’s hand. “Oh, that was a long time ago,” he replied.
Danny hesitated for a few seconds. “Is it possible to travel through time, Dr. Youngblood?”
Dr. Youngblood hesitated for a few seconds. “I believe so.
Why the sudden interest?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I was in the library on Saturday and ran across your book. I read it and found the topic extremely fascinating.”
Dr. Youngblood looked at Danny as if he wanted to say something important. He glanced at the test paper in his hand.
“Grandma told me that father once said you wanted to build a time machine. That would be so cool.”
Dr. Youngblood glanced up at Danny. “Listen, I must grade these test papers for this afternoon.”
“I understand. Sorry to bother you,” Danny said, placing his hand on the doorknob.
Dr. Youngblood glanced back up at Danny. “Come over to my house tonight at eight. That would be the perfect place to discuss this topic. You’ll find this extremely interesting,” Dr.
Youngblood said, looking serious.
“Ah, sure. I’ll be there,” Danny replied, then opened the door and entered the hallway.
Danny walked down the hallway, and his curiosity peeked even higher about why Dr. Youngblood had to see him at his house that night.
It was a long afternoon for Danny while he sat through his lectures. He saw Cindy once on campus and just gave her a little friendly wave after she waved at him.
Then, after his last class, Danny headed back to his dorm.
He wanted to get back to reading Dr. Youngblood’s time-traveling book.
So he walked down the hallway and headed to his dorm room.
He saw a white sock tied on the doorknob and knew what this meant. Then, he heard a female giggling inside his dorm room. “Stop it, Bobby. That tickles,” Cindy giggled from inside the dorm room.
Danny shrugged it off as he decided to put the thought of dating Cindy out of his mind. He decided that it was not meant to be.
Danny headed back down the hallway.
After Danny left his dorm building, he returned to the Subway across campus. He figured he would eat dinner and head to Dr. Youngblood’s house.
After Danny finished his foot-long Turkey and Bacon Avocado sandwich, he still had time to kill.
So he milled around campus in deep thought about the two books he had recently read.
Eight that evening finally rolled around. Danny had his Corolla parked in Dr. Youngblood’s driveway of his two-story redwood home in Cambridge’s Northeastern area.
Danny walked up to the front door. He rang the doorbell.
After a few seconds of waiting, the door opened, and Dr.
Youngblood appeared in the doorway. “Hi, Danny, I’m glad you came over. Please come inside,” Dr. Youngblood smiled, then stepped aside.
Danny stepped inside his house, not realizing tonight would change his life forever.
Dr. Youngblood closed and locked his front door.
Once Danny was in Dr. Youngblood’s living room, he followed him into the kitchen.
Dr. Youngblood stood by the door and looked at Danny.
“You have to promise me that whatever you see down there will stay there,” he said, looking dead serious.
Danny got the chills, wondering what was down in the basement. “I promise.”
Dr. Youngblood reached into his pants pocket and removed some keys. He unlocked the door’s deadbolt lock and then the lock on the doorknob. He opened the door, and Danny saw the stairs to the basement.
Dr. Youngblood flicked on the light switch located just inside the stairwell.
The basement lit up.
Danny followed Dr. Youngblood down the creaky wooden stairs.
The second Danny arrived at the bottom of the stairs with Dr. Youngblood, he saw a bank of large, floor-to-ceiling computers along the back bare concrete wall. Those computers had thousands of twinkling lights dancing all over them and on the opposite concrete wall. He stared at them in awe.
He spotted a glass booth big enough for two people off to the left of the basement.
Then he noticed a NASA-style computer console off to the right of the glass booth and in front of that bank of twinkling computers.
Bundles of wires of numerous colors ran from the banks of computers up to the first floor’s ceiling joists.
Those wires ran along the bottom of the ceiling joists and then branched off into two smaller bundles. One bundle ran under the bottom of the joist and headed down to the computer console, while the other branched off and ran down to the top of the glass booth.
Danny’s mouth was opened in awe at the sight of this setup. “Are you going to launch a rocket from your basement?”
he joked.
“Something a whole lot cooler! You can witness some of NASA’s first rocket attempts with my machine. Witness their successes and failures,” Dr. Youngblood said with a sparkle in his eyes while he looked at his setup.
“What?” Danny replied with a puzzled look.
“It’s a time machine, Danny,” Dr. Youngblood smiled, proud of his creation.
“You mean a real-time machine? Not just a toy?”
wondered Danny.
“Oh, it’s a real one. Come, I’ll give you the run down,” Dr.
Youngblood replied, and then he escorted Danny over to the computer console.
Danny checked out the computer console with a 1960s-style monitor. “How do you know it will work?”
“I ran a test, and it worked on some objects. I placed three books in the booth and set the travel time to an hour ahead. The books disappeared, and then an hour later, they reappeared in the booth,” said Dr. Youngblood, proud of this accomplishment.
“Are you going to try it? I mean, are you going to travel in time?”
“I plan on it, but I need someone here to monitor the computer during my trip,” Dr. Youngblood replied, looking serious.
It took Danny a few seconds to realize this. “You want me to monitor it?”
“You’re the only one I trust.”
Danny looked a little unsure. “I don’t know. I mean, what if you get stuck somewhere? I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Dr. Youngblood reached down and opened up a drawer on the console. He reached inside and removed a notebook. “I wrote an operating manual,” he said, then handed Danny the notebook.
Danny opened the notebook and saw Dr. Youngblood’s handwritten operating instructions for his time machine.
“It’s sorta crude, but I plan on typing that into a Word file later. You know, make it fancy.”
Danny continued to glance through the pages of the notebook.
“Plus, I ran a second test. I sent those three books ahead by a month. They appeared then returned a month later, so machine. So I feel extremely confident I won’t get stuck in time.”
Danny still looked unsure. “How does it work?” Danny curiously asked while he looked at the device in the basement.
“Well, my young friend, look and learn. These steps are all documented in my notes,” Dr. Youngblood told Danny while he sat behind the console.
Dr. Youngblood powered up the computer monitor.
After the monitor was powered up, an Earth Icon with the
“TT” title appeared in the upper left corner of the screen.
“What does, TT, mean?”
“Time travel,” replied Dr. Youngblood.
“Ah, of course.”
“Follow the steps I wrote down in that notebook,” he told Danny.
Danny opened the notebook and saw “Step 1 – Click on Earth Icon.”
Dr. Youngblood clicked on the Earth Icon.
A password block appeared on the monitor.
“The password is TTNow, which stands for Time Travel Now,” Dr. Youngblood said.
Danny thought that was not a very secure password, but he continued to follow the steps in the notebook.
Dr. Youngblood typed “TTNow” into the password block.
“Travel Times, Destination, and Sync iTravel” radio buttons appeared on the monitor.
Dr. Youngblood clicked on the Travel Times button.
Entries for a “Start Date and Time” and “Return Date and Time” above the “Enter” button appeared on the monitor. Dr.
Youngblood typed in “October 20, 2014, 2050” for the start date and time, then typed in “October 20, 2014, 2100” for the Return Date and Time.
Dr. Youngblood clicked on the Destination button. A Google Map appeared, and he then typed in his home address, 1745 Revere Lane, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the search block.
Then, the Google map showed the Cambridge area with a
“Destination” button that pointed to Dr. Youngblood’s house.
Dr. Youngblood zoomed in on his house, moved the
“Destination” button to the patio in his small backyard, and double-clicked.
A “Locked” message appeared on the map, followed by an
“Enter” radio button.
Dr. Youngblood opened up that drawer and reached inside.
He removed two iPhone-looking devices that had different labels. One was labeled “iTravel 1,” and the other was labeled
“iTravel 2’ and a USB cable.
He connected one end of the USB cable to the iTravel 1
device and then the USB end to an opened USB port labeled
“iTravel 1” on the computer console.
He pressed the Sync iTravel button.
A “Downloading” message appeared, and the block started filling up with red, showing the progress of the download.
Then, a “Download Complete” message appeared on the computer monitor.
Danny saw a “Time Travel Ready to Commence” button on the iTravel 1 device.
Dr. Youngblood disconnected the USB cable from iTravel 1. He looked around his basement and saw a lawn chair under the stairs.
He told Danny to “Get that lawn chair under the stairs and bring it over to the glass booth.”
Danny looked over and saw the chair.
He walked over to the stairs and grabbed the chair.
He walked over to the glass booth where Dr. Youngblood waited with the iTravel 1 device in his hand.
Dr. Youngblood opened up the door of the glass booth.
“Set the chair inside,” he told Danny.
Danny entered the booth, set the chair in the middle, and exited.
Dr. Youngblood entered the booth and set iTravel 1 on the chair. He pressed the “Time Travel Ready to Commence”
button on the iTravel 1 device.
He pressed the “Time Travel” button on a small pad inside the booth to the left of the glass door.
He immediately closed the glass door.
He rushed over to the computer console.
Danny rushed over to the console.
They both looked at the console where a “Return Time”
counter appeared on the monitor. It was blank.
“Let’s go to the back porch,” he told Danny, then rushed to the stairs.
Danny rushed off to the stairs after him.
Dr. Youngblood and Danny rushed up the stairs.
After they entered the kitchen, Danny followed Dr.
Youngblood to a back door that led to the back porch.
Once they got to the back door, Dr. Youngblood opened it and waited.
Danny saw a patio outside with a brick wall that provided some privacy. On the patios was a table with an umbrella and four chairs.
“Why are we staring at your patio?” Danny asked, thinking that maybe Dr. Youngblood was, in fact, loony.
“Just wait for the show, my young friend,” Dr. Youngblood said, smiling as he glanced at the patio.
Danny played along and glanced at the patio with Dr.
Youngblood.
Ten minutes of waiting passed.
Then, a huge spot of psychedelic colors appeared on the patio’s square brick tiles. Blue, red, orange, yellow, lime green and blue colors appeared in abstract shapes. The colors slowly started twirling around, then at supersonic speed. Then, the colors vanished in a puff, and that chair from the glass booth magically appeared on the patio to the right of that table.
Danny did a double-take. He rubbed his eyes to make sure his vision was clear. He looked again and could not believe what he saw. That chair magically appeared on the patio from that booth in the basement. “No. There’s no way,” he said while staring in disbelief at the chair with the iTravel 1 device still in the seat.
“Come, let’s watch the rest of the show,” Dr. Youngblood told Danny, and then he closed the day.
Dr. Youngblood turned around and rushed back to the basement stairwell door.
Danny stared in awe at the chair through the kitchen door’s window. Then, it dawned on him that Dr. Youngblood was gone.
He turned around and headed back to the basement stairwell door.
Dr. Youngblood and Danny rushed down the stairs.
They rushed over to the computer monitor.
Danny saw an “Override” button on the monitor. “What’s that?”
“Pressing the Override button allows a particular time travel mission to be shortened or lengthened. Just follow the
prompts,” Dr. Youngblood replied while he glanced over at the glass booth. Let’s wait,” he told Danny while he saw the “0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes” Time Remaining on iTravel 1 Mission”
message above the “Override” button.
Danny looked at the glass booth and saw it was empty.
Dr. Youngblood picked up the iTravel 2 device. “I must have this iTravel device with me during my travel. It will have a timer that shows how long I’ve been at my destination. Plus, I can move up or extend my return time. But you can override any of those commands from this console,” he told Danny.
Danny took Dr. Youngblood’s iTravel 2 device and checked it out. “It looks like an iPhone,” Danny said.
“It’s a modified iPhone for time travel, but it still has the capability to download photos and videos or take photos and videos,” Dr. Youngblood smiled.
Danny continued to check iTravel 2 and placed it back on the console.
“If I lose this device, then I cannot return now. I will be stuck at another time. Unless someone comes to rescue me,”
said Dr. Youngblood while he looked at Danny to be that savior.
Danny did not know what to think while he stared at the empty glass booth.
They waited and stared at the glass booth.
Ten minutes passed, and Danny and Dr. Youngblood kept an eye on the glass booth.
Then, a whirl sound was heard from inside the booth.
Bright lights filled the booth like fireworks.
The booth vibrated, and psychedelic colors illuminated it.
Psychedelic blue, red, orange, yellow, and lime green colors appeared in abstract shapes.
The colors slowly started twirling around. Then, they started twirling around at supersonic speed.
There was a poof inside the booth.
It stopped spinning.
The psychedelic colors dissipated in a flash.
The booth stopped vibrating.
The bright lights and fireworks dissipated, and the whirling sound whined down. Danny saw the chair with the iTravel 1
device still on the seat. “I don’t believe it. You built a time machine in your basement,” he said, staring at the glass booth in awe. Dr. Youngblood looked proud. “Where are you planning on going?”
“I want to go back and chat with Thomas Edison. I’m thinking of going to his winter place in Fort Meyers, Florida. I could maybe do some fishing with him. I could maybe talk about his laboratory,” Dr. Youngblood smiled while looking at Danny with hopeful eyes.
“You could go back and record actual historical events.
You could also correct the inaccuracies in the history books,”
Danny added.
“That’s one excellent use.”
Danny pondered for a few seconds. “I’ll have to think about it. I mean, this is a huge responsibility, as far as I’m concerned,” he worried.
“Now, take my operating manual and study up on it. I’ll only be gone for three weeks. You don’t need to be here every second of the day. Just spend the nights here. So give it some thought and get back to me.”
Danny nodded, saying he would do just that while he glanced at the operating manual.
Danny relaxed in deep thought in his dorm bed the next day He had his “The Day They Died Mystery” book opened.
He flipped through all the pages, concentrating on the old photos.
He set that book down and grabbed Dr. Youngblood’s operations manual for his time machine. He opened it to the first page and started studying the instructions.
An hour had passed, and Danny went through every page of Dr. Youngblood’s operating manual for his time machine.
He felt confident.
He got up off his bed and rushed out of his dorm room.
A little while later, Danny entered the Department of Physics building after rushing through the sidewalks on MIT’s campus.
Danny walked down the hallway and stopped at the “Dr.
Phillip Youngblood, Professor” ’s office. He knocked on the door.
“Enter,” Dr. Youngblood called out from inside his office.
Danny opened the door and stepped inside the professor’s office.
Dr. Youngblood sat behind his desk and stared at some test papers. But he was not concentrating on the papers, as his mind was off to another world. He had his time machine on his mind and wondered if he should take it on a test run.
Dr. Youngblood glanced up and saw Danny by the door.
He opened his mouth to greet Danny.
“I’m ready to monitor your travel to see Thomas Edison,”
Danny blurted out before he changed his mind.
Dr. Youngblood had a gleam in his eyes.
“Great. I wanted to go tonight, so be at my house at seven.”
“Seven, I’ll be there,” Danny replied, then turned around and left the office.
Dr. Youngblood performed a little goofy victory dance in his chair. “I’m going to meet Thomas Edison! I’m going to meet Thomas Edison!” he sang along with his goofy victory dance in his chair.
A little while later, Danny walked down one of the numerous sidewalks on campus.
He was close to his dorm building when he spotted Cindy and Bobby walking hand in hand on another side street. That sight did not bother him, as he had decided to move on with his life. He headed back to his dorm room with Dr. Youngblood’s time machine on his mind.
After relaxing in his dorm room and studying the time machine’s operating manual, Danny got ready and headed out.
Bobby was not there, and Danny figured he was out with Cindy.
Danny parked his Corolla in Dr. Youngblood’s driveway a little while later. He felt nervous about this but was still curious.
Danny approached the front door with a sleeping bag and backpack in hand, then rang the doorbell.
The front door opened, and Dr. Youngblood appeared.
Danny had to do a double take as he thought for a split second that he had gone to the wrong house. In the doorway stood Dr. Youngblood. A different Dr. Youngblood. He was dressed in a 1920s-style suit and had a haircut, and his hair was actually combed. Danny wondered how many combs had to be broken to comb his hair. In addition, Dr. Youngblood’s straggly beard was gone, and he sported a shapely goatee.
“You’re looking sharp for the trip. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“I have to admit that I do look snazzy for my trip,” Dr.
Youngblood replied while he did a little modeling move in the doorway. Then Dr. Youngblood saw Danny’s backpack and sleeping bag. “I see you’re prepared. Let’s get started,” he added, then stepped aside.
Danny entered Dr. Youngblood’s home.
They both immediately headed to the basement.
While they walked over to the computer console, Danny noticed the 1920s light brown style suitcase with a leather handle by the door of the glass booth.
“There’s an air mattress. This concrete floor would be extremely hard to sleep.”
Danny looked at the side of the computer console and saw the blue air mattress all pumped up. He dropped his sleeping bag and backpack on top of the mattress.
Dr. Youngblood looked at Danny. “I’m a bit nervous,” he said, and for a second, he thought about backing out of the mission.
“I wonder if it hurts?”
Dr. Youngblood looked at Danny. “It shouldn’t,” he replied, then looked at the glass booth and his suitcase. He took a deep breath of courage. “I’m ready,” he said, then sat at the console.
Danny watched Dr. Youngblood while he clicked on the Earth icon.
He watched while Dr. Youngblood typed in the password.
“I’ll have to change this periodically,” he said. At the same time, the “Travel Times, Destination, and Sync iTravel” buttons appeared on the monitor.
After Dr. Youngblood clicked on the Travel Times button, he typed in May 5, 1928, 0200 for the start date and time and May 26, 1928, 0200 for the return date and time and pressed enter.
Dr. Youngblood clicked on the “Destination” button.
After the Google map appeared, he typed “2350 McGregor Blvd, Fort Meyers, FL” in the search block.
After the map showed the Edison Winter Estates, he locked his destination in the middle of McGregor Blvd.
Then, after he connected the USB cable to the iTravel 1
device and the computer, he clicked on the “Sync iTravel”
button. It started downloading.
Then it was finished, and the “Time Travel Ready to Commence” button. He disconnected the iTravel 1 device from the USB cable.
Dr. Youngblood stood up with the iTravel 1 device in his right hand. He looked at Danny and then placed his right hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Thanks for keeping an eye on things,” he said. “My pleasure.”
Dr. Youngblood looked at the glass booth and looked a little nervous. “Well, it’s time to exchange ideas with good ole Thomas Edison.”
Dr. Youngblood took a deep breath and walked over to the glass booth. He remembered something, then walked back to Danny, reached into his pants pocket, and removed his house keys. “The keys to my house,” he said while handing Danny his keys. Danny shoved the keys in his pants pocket while he watched Dr. Youngblood walk over to the glass booth.
Danny sat in the chair at the console and watched while Dr.
Youngblood grabbed the handle of his suitcase and then stepped inside the booth with his iTravel 1 device.
Dr. Youngblood gave Danny a little wave. He then pressed the required button on his iTravel 1 device and the button on the pad by the glass booth door.
Danny heard a whirl sound from the booth.
Bright lights filled the booth like fireworks.
The booth vibrated.
Psychedelic colors illuminated the glass booth. Blue, red, orange, yellow, lime green and blue appeared in abstract shapes.
The colors slowly started twirling around.
Then, they started twirling around at supersonic speed.
The booth spun. Dr. Youngblood was a blur inside the booth.
Dr. Youngblood disappeared in a poof.
The booth stopped spinning.
The psychedelic colors dissipated in a flash.
The booth stopped vibrating.
The bright lights and fireworks dissipated. The whirling sound whined down. Danny stared in awe at the empty booth.
“He did it. He actually went back to nineteen twenty-eight.”
The basement was quiet except for the hum from the bank of computers.
Danny looked at the computer monitor and saw the “21
days, 24 hours, 00 minutes” Time Remaining on iTravel 1
Mission” message above the “Override” button.
Danny walked over to his sleeping bag and unrolled it on the air mattress. He opened his backpack and removed his “The Day They Died Mystery” book. He had three chapters left to read. He walked back to the console, sat in the chair, kicked his feet up on the console, and started reading his book.
Hours had passed, and the light from the computer monitor and the twinkling lights from the banks of computers provided a night light for the dark basement.
The computer monitor on the console had the “21 days, 16
hours, 25 minutes. Time Remaining on iTravel 1 Mission”
message.
Danny was fast asleep in his sleeping bag on the air mattress. His book about The Rocking Tones fell to the floor.
Danny started tossing and turning in his sleeping bag. He started another dream.
It’s nighttime in Danny’s dream. He sat in an old GMC
Coach bus while it drove down a lonely countryside road.
Danny looked, and the members of The Rocking Tones were asleep in their seats. Danny got worried.
“The bus is going to blow up!” Danny cried out in a panic.
The Rocking Tones ignored him while they slept.
“The bus is going to blow up!” Danny cried out again in a panic.
They all ignored him.
He heard a girl giggling. He got up, and Cindy sat on Sig’s lap. Their lips are locked in a passionate kiss.
“No!” Danny cried out.
Then, the bus exploded into a huge fireball with intense heat. Back to reality in Dr. Youngblood” s basement, Danny woke up in a panic. He looked around, scared and confused, as if he were involved in an explosion. It took a few seconds for the humming of the computer bank for him to return to reality.
He lay back down and tried to go back to sleep.
It was now two o’clock in the morning on February 25, 1928 in Fort Meyers, Florida.
It was quiet and dark on McGregor Blvd. out in front of the house with the street address 2350. This was the home of Thomas Edison.
Then, all of a sudden, a huge spot of psychedelic colors appeared in the middle of McGregor Blvd.
Blue, red, orange, yellow, lime green and blue appeared in abstract shapes.
The colors slowly started twirling around.
Then, they started twirling around at supersonic speed.
The colors slowly started spinning.
Then, they started spinning at supersonic speed.
Then, the colors were gone in a flash.
Dr. Youngblood appeared in the middle of the street. He had his suitcase handle in his left hand and his iTravel 1 device in his right hand. He cringed in pain, feeling there were needles jabbing his entire body, and wanted to scream, keeping it a silent scream.
Then, a few seconds later, the pain simply vanished. He felt so much better while he scanned the area over.
Then he turned around and saw Thomas Edison’s winter home. It was dark inside, and the inventor was sound asleep.
“I made it! I actually time-traveled back to nineteen twenty-eight,” Dr. Youngblood said, looking proud. At the same time, he stared at Edison’s home.
Then, headlights suddenly shone on Dr. Youngblood from the street’s northern end. He turned to the direction of the lights and heard the sound of a Model A Ford car approaching.
Then, the ahooga sound of the horn filled the air.
It took a few seconds for Dr. Youngblood to realize that he was about to be run over by a car.
He ran over to the side of the road while the Model A drove past him, still blaring that ahooga horn sound. He saw a man who appeared to be in his mid-sixties driving the Model A.
The street started to get quiet while Dr. Youngblood watched that Model A Ford pulled into the driveway of the house to the left of Thomas Edison’s home.
Dr. Youngblood looked up and down the street. “I forgot about lodgings,” he said while suddenly feeling lonely.
He walked off down the street.
The next morning arrived, and Danny woke up in Dr.
Youngblood’s basement.
He got out of his sleeping bag and glanced at the computer monitor. Seeing the “21 days, 9 hours, 05 minutes” Time Remaining on iTravel 1 Mission” message. He prayed Dr.
Youngblood was okay and did not vaporize into thin air.
He yawned and stretched, looked around at the glass booth, and a crazy idea suddenly popped into his head. “Nah, forget it,” he said, gathering his backpack. He looked at the computer console for a few seconds. He walked over to the console and opened the drawer; he removed the iTravel 2 device and shoved it into one of the pockets of his backpack. He felt it was safer in his possession than left alone in the basement.
He headed over to the stairs.
A little while later, Danny had Dr. Youngblood’s house locked up tight, and he was back in his Corolla heading back to MIT. Danny walked down the sidewalk a little while later with his backpack in hand. His thoughts were on witnessing Dr.
Youngblood vanishing back in 1928.
He turned down another sidewalk heading in the direction of the library.
A little while later, Danny had a book on the life of Thomas Edison off the shelf. He chose that one because it was filled with pictures of Edison’s life.
He rushed to a nearby table and immediately started checking out the photos.
His eyes widened as he looked at some photos of Edison’s Fort Myers winter home.
One of those photos showed Thomas Edison sitting in a chair on his wooden dock, fishing into the Caloosahatchee River.
And to his left sat Dr. Youngblood in a chair. The caption for
that photo labeled Dr. Youngblood as an unknown friend fishing.
“It actually works. He made it,]!” Danny called out in a joyous outburst.
Numerous other students hushed Danny from nearby tables, irritated by his loud outburst.
Danny got up and placed that book in a bin to be restocked on the shelf.
He did a little victory dance while he went to the library’s front doors.
When Danny walked five feet down the sidewalk from the library’s front entrance, he spotted Bobby sitting on a bench on another sidewalk. Bobby was chatting with a petite, cute girl with short black hair. Danny thought nothing about it, thinking they were in the same class.
Danny rushed off down the sidewalk.
Two hours passed, and Danny was back inside Dr.
Youngblood’s basement.
Danny rushed over to the computer console and dropped his backpack to the floor. He did not notice his “The Day They Died Mystery” book fall out of an opened zipper of his backpack.
He sat down at the console and thought about Cindy.
“Now, when did she want me to help her study?” while he thought, he glanced down at his backpack. He saw his book on the floor.
He looked at the console monitor and saw the “21 Days - 4
Hours - 03 Minutes Left on iTravel 1 Mission” message.
He glanced back at his book on the floor.
He glanced back at the counter on the console monitor.
He got up from the chair and went over to his backpack He picked up his book and sat back down in the chair.
Danny opened up the book to the final chapter and started reading. He glanced back at the computer console from the book, and his curiosity started peaking in high gear.
Danny shoved his book back in his backpack pocket and zipped it up.
He returned to the stairs with his backpack, acting like he was on a mission.
Danny was in the Caffeine Palace on the MIT campus a little while later with his MacBook Pro laptop and coffee.
He had an hour to kill before his class in American History and munched on a muffin while navigating the YouTube website for The Rocking Tones videos.
Then, a video of the Ed Sullivan Show with the Rocking Tones played with a “What If They Lived?” caption.
Danny watched the video and looked very determined.
After his American History class, where he kept his eyes off Cindy, Danny headed around Cambridge to shop.
Then, at eight that night, Danny returned to Dr.
Youngblood’s house with his backpack stuffed.
He immediately went inside the bathroom on the first floor and started to prepare for his mission.
A little while later, Danny rushed down the basement’s wooden stairs of Dr. Youngblood’s house.
He was dressed in blue jeans, penny loafers, and a plaid shirt, and his hair was slicked back like a 1960s kid’s. He also had the iTravel 2 device with him.
Danny rushed over to the computer console and sat down in the chair. He saw the “20 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes” Time Remaining on iTravel 1 Mission” message on the monitor.
“He’ll never be the wiser,” Danny said while clicking on the Earth icon.
Then, in the password, he typed October 4, 1964, 2230 for the start date and then typed October 5, 1964, 0200 for the return time in the Travel Times window.
After the Google map appeared, Danny typed “Walter’s Diner, Route 39, Pennsylvania in the search block. Nothing appeared from the search. Walter’s Diner no longer exists.
“Crap,” he said while he stared at the Google map. Then, another idea popped into his head.
Danny got up from the console and made a beeline to the stairs.
He ran up the stairs.
Once he got upstairs, Danny ran through the first floor, looking in all the rooms. He finally found an iMac computer in the den.
He rushed over to it and powered it up. As soon as the iMac was available, Danny started an Internet search on Walter’s Diner.
It took him only a short time to find the information he needed. He powered down the iMac and then ran out of the den. Danny ran down the wooden basement stairs in a hurry and almost tripped. But he quickly grabbed the handrails, which prevented him from tumbling down for the rest of the flight.
He ran over and sat back down behind the computer console. He immediately typed in “Han’s German Restaurant, Route 39, Pennsylvania, in the search block.
It was a long few seconds while he waited for the search results. Then, the location of that German restaurant appeared on Route 39. “I hope this is the location,” Danny said while he locked in the destination at the rear of the restaurant.
After connecting the iTravel 2 device to the computer and downloading everything, he was ready. He looked at the “Time Ready to Commence” button and glanced at the glass booth.
“I hope I don’t get vaporized into thin air,” he said, hesitating while walking to the glass booth. He then recalled how Dr. Youngblood made it safely to 1928.
He opened the booth’s glass door, stepped inside, and closed the door.
He pressed the “Time Travel Ready to Commence” button on iTravel 2.
He then pressed the “Time Travel” button on a small pad inside the booth to the left of the glass door.
He anxiously waited.
Then he heard the whirl sound from inside the booth.
Bright lights filled the booth like fireworks. The booth started to vibrate. Psychedelic colors illuminated the inside of the glass booth. Blue, red, orange, yellow, and lime green colors appeared in abstract shapes.
The colors slowly started twirling around.
Then, they started twirling around at supersonic speed.
The booth started to spin. Danny looked and saw that the basement was nothing but a blur inside the booth. Then pain like thousands of needles hit every inch of Danny’s body.
“Ahhhh!” he screamed out in excruciating pain.
Danny disappeared in the booth with a flash.
The booth stopped spinning.
The psychedelic colors dissipated in a flash.
The booth stopped vibrating.
The bright lights and fireworks dissipated. The whirling sound whined down.
The booth was empty, and the basement was quiet except for the low hum of the computer bank.
Meanwhile, it was a beautiful, cool morning in 1928 Fort Myers, Florida.
Dr. Youngblood found a room in a motor court down the road. He returned to McGregor Blvd and walked over to Thomas Edison’s house.
He was nervous while he walked to the front door of Mr.
Edison” s house.
He hesitated, and for a split second, he felt like turning around and running away.
He got brave and then knocked on the wooden screened door.
A few seconds passed, and he heard footsteps walking across the home’s wooden floor.
Then Dr. Youngblood’s eyes lit up the second he saw Thomas Edison walk up to the door. “Yes, can I help you,”
Thomas Edison said.
“Ah, Mister Edison, my name is Doctor Phillip Youngblood; I’m a physics professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.”
“I heard of your university. How may I help you?”
Thomas Edison asked, getting curious.
“I took a vacation to come here to meet you. I’m a huge fan of all your inventions. I was hoping to spend some time with you.”
Thomas Edison looked extremely leery of Dr.
Youngblood. “I don’t like people spying on my work,” he said, closing his front door.
“I traveled in time from the year two thousand and fourteen,” Dr. Youngblood blurted out as a last resort without thinking.
“Are you crazy?”
Dr. Phillip Youngblood reached into his pants pocket, removed his iTravel 1 device, and held it up.
Thomas Edison looked at the iTravel 1 device; it was nothing like any device he had seen during his lifetime. His curiosity got peeked. “Welcome to my home,” he said, opening his screened door and stepping aside.
Dr. Youngblood entered Thomas Edison’s home with a smile. His mission was starting off on the right foot.
Walter’s Diner was alone on Route 39, located in the northeastern country part of Pennsylvania.
It was October 5th, 1964, and the Diner was empty except for Walter and his cook.
The rear of the Diner was dark and quiet.
Then, all of a sudden, a huge spot of psychedelic colors appeared in the grass at the rear of the Diner. Abstract shapes suddenly appeared in blue, red, orange, yellow, and lime green.
The colors slowly started twirling around.
Then, they started twirling around at supersonic speed.
The colors slowly started spinning.
Then, they started spinning at supersonic speed.
Then the colors disappeared in a flash, and Danny magically appeared, standing in the grass, looking dazed and confused.
Danny buckled over into the grass in pain. The pain subsided a few seconds later. He stood up and looked around the area, seeing the rear of the Diner about fifteen feet away.
He shoved the iTravel 2 device in his right pants pocket and ran down the left side of the Diner.
He peeked around the corner of the building and saw the empty parking lot.
Then he saw the “Walter’s Diner” sign down the road. “I made it,” he said, unable to believe he had traveled back in time.
“I hope it’s nineteen sixty-four,” he said. At the same time, he looked at the gravel lot and only saw a 1955 rusty Ford sedan and a 1962 Ford Galaxy convertible parked at the far end of the lot. Danny gingerly walked around the front of the Diner and to the front doors. He saw the “Closed for Private Party” sign in the front door window.
He peeked into the front windows.
He saw Walter Sampson, the diner owner, an overweight Italian with slicked-back black hair. Walter sat next to Harvey Harrison, the overweight balding cook, on stools at the food counter. They had a cup of coffee in front of them to help pass the time.
Danny gingerly walked back to the Diner’s left side and then to the building’s rear.
Once he got to the rear of the Diner, he leaned against the wall and waited.
His legs got tired, so Danny sat down and leaned his back against the wall of the building. His eyes started to drift closed, exhausted from his trip. It did not take long for his eyes to stay closed, and his head slowly drooped to where his chin almost touched his chest. He fell asleep in the dark.
A few minutes passed then the sound of air brakes was heard with the sound of a Corvette engine.
Danny’s eyes opened when he heard those two sounds. He stood up on his feet and rushed down the left side of the building.
He snuck a peek around the corner of the building.
He saw a 1953 silver GMC Coach bus with a red stripe drive over the right side of the Diner. The bus backed up to the right side of the building, where its rear was not visible from the Diner’s front windows.
Then he saw a red 1964 Corvette Stingray Coupe back up on the other side of the bus, hidden in Danny’s view.
The engine of the bus turned off. The Corvette engine turned off.
The front door of the bus opened.
Gus walked down the small steps and out of the bus. The second his feet hit the ground, he stretched.
Roger walked to the front of the bus while The Rocking Tones members started getting out.
“I’m starving,” Carter said with his suit coat and tie removed the second he stepped into the gravel parking lot.
“Me too,” added Jackie, with his suit coat and tie removed, after he stepped off the bus.
With their suit coats and ties removed, Sig, Burt, and then Delmar stepped off the bus, looking hungry.
“They’re waiting for us inside,” Roger told them while he kept a discreet eye on the other entrance into the lot at the far end of the property.
While Roger and The Rocking Tones walked to the Diner’s front doors, they did not notice Danny’s peering eyes from around the left corner of the building.
When they got to the front door, Walter was already there, unlocking it for his special guests.
Danny discreetly watched while Roger, The Rocking Tones, and Gus entered the Diner. He moved away from the corner and leaned against the wall. “What do I do now?”
Danny stayed against the side of the Diner and pondered his next move.
Then Danny heard the sound of car tires driving on the gravel. He peeked around the left corner. He saw a black 1952 four-door Bel-Air car drive onto the gravel lot at the far end, out of view of the diner windows.
He watched while the Bel-Air slowly drove through the lot with its headlights off. Then his eyes widened when he recognized Victor Burrows behind the wheel of the Bel-Air.
He remembered Victor’s mug shot from that TV show the other night. But he did not recognize the two monstrous thugs in the car. One was named Bruno, who sat in the passenger seat, and the other was named Arnold, who sat in the rear seat.
Danny watched while Victor backed the car and parked on the other side of Rogers Corvette.
Danny needed a better view. But where? He did not want Victor to see him and shoot him on the spot. So Danny looked around, and he saw the woods behind the Diner.
“Perfect!” he thought, gingerly walking away and headed to the woods.
When Danny got safely into the woods, he headed to the other end and hid behind a tree. He had a perfect view of the rear ends of the bus, Roger’s Corvette, and Victor’s car. He noticed that the Bel-Air had Alabama plates. He peeked
around the tree, and the darkness of the woods provided his secrecy.
Then Danny saw Victor when he exited his car with the engine still running. Victor lit a cigarette while waiting for the two thugs to exit the car.
The second Bruno and Arnold stepped out of the car, Victor walked over and unlocked the trunk.
Bruno reached inside the trunk and removed a device. A bomb. Arnold reached into the trunk and removed some straps, clamps, a flashlight, and some wrenches from the trunk.
Victor softly closed the trunk while Bruno and Arnold walked over to the rear of the bus. Bruno had that bomb in hand.
Victor walked over and went in front of the bus. Danny lost sight of him.
Danny watched while Bruno and Arnold got on their backs and slid on the gravel to get underneath the bus’s rear.
Then Danny saw Victor walking back to the Bel-Air. He returned inside and sat behind the steering wheel of his car.
Danny returned his eyes back to the rear of the bus. All he could see was the four soles of the two thugs’ shoes while they installed the bomb near the engine and fuel tank of the bus.
A flashlight illuminated the underside of the bus while they worked.
After five minutes, Bruno and Arnold crawled out from underneath the bus without that device in hand. They just had their wrenches and flashlights in their hands.
They rushed back to the Bel-Air, where Victor waited behind the wheel.
Bruno got in the passenger seat while Arnold got in the passenger seat.
The Bel-Air slowly drove off and headed to the other end of the parking lot.
Danny got worried. He did not know what to do. Then he realized he only had one option.
He ran to the front of the Diner and headed to the front doors.
Inside Walter’s Diner, The Rocking Tones just started eating a nice steak dinner with mashed potatoes, green beans, and iced tea in some booths at the left corner of the Diner.
Roger and Gus ate their steak dinner at the booth next to them.
Walter and Harvey watched from their stool at the counter.
They were on their fourth cup of coffee.
“I hate that fucking rock and roll music,” Walter said while he glared at the The Rocking Tones.
Harvey nodded in agreement. “Just like those hairy fagot English guys that are running amok in our country.”
“Yeah. I can’t stand The Beatles or those Rolling Stones.
They’re nothing but a bunch of pussies,” Walter said, then he took a drink of his coffee.
“They say I want to hold your hand. They’re probably thinking, I want to hold your prick,” Harvey jokingly said.
Walter chuckled, then grew a smile. “But what the hell?
Their manager is paying me good money for this private party.
Thanks to my cousin in New York.”
The bell above the door rang.
Walter and Harvey watched while Danny rushed into the Diner in a panic. “We’re closed for a private party,” he called out to Danny.
Danny ignored Walter and rushed over to The Rocking Tones booth.
“I said we’re closed, asshole!” Walter yelled, then got off his stool.
Roger, Gus, and The Rocking Tones watched Danny while he rushed over.
Danny stared in awe at the sight of Jackie. “Ah,” he said, then froze.
Roger got out of his booth and confronted Danny.
“Excuse me, but this is a private party. So please leave immediately.”
Danny looked in awe at the rest of The Rocking Tones while they all glanced at him, wondering why he stormed into the Diner.
Gus exited the booth and stood beside Roger with his arms crossed and serious eyes.
“There’s a bomb under your bus,” Danny blurted out.
The Rocking Tones look at Danny, wondering if they understand.
“A what?” asked Jackie.
“I saw two thugs put a device at the rear of your bus. A bomb,” replied Danny, starting to get out of breath from nervousness.
The Rocking Tones looked at each other, then glanced out their diner window. All they saw was the front end of the bus.
Roger looked a little concerned. “Are you some kind of fucking nut? We’re out in the middle of the boonies.”
“No, I saw two guys install a bomb under their bus,”
Danny blurted out.
Roger got pissed. “I think it’s time for you to leave,” he said, then looked at Gus.
Gus nodded; he understood and grabbed Danny’s left arm while Roger grabbed Danny’s right arm.
“I saw some mobster drive the two thugs into the parking lot. They planted a bomb under the bus!” Danny yelled out while Roger and Gus rushed him to the front doors of the Diner.
All of The Rocking Tones watched from the diner windows near the front glass door while Roger and Gus tossed Danny outside.
Danny landed face-first into the gravel parking lot.
“If you get near this band again, I’ll have the state police arrest you for harassment,” Roger said in a threatening tone.
Danny sat up in the gravel.
“But, I swear. There’s a bomb planted on the bus by some mobster. Some religious fanatic from Alabama is behind this!
Everybody will die!” Danny beseeched.
From the Diner, all the members of The Rocking Tones still watched from the windows near the front doors.
Gus and Roger stepped back inside the Diner. Walter locked the glass doors.
Then Danny felt the iTravel 2 device vibrate in his right front pocket. He removed it, and psychedelic colors shot out of the iTravel. Blue, red, orange, yellow, and lime green abstract shapes appeared.
The colors slowly circled around Danny’s body.
Roger, Gus, Walter, Harvey, and The Rocking Tones watched from the windows inside the Diner.
“Do you think he’s telling the truth?” asked Carter.
“Naw! He’s just a nut!” Roger replied.
“But, what’s with those wild colors?” asked Sig.
Then, they all watched while the psychedelic colors in abstract shapes engulfed Danny’s body.
“What a crazy show,” said Burt.
“What the hell’s going on?” asked Gus
“That’s amazing,” added Jackie.
Then everybody watched in awe while those psychedelic colors started spinning around Danny’s body at supersonic speeds.
Then they watched Danny suddenly disappear, and the psychedelic colors vanished in a trail of light that dissipated into the sky in a flash.
“What the hell just happened?” Roger said in disbelief while Walter unlocked the front doors.
Everybody ran out of the Diner and over to where Danny vanished.
They saw that the gravel in the lot where he vanished was now a four-foot circle of glowing psychedelic colors.
Sig bent down to grab one of the rocks.
“I wouldn’t do that; you might burn the tips of your fingers clean off,” said Jackie while he was leery of that circle and stepped away.
Sig snapped his hand away.
“How can he just vanish into thin air?” Delmar asked while he looked up in the night sky.
“Do you think he was some type of Alien? And a spaceship beamed him back?” asked Burt, looking up at the sky for an Alien spaceship.
Roger, Gus, Walter, Harvey, and the rest of The Rocking Tones looked up at the sky in search of an Alien spaceship.
“I don’t see a spaceship up there,” said Gus.
They all continued to look up at the night sky.
Everybody looked back at that circle and noticed that the gravel had returned to its normal gray color. Those psychedelic-colored circles vanished.
They were baffled.
“Should we report this?” asked Carter.
“No way, they’ll think we’re nuts and lock us up in a loony bin,” Jackie replied.
Everybody else nodded in agreement.
But Roger was happy Danny was gone forever, as he thought. Then he glanced at the bus. “Let’s finish our meals,”
he told The Rocking Tones.
Everybody went back inside the Diner to finish their steak dinners.
A little while later, Victor’s Bel-Air pulled back into the parking lot with its headlights off.
Inside the Bel-Air, Victor looked pissed while he drove through the lot and headed back to Roger’s Corvette.
“I can’t believe you lost your wallet,” he said while he looked pissed at Bruno.
“I’m sorry. It must have slid out of my pants when I was under the bus,” Bruno replied, feeling stupid.
“You NEVER bring your wallet on a job like this, you dummy,” Victor said.
Bruno hung his head down in shame. “Sorry, boss.”
Victor parked his Bel-Air next to Roger’s Corvette.
Bruno got out and rushed over to the rear of the bus.
It was later that night.
The front doors of Walter’s Diner opened.
Gus stepped outside and headed off to the bus.
The Rocking Tones left the front doors and headed off to the bus.
Roger stepped outside with Walter. He shook hands with Walter. “Thanks.”
Roger headed over to his Corvette on the other side of the bus. Harvey stepped outside the front doors. “I need a drink,”
Harvey told Walter while he looked down at the spot where Danny once sat.
“I have a bottle of Jim Beam in my office. Let’s forget about this evening,” Walter replied, then went back to the Diner.
Harvey followed Walter inside and then locked the door.
Gus started up the bus and drove away in the parking lot.
Roger started up his Corvette and then drove after the bus.
After the bus, the countryside was quiet again, and Roger’s Corvette pulled out of the parking lot and drove away down the country road.
It was 2014, and Dr. Youngblood’s basement was quiet except for the low hum of the bank of computers.
Then, the whirling sound from the booth filled the basement air.
Bright light filled the booth like fireworks.
The booth vibrated.
Psychedelic colors illuminated the glass booth. Abstract shapes in blue, red, orange, yellow, and lime green appeared.
The colors slowly started twirling around.
Then, they started twirling around at supersonic speed.
The booth spun around at supersonic speeds.
The booth stopped spinning.
The psychedelic colors dissipated in a flash.
The booth stopped vibrating.
The bright lights and fireworks dissipated. The whirling sound whined down. Danny stood in a booth in a daze. He buckled over in pain for a few seconds. He felt better and straightened up. Danny opened up the door to the booth.
He stepped out of the booth and stared at the basement and the computer console.
He rushed to the computer console and saw that the monitor had the “21 Days - 3 Hours - 15 Minutes Left on iTravel 1 Mission” message.
Then Danny looked curious and ran to the wooden stairs.
In 1928, in Fort Myers, Florida, Thomas Edison toured Dr.
Youngblood through his laboratory across the street.
Dr. Youngblood looked at the wooden framed building.
He saw numerous tables filled with beakers, bottles of chemicals, and hundreds of odds and ends. This looked the same as he remembered when he visited the Edison and Ford Winter Estates museum twelve years ago.
Thomas Edison walked Dr. Youngblood around his laboratory. “I know that the cost of rubber will drastically rise.
So my research here will find rubber from a plant on a large enough scale to deem it economically feasible or commercially successful,” he told Dr. Youngblood. So here’s where I do that research. I believe that the weed Goldenrod is the best producer of latex.”
Dr. Youngblood glanced at the tables filled with his research in the laboratory. When Thomas Edison was not looking, he discreetly snapped a picture of the laboratory with his iTravel 1 device.
“But you probably already knew that. So tell me, will I succeed?”
Dr. Youngblood looked at Thomas Edison as if he had been caught. “Ah, rubber is used in tons of stuff in the future.
It’s not that expensive,” he said, not wanting to tell his idol that his research will be deemed a failure.
They continued their walk around the laboratory, talking about his rubber research.
Dr. Youngblood was in heaven chatting with his idol.
Danny rushed inside his dorm room on the MIT campus.
He ran up the stairs, all excited about his time travel trip.
He got out on the second floor.
He then rushed down the hallway to his room door, opened it, and rushed inside.
Danny stopped dead in his tracks the second he stepped inside his room. His eyes widened in a little shock when he saw Bobby naked in bed with a girl. He was on top of her, and she loudly moaned with her legs in the air.
But she was not Cindy. She was that petite cute girl with short black hair Danny saw Bobby chatting with before his time travel trip. They were sweaty, moving, humping, her toes curled in the air. They did not have a clue Danny was inside the room.
Danny got embarrassed, quietly tiptoed backward to the door, quietly left his dorm room, and softly closed the door.
Danny walked away down the hallway and could not believe that Bobby was cheating on Cindy. “That figures,” he muttered to himself, despising his roommate.
Danny walked out of one of the side exits of his dorm building.
While he rushed away from the building, he did not notice Cindy as she entered the front entrance.
Danny walked away down the sidewalk.
Once Danny entered the campus library, he headed to the area offering free computers and Internet access.
He found an open computer and sat down with numerous other students.
He sat down and immediately brought up the Safari program. In the search block, he typed “The Rocking Tones”
and clicked on the “Search” button.
He waited, and it was a long wait.
He saw many search results appear and opened the “The Rocking Tones” Wikipedia link, the free encyclopedia.
The Wikipedia page for The Rocking Tones appeared.
He scanned through it and saw that The Rocking Tones died when a bomb blew up their bus during the early morning of October 5th, 1964.
“Shit!” Danny said out loud, and it echoed a little in the quiet library.
Everybody around him gave him looks of extreme disapproval, interrupting their train of thought.
Danny got up from his computer.
He moped away and headed to the doors, knowing that his mission was a complete failure.
Danny walked down the sidewalk to his dorm building a little while later.
He stopped when he got close to the front entrance, stared at the windows on the second floor, and remembered Bobby and that other girl in heated sex.
He turned around and walked away and headed down the sidewalk.
A little while later, Danny sat alone at a table in the Caffeine Palace. He drank a large cup of black coffee while he pondered the situation.
Then, something caught his eye from the windows. He spotted Cindy while she moped past the coffee shop windows to the left. She looked visibly upset.
Danny looked concerned. He had a hunch why she was upset, so he grabbed his coffee cup and got up from his seat.
He rushed to the shop doors.
Once Danny left the Caffeine Palace, he looked to his left for Cindy. He saw her still moping down the sidewalk.
“Cindy,” he called out while he ran after her.
She turned around, still visibly upset.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, but he had a hunch about what upset her.
Cindy’s lips quivered while she fought from blubbering.
“Let’s sit down and talk about it,” he offered while he motioned for them to sit at a nearby bench.
Danny and Cindy walked over and sat down on the nearby bench.
It was quiet between them for a few seconds while students walked up and down the sidewalk.
Then Danny opened his mouth to break the ice. “What happened to get you so upset?”
Cindy looked at Danny and was not sure she wanted to tell him. But something about the sincerity in his eyes made her feel comfortable that he would understand.
“I went to Bobby’s dorm room to see if he wanted to get something to eat at the Subway. When I got to the door, I heard a female’s voice inside the room,” she said. Then she paused and wiped away some tears that rolled down her cheek. “I heard a female cry out. She cried out Bobby’s name. It was obvious they were having sex,” she said while her eyes welled up and her upper lip quivered.
“I’m so sorry, Cindy,” Danny said while he placed an arm around her shoulder to show his concern.
“I should have known not to trust a musician. All they want is sex. Maybe he went with this girl because I would not let him have his sway with me. I’m not that kind of girl,” she said while more tears ran down her cheek. She suddenly got up from the bench. “I got some studying to do for a test tomorrow. Thanks, Danny,” she said, then rushed away.
Danny watched while Cindy rushed away down the sidewalk, and he could hear her dry.
He got up from the bench and walked off in another direction in deep thought.
Then Danny glanced down at his watch. His eyes widened in a panic. “Crap!” he cried out when he realized he was ten minutes late for his Music Theory class.
He turned around and ran down the sidewalk, heading toward the library.
After Danny finished his Music Theory class without his books or notebook, he went to Subway for dinner.
After finishing his foot-long roast beef sub, he returned to his dorm room. He was worn out.
Danny immediately got on his bed when he got into his dorm room. Bobby was gone gallivanting around the campus, or maybe the band had a gig. Danny did not care, as he now loathed his roomie.
Then Danny’s eyes closed, and he drifted off to sleep. He started a dream.
In Danny’s dream, he walked down the side of a two-lane country road in the woods. It was quiet except. Then, headlights suddenly shone on Danny’s face.
The headlights got brighter and larger while the object got closer.
Then Danny realized it was a bus.
He stepped off onto the dirt shoulder of the road and stopped.
The bus whizzed by Danny, almost knocking him down.
Then Danny noticed the headlights of a red Corvette down the road. The Corvette whizzed past him at a slower speed.
Then Danny watched while the bus drove farther down the road. The Corvette got slower and further behind the bus. The bus suddenly exploded into a huge fireball, sending flaming pieces of metal everywhere. A huge flaming piece of the bus flew straight for Danny. He froze in fear and opened his mouth to scream.
Back to reality.
“Ahhhh!” Danny woke up in a panic in his bed. He felt his body for any signs of fire. He was not burning. He then looked at his “The Day They Died Mystery” book on his bedside table.
He got off his bed, grabbed this book, and headed to his dresser.
He left his dorm room after he grabbed his MacBook Pro off the dresser.
Danny sat at a table in the Caffeine Palace a little while later. Danny had his laptop powered up, a cup of coffee in his hand, and a chocolate chip muffin in his hand. He took a drink of coffee and then a bite of his muffin while glancing at his laptop monitor.
The laptop monitor showed an old newspaper article with a picture of the burnt and charred bus that once belonged to The Rocking Tones. Danny looked sad as he stared at the picture.
He heard footsteps behind him.
“My grandmother was a huge fan of The Rocking Tones,”
Cindy said, standing behind Danny and glanced his laptop monitor.
Danny’s eyes lit up as he recognized her voice. He turned around and saw Cindy holding a cup of coffee.
“Mind if I join you?”
“Please do,” Danny replied and was jumping for joy inside.
Cindy sat down in the chair next to Danny.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better after a little nap. I decided that Bobby isn’t worth it, so I’m moving on with my life.”
She sipped coffee and looked at the laptop with a picture of the charred bus from that explosion. “Why is there interest in that band?”
“My grandmother was a huge fan. We would listen to all of their records when I was a kid. I guess that’s why I became a fan.” “My grandmother also played them for me when I was young,” Cindy said, then she took another drink of her coffee.
“Jackie has always been my favorite. I don’t know why,” he said while he clicked on a thumbnail picture of Jackie off to the right side of the website.
Cindy looked at the larger color picture of Jackie on the laptop after it popped up. “You both have brown eyes,” she said, then thought about what she had just said. “I don’t know what that means,” she added while she continued to stare at the laptop. “I must admit, I’m also a huge fan thanks to my grandmother. I actually thought Sid was the cutest,” she added, then took another drink of coffee.
Danny rolled his eyes.
“My grandmother told me how she was outside the Ed Sullivan Theater and saw them enter the bus and leave. So I
guess she was one of the few people that saw them before they died,” said Cindy.
“It’s truly a shame they died when their bus exploded.”
“I know. I wonder who wanted them dead?” asked Cindy.
“Well, it’s still believed that that religious fanatic down in Alabama was behind it,” Danny said. “But after watching an episode of Facts and Lies the other night, I’m starting to have doubts,” said Danny. At the same time, he clicked on a thumbnail of The Rocking Stones on the stage at the Ed Sullivan Show.
“I also watched that show the other night,” Cindy said, then took another drink of her coffee while she looked at the Ed Sullivan Show picture. “I’m thinking that the possibility exists that Elmer Watson was framed. But by who is the big question?”
“That’s very plausible,” replied Danny, then he drank his coffee.
“The only way anybody can find out now is by going back in time,” Cindy said, then took another drink of her coffee. I wonder if they would have been bigger than The Beatles?”
Danny looked at Cindy. “Do you believe that time travel is possible?”
“Maybe in the movies. Why?” she asked, then took another drink of her coffee.
Danny looked over at Cindy. He looked like he wanted to burst with the news of his recent time travel trip. “Do you like adventures?” he asked her.
“Yeah, I guess. Why?”
Danny hesitated and wondered if he should proceed.
“This may sound strange, but trust me. I want to show you something in the morning. Something that you will not believe the second you see it. It will blow your mind.”
Cindy looked at Danny. “That’s clear as mud and sounds a little suspicious. What exactly is it?”
“I can’t tell you. You have to see it in person. And you can trust me. I’m nothing like Bobby.”
Cindy looked at Danny for a few seconds, thinking about his invite. “What time tomorrow morning?”
“How about eight. I’ll meet you here and drive over in my car.” “Okay. Tomorrow morning at eight sounds good,” Cindy replied, then got up.
Danny watched while she walked to the door. He smiled.
Later that night, Danny was sound asleep with a smile.
Meanwhile, back in 1928 Fort Myers, Dr. Youngblood sat in a chair on a wooden dock with Thomas Edison by his side.
They had their fishing lines in the water. The fish were not biting, but who cared, as it was so peaceful to sit out there and ponder life.
This was the same scene Danny saw in that library book about Thomas Edison as an old picture.
Then Henry Ford walked down the dock and up to Thomas Edison.
Thomas Edison turned around. “Henry, meet my good friend, Doctor Phillip Youngblood. He’s a physics professor at MIT.”
Dr. Youngblood stood and looked in awe at Henry Ford.
Henry looked at Dr. Youngblood, and his eyes widened as he saw a familiar sight. “You were that guy standing out in the street in the middle of the night the other day,” he said.
Dr. Youngblood looked at Henry and could not believe that Henry Ford in a Model A Ford almost hit him.
“Yeah, that was me. I got a little lost in the dark,” Dr.
Youngblood said.
“Good thing I didn’t run you over,” Henry Ford said, extending his hand.
They shook hands.
“Thomas, bring your friend over for dinner tonight.
Thomas Edison waved that he would.
Dr. Youngblood watched while Henry Ford walked away down the dock.
Then Thomas’s eyes lit up. “Henry, get the camera off my porch and take a picture of us,” he called out.
Henry said he would do just that while walking down the dock.
Morning arrived, and Danny was excited as he ran down the campus sidewalks.
When he arrived at the Caffeine Palace, he anxiously waited by the front door, but he became worried when Cindy was not in sight.
He stepped inside the Caffeine Palace and could not see Cindy waiting inside.
He stepped back outside and looked around the area.
Cindy was still not in sight.
After Danny waited for five minutes, he felt a little pressed.
He thought Cindy had stood him up, so he moped away.
“Danny,” Cindy’s voice called out behind him.
Danny’s eyes lit up, and they turned around and saw Cindy rushing up to him.
“Sorry, I’m a little late. So, I’m ready to see something that will blow my mind,” Cindy said, curious.
Danny smiled while he motioned for Cindy to follow him.
Danny didn’t want to discuss what he would show Cindy, so he asked questions about their classes.
Cindy and Danny walked down the sidewalk and headed to the parking lot of his dorm building.
A little while later, Danny parked his Corolla in Dr.
Youngblood’s driveway. He turned off the engine and got out of his car.
“Who lives here?” Cindy asked while she got out of the Corolla.
“Dr. Youngblood,” he replied while he walked her to the front door.
Cindy thought for a few seconds. “I’m not familiar with him.”
“He’s a professor in the Physics Department and spends much of his time researching.”
Cindy thought for a few seconds. “I vaguely remember him,” she said while she looked at the house. “Is this what you wanted to show me? Some physics profess’s home? That’s not very mind-blowing,” she said, not being impressed.
“Just wait,” he said while he shoved Dr. Youngblood’s house key into the front door lock.
“Why do you have a key to his house?” she asked, feeling uncomfortable.
“You have to trust me. I’m not setting you up for something that will hurt you. You will be glad you came here,”
Danny told her while opening the front door for Cindy.
Cindy hesitated, still a bit leery. But something in Danny’s eyes made her feel that he was also honest. She stepped inside Dr. Youngblood’s house.
Danny stepped inside, closed, and locked the door behind them.
Danny walked Cindy through his house and down the wooden stairs to the basement.
The basement was quiet except for the low hum of the bank of computers against the wall.
“Now, you cannot tell a soul what you’re about to see,” he told her the second they arrived at the bottom of the stairs.
Cindy looked around the basement. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw the bank of computers, computer console, and glass booth. “What kind of experiments is Doctor Youngblood doing down here?” she said while she stepped off the last step of the stairs. “Making monsters? His own Frankenstein,” she jokingly said, then made an impression of a Frankenstein monster walking stiff-legged.
Cindy walked over to the computer console. She checked it out and saw the destination counter now reading “20 Days—9
Hours—6 Minutes Left on iTravel 1 Mission message.” “What does this left iTravel one mission message mean?” she asked, and her curiosity peaked.
Danny walked over to her. “Like I said before, you can’t tell a soul about this,” he said, looking dead serious.
“I don’t have a clue what this is to even tell someone.”
Danny hesitated for a few seconds. A smile grew on him.
“It’s a time machine.”
Cindy looked at the computer monitor and then at the glass booth. She laughed while she glanced back at Danny. “That’s a good one.”
She looked at Danny, who looked dead and serious. She stopped laughing. “You’re not joking.”
“I’m serious. Doctor Youngblood built a real-time machine.”
Cindy looked at the computer console for a few more seconds. Then she looked over at the GLS booth. “No way,”
she said, wanting to believe him but knowing that nobody had ever traveled back or forward in time.
“It really works. I tried it.”
Cindy looked at Danny, who looked dead serious. She laughed. “You’re really good. I almost believed you.”
Danny reached into his left pants pocket and removed the iTravel 2 device.
“It’s real. I can prove it. I’ll take a quick trip and tell you something about your life,” he said, looking sincerely.
Cindy looked at Danny’s sinister eyes. She decided to play along with his game, so she tried to think of a recent event.
“Okay, my parents and I came here on May fifteenth for the undergraduate admissions information session and campus tour.
Now, I don’t remember you being on a tour. So, take a picture of us at the place we had lunch on campus,” she said.
Danny grinned hugely while sitting at the computer with the iTravel 2 device.
After Danny had everything configured on the computer and the iTravel 2 device synced and ready for time travel, he rushed off to the glass booth.
He smiled while he stepped inside the booth and closed the door.
Cindy sat down at the computer console and watched the glass booth.
After Danny pressed the button on the iTravel 2 device and the pad by the booth’s door, he gave Cindy a little wave.
Cindy waited for Danny to leave the booth to tell him this was all for show.
Then Cindy heard a whirling sound from the booth.
Bright lights filled the booth like fireworks.
The booth vibrated.
Psychedelic colors illuminated the glass booth. Abstract shapes in blue, red, orange, yellow, and lime green appeared.
The colors slowly started twirling around.
Then, they started twirling around at supersonic speed.
The b th spun. Danny was a blur inside the booth.
Then Danny disappeared a poof. The booth stopped spinning.
The psychedelic colors dissipated in a flash.
The booth stopped vibrating.
The bright lights and fireworks dissipated. The whirling sound whined down.
Cindy stared in awe at the empty booth. “Danny?”
The basement was quiet except for the low hum of the bank of computers.
Cindy stared at the empty booth in disbelief. “He vanished. He just vanished.” She stood up and cautiously inched her way to the empty glass booth. “How can I explain this to the police?” she said while she got within four feet of the booth.
Then, the whirling sound from the booth filled the basement air.
Bright light filled the booth like fireworks.
The booth vibrated.
Cindy ran away in fear and hid behind the computer console. She cautiously peeked over the top of the console at the glass booth.
She watched as psychedelic colors illuminated the GL
booth. Abstract shapes in blue, red, orange, yellow, and lime green appeared.
The colors slowly started twirling around.
Then they started twirling around at supersonic speed.
The booth spun around at supersonic speeds.
The psychedelic colors dissipated in a flash.
The booth stopped vibrating.
The bright lights and fireworks dissipated. The whirling sound whined down.
Danny appeared in the boot in a daze. He buckled over in pain for a few seconds, but he felt better and straightened up.
Danny opened up the door to the booth.
He stepped out of the booth and smiled at Cindy when he saw her peeking over the top of the computer console.
“You vanished. Then you reappeared. What just happened?” Cindy said as she walked away from the computer console, relieved that Danny had reappeared.
“I went back in time to that day in May.”
“Is this some type of David Copperfield magic booth?”
she asked while she walked over to the glass booth. She walked around it to check it out, but she was afraid to touch it, thinking it might burn her fingers or freeze them instantly.
Danny walked up to Cindy while he pressed a couple of buttons on his iTravel device. He showed her a picture of Cindy, her mom, and her dad while they sat in Subway’s restaurant. The picture showed Cindy looking at Danny. “I went to the undergraduate admissions information session and campus tour on May fifteenth.”
Cindy’s eyes widened. “Wait, why is it that I suddenly have this memory that popped into my head? I was eating lunch with my parents during the tour in the Subway, and I saw you taking our picture. I didn’t know who you were and thought you were a creep,” she stated.
“I’m not a creep. Trust me,” said Danny.
Cindy looked at Danny in disbelief but knew it had to be true. “We can actually go back in time? For real?”
Danny nodded his head in agreement with a smile.
Cindy looked excited. “Let’s go somewhere. I want to time travel and go on a wild adventure,” she said, looking antsy.
Danny smiled. “I have an idea of where we can go. But we need to do some research. Let’s time travel and make it a mission to save some lives,” he said.
“What do you have in mind?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute,” he said. Then, without thinking, Danny grabbed her by the hand and rushed her over to the stairs.
Then, when he got to the bottom of the stairs, he smiled when he realized she accepted his hand holding her hand.
They rushed up the stairs.
A little while later, Danny and Cindy were heading back to the MIT Campus in his Corolla.
“So, what do you have in mind?” she curiously asked while Danny drove down the street from Dr. Youngblood’s house.
“I want to return to nineteen sixty-four and prevent The Rocking Tones from being killed in that explosion.”
Cindy thought about his plan. Then, something felt odd about it. “Did you say go back again? Like you went before?”
she asked while Danny turned left down another street.
“Yeah. I returned to that diner in Pennsylvania, where they ate before getting on the bus, which exploded some hours later.
I saw Victor Burrows guys with thugs. The thugs installed the bomb under the bus, then they left the parking lot. I tried to warn the band members, but Roger, the manager, and some other guy threw me out of the diner. Then, my iTravel device brought me back here. I failed.”
“Sounds like we need to go back earlier. Maybe a week or more.”
“That’s what I was thinking. Maybe we can find out who was behind placing this bomb,” said Danny, then he turned right down another street.
Then Cindy looked at Danny. “I can’t believe you met The Rocking Tones person. How cool is that?”
“It was really cool, but they looked so young in person compared to those photos you see on the Internet and in books.”
“You’re right; this is blowing my mind,” she said while she recalled what she just witnessed.
“Let’s go back to my room and plan our mission.”
Cindy nodded in agreement, and it was quiet during the rest of the drive to the MIT campus.
A little while later, Danny and Cindy sat on Danny’s bed studying his laptop. On his monitor was a website on the
“History of The Rocking Tones.”
“They died around three fifteen in the morning on October fifth, nineteen sixty- four,” he said while they looked at the charred tour bus.
“I remember reading this one book, and it stated there was a rumor that The Rocking Tones planned to replace Roger as their manager. They felt they needed someone bigger to make them even more famous than The Beatles. So maybe Roger is a possible suspect,” said Cindy.
“I would find that hard to believe. After all, he was the one that really got them the gigs that started them off in the direction of stardom,” said Danny.
Cindy thought for a few seconds, then her eyes widened a little. “I thought I read somewhere, but can’t remember where, that six months before their Ed Sullivan show, The Rocking Tones had a major argument with Roger. Maybe that’s a starting point?” she said.
Danny considered her suggestion for a few seconds. “I guess anything is a possibility,” he said.
The room to the door opened. Bobby appeared in the doorway. His eyes widened when he saw Danny and Cindy sitting on Danny’s bed. Ah, Cindy. I didn’t know you were here to see me.”
Then, the eyes of Becky, a girl with a short redhead, peeked over Bobby’s shoulder from the hallway.
Danny felt this was an awkward moment.
Becky pushed Bobby into his dorm room.
“I was actually here to talk with Danny on something,”
Cindy told Bobby.
Becky saw Danny and Cindy and then looked at Bobby, a little upset. “Bobby, you said we would be all alone.”
“We’re just leaving,” Cindy said while getting off the bed.
Danny grabbed his laptop and got up off the bed.
Cindy walked over to the door and walked past Bobby and Becky. She stopped. “You know something? With all the girls he brings here, you might want to be tested. You know, for STDs,” Cindy told Becky then left the room.
Danny rushed after Cindy.
Bobby was pissed.
Becky looked like she was having second thoughts about being alone with Bobby.
A little while later, Danny and Cindy sat alone on a bench on campus.
Bobby was long gone from Cindy’s thoughts.
“We need a cover story to explain why we’re trying to connect with the band,” said Danny.
They both thought for a few seconds.
Cindy’s eyes lit up. “I know, we’re reporters for the Cambridge Chronicle doing a big piece on The Rocking Tones,”
Cindy said.
Danny considered her suggestion for a few seconds. “I like it, but we’ll need some form of identification.”
Cindy thought about his response for a few seconds. “I can take care of that. After all, I’m majoring in graphic design.”
“Okay, let’s go and prepare for our little adventure,” he said. They both got up off the bench and walked off down the sidewalk.
It was early evening, and most students were back in their dorms or out eating dinner.
Danny and Cindy were busy preparing for their time-traveling mission and skipped classes.
After Cindy made them fake identification cards stating they were reporters for the Cambridge Chronicle in 1964, they headed to the Garment District store off Broadway in Cambridge. This clothing store sells used or slightly used clothing from the 1960s and 1970s.
Danny went to the barber off campus, while Cindy went to a hairstylist off campus.
It was 6:00 pm, and Cindy and Danny were ready for their mission.
Danny stepped out of his dorm building sporting a 1960s-style crew cut. He wore black fine-line gabardine continental-style belt-less and cuff-less slacks, a short-sleeve brown plaid shirt, a brown, tan, and green striped casual sweater that buttoned down the front, and black leather penny loafers. He even placed pennies in them for the look.
However, if someone looked closely, they would notice that the pennies were dated 2010 and 2012.
Danny walked down the sidewalk from his dorm building, getting gawked stares from everybody nearby. Some thought he looked like a nerd, while others thought he looked dorky. Danny did not care, and he strutted off to the Caffeine Palace.
Cindy stepped out of her dorm building. She had her hair cut and styled to where it curled up at the bottom. She looked like a blonde version of Patty Duke. She also wore a gold-colored pullover top with a loop-and-button neckline. She had on trim-fitting Capri pants in a berry red color. On her feet were tan-colored pleated vamp shoes with flat wedge heels. She had a chain-handled envelope bag for her purse in hand.
She got stares from numerous other students who wondered why she wanted to look like a 1960s woman. Some thought she was a strange geek.
She did not care while walking down the sidewalk and headed to the Caffeine Palace.
Danny and Cindy walked down the sidewalk and met at the same time by the front entrance of the Caffeine Palace. They had more stares from people who exited and entered the coffee shop.
Danny and Cindy looked at each other.
“You look great. Are you ready?” he asked her.
Cindy rubbed her right hand across the pointy bristles of Danny’s crewcut. “You look like an upstanding, clean-cut, all-American kid,” she said, then chuckled. “I’m ready.”
Danny touched the curls of her hairdo. “A little stiff.”
“Hairspray.”
Cindy opened her purse and removed an ID card for the Cambridge Chronicle. “Here’s your ID,” she said while she handed him his card.
Danny looked at the card. “I’m Chris Moore,” he said a few times to get it ingrained in his head.
“I’m Sally Duke, and I have a notepad and some pens for playing up the part of a reporter,” Cindy replied.
“Me too,” Danny said while he removed a small notepad from his back pocket with a pen. I also brought some old cash with us. I found some at the coin shop in town,” he told her.
“I also found some bills and coins. I just hope it lasts,” she added.
Danny counted their money and they had $100, that should cover their trip to 1964. It was expensive to buy, but they felt it was worth it if they could save some lives.
Danny looked at her for a few seconds. “Let’s go before we change our minds,” he said.
They walked down the sidewalk and received more stares from other students milling about or walking on campus.
A little while later, Danny and Cindy walked down the wooden stairs of Dr. Youngblood’s basement.
They headed over to the computer console.
They both saw the “19 Days – 23 Hours – 30 Minutes Left on iTravel 1 Mission” message on the computer.
“This is your Last chance. Are you still willing to go on this wild adventure?” Danny asked while he looked at Cindy.
“I’m willing,” she replied and did not hesitate for a second to back out.
“Okay,” said Danny, then sat at the computer and repeated the time travel process.
When the Google map appeared, he typed “Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, New York” in the search block. He zoomed in on the music hall, concentrating on the rear of the stage area. Then, he locked in at a stairwell to the left of the smoke stack at the rear of the building by Normal Avenue.
Then he typed the start date and time of “September 27, 1964, 2230” and the return date and time of “October 5, 1964, 0310” on the computer.
After he had synced the iTravel 2 device and downloaded all the information, he disconnected it from the USB cable.
“Let’s go,” he told Cindy while he held the iTravel 2 device to his right and stood up from the chair.
Danny and Cindy, with her purse in hand, headed over to the glass booth. Danny opened the door, and Cindy stepped inside. Danny stepped inside and closed the door. They both looked at each other and nodded, ready.
Danny pressed the appropriate button on the iTravel 2
device and then the button on the pad by the booth door.
“Let’s make sure we’re just like one person,” he told her, then held her hand. Then again, he also wanted to hold her hand, and this was a viable excuse.
Then, they both heard the whirling sound from inside the booth.
Bright lights filled the booth like fireworks. The booth started to vibrate. Psychedelic colors illuminated the inside of the glass booth. The abstract shapes of blue, red, orange, yellow, and lime green colors filled the booth.
The colors slowly started twirling around.
Then, they started twirling around at supersonic speed.
The booth started to spin.
Danny and Cindy saw that the basement was nothing but a blur inside the booth.
Then pain like thousands of needles hit every inch of Danny’s body. “Ahhhh!” he screamed out in pain.
“Ahhhhh!” Cindy screamed out in pain.
Then Danny and Cindy disappeared in the booth with a flash.
The booth stopped spinning.
The psychedelic colors dissipated in a flash.
The booth stopped vibrating.
The bright lights and fireworks dissipated. The whirling sound whined down.
The booth was empty, and the basement was quiet except for the low hum of the bank of computers.
On the computer monitor, the “7 Days – 4 Hours – 20
Minutes Left on iTravel 2 Mission” message was on the monitor below the mission message for the iTravel 1 device.
It was now September 27, 1964, at 10:30 that Sunday night.
By the Kleinhans Music Hall, the Buffalo Police barricaded both ends of Normal Avenue from the public under the street lights.
Fans under the street lights stood at one end of the barricade by Normal Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. Thirty adoring fans could not get one of the two thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine tickets for the concert.
They hoped to catch a glimpse of their favorite rockers.
The other end of Normal Avenue had a few fans hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite rockers.
Pastor Elmer Watson and fifteen of his faithful followers were among the fans at the barricade by Pennsylvania Avenue.
They held signs protesting the presence of rock and roll bands while he had his beloved Bible in hand.
His followers held up signs reading, “The Rocking Tones Are Pure Evil Sinners,” “Rock and Roll is Music of the Devil,”
and “Rot in Hell!”
Then Bruno walked up to Elmer.
“Good evening; I’m glad to see that some people have come to their senses that these rock and rollers are true sinners,”
Bruno said to Elmer.
Elmer looked at Bruno. “Yes, and we have to do what it takes to stop these sinners from corrupting America,” he said.
“That’s so true,” Bruno said, then paused and shoved out his hand. I’m Pastor Harold Smith from Albany, New York.”
“I’m Pastor Elmer Watson from Montgomery, Alabama,”
he replied, shaking Bruno’s hand.
“Keep up the good work against these sinners,” Bruno said, walking away.
Elmer watched Bruno walk away, and then he turned his eyes back to the Kleinhans Music Hall for a sighting of the five sinners.
Since both ends of the street were barricaded, the Buffalo Police only kept officers down at those barricades. So, they should have noticed the dark rear entrances of the stage. They concentrated their eyes on the crowd for any possible threats.
Then, all of a sudden, a huge spot of psychedelic colors appeared in the air four feet above the bottom of the dark stairwell to the left of the smoke stack at the rear of the music hall. Then abstract shapes and colors of blue, red, orange, yellow, and lime green appeared.
The colors slowly started twirling around.
Then, they started twirling around at supersonic speed.
The colors slowly started spinning. Then, they started spinning at supersonic speed.
Then, the colors were gone in a flash.
Danny and Cindy appeared in the air four feet above the bottom of the stairwell.
The second they realized they were in the stairwell, they dropped and hit the concrete with a thud followed by a little moan.
“That didn’t work exactly as planned,” Danny said, standing up in a little pain.
“Well, at least we didn’t vaporize into thin air,” she said while standing up in a little pain.
Cindy and Danny look around the stairwell. “Did we make it?” “We made it in the stairwell,” he said while he shoved his iTravel 2 device into his right pants pocket. He then quietly walked up the concrete stairs, and when he got up high enough, he peeked outside. He saw nobody was in sight. “It looks quiet out there. I’m not sure,” he told Cindy, and then he walked up to the top of the stairs. He looked to his right and saw the police barricade at the end of Normal Avenue by Porter Avenue and Jersey Street. “There’s a police barricade, so that’s a good sign.”
Cindy looked at the barricade.
Danny and Cindy then headed left along the curved brown brick wall. They then saw the police barricade at the other end of Normal Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue with the fans and protestors.
Then they saw The Rocking Tones’ 1953 GMC Coach bus parked backward to the right of the double-stage door entrance.
The two Chevrolet G10 white vans were parked six feet from the bus. The roadies Tom and Kenny were relaxing inside the rear of the vans.
“We made it. We’re in nineteen sixty-four,” he told Cindy when he saw the bus and the two vans.
Cindy was a little hesitant at first to believe it until she noticed the clothing and hairstyles of the people at the police barricade. “I believe you’re right.”
Danny and Cindy crept along the curved wall and reached the undetected steps leading to the stage entrance. The police were too busy watching the fans by the barricade to notice the two-time travelers.
Tom and Kenny were nodding off in their vans and did not notice Danny and Cindy.
Gus, the bus driver, was on the bus, taking a snooze to rest for their next trip.
Danny and Cindy crept up the concrete steps to the double-stage door. Nobody noticed.
Then Danny placed a hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. The door was unlocked, so he slowly cracked the door open. The sound of sweet rock music was heard from the stage.
The voice of Jacking singing “She’s my only baby” was heard coming from the stage, along with the sounds of girls screaming.
Danny motioned for Cindy to step inside the building.
They quietly stepped inside, and Danny quietly closed the stage door.
They stood inside behind the stage and heard The Rocking Tones jamming to their hit song “She’s My Only Baby.”
Danny smiled at Cindy and motioned for them to get closer to the stage for a better glimpse.
Danny and Cindy inched their way over to where some stagehands were gathered and looked to the left at the left side of the stage.
The second they walked behind the stagehands, Cindy’s eyes widened in shock when she saw The Rocking Tones perform their song on stage. “It’s really them.”
Danny nodded with a proud smile.
“What’s our next move?” Cindy quietly asked Danny.
He pondered that question for a few seconds. “Hopefully, we can tag along with the band as reporters,” he quietly responded.
Danny and Cindy watched The Rocking Tones perform their song for a few more minutes, with most girls screaming from the audience.
“Who are you, and how did you get back here?” asked a curious security guard who walked up behind Danny and Cindy.
Danny and Cindy looked behind them and saw two music hall security guards with their arms crossed. They looked pissed.
“Ah, we’re reporters from the Cambridge Chronicle,”
Danny said as he reached into his back pants pocket and removed his ID card that Cindy had printed.
Cindy followed Danny’s lead and removed her ID card from her purse.
One of the security guards took the ID cards and checked them out.
Off to the side stood Roger Beaumont. He saw Danny and Cindy and looked suspicious while the two security guards checked out the ID cards.
Roger glanced at the ID cards in the guard’s hand. “I didn’t authorize reporters from that paper to get backstage,” he told the two security guards.
“Okay,” one of the security guards said. Then he handed Danny and Cindy back their ID cards and grabbed Danny’s right arm. The other security guard grabbed Cindy’s right arm.
They escorted the two to the rear stage door.
A little while later, the two security guards escorted Danny and Cindy to the barricade by the other fans.
“Officers, make sure these two don’t come back. They snuck in here somehow,” the one security guard told two of the Buffalo police officers.
The two police officers grabbed Danny and Cindy by their arms and walked them around the barricade.
The officers gave them looks that they better not try this again, then walked away.
Danny handed Cindy back her ID card and motioned for them to walk away.
“Now what?” he asked while they walked through the crows of anxious fans.
Danny pondered their next move while he stared at the Kleinhans Music Hall.
Mickey Hanson and Maureen Abner, around the same age as Danny and Cindy, stood behind them.
Mickey’s thick black hair was a little bit longer and started to grow over his ears. His nose was a little larger and had a crook to the left. That was his trademark.
Maureen’s brunette hair was curled at the bottom, like Cindy’s. A mole above the right side of her upper lip, along with her dark brown eyes, gave her character and a little sex appeal.
Maureen Abner glanced over at Danny. “Did you come out of the music hall?”
Danny and Cindy nodded, and they did.
Mickey Hanson walked up to Maureen’s right side. “Did you see them?” Mickey asked and looked excited.
“We did.”
“They were playing She’s My Only Baby,” Cindy added.
“She’s my only baby,” Maureen sang beautifully.
“Lucky you. We love them and think they’re better than The Beatles,” Mickey added.
“We’re driving around to all the places they’re playing this week,” said Maureen.
“Did you say you’re driving around to all their concerts this week?” asked Danny with a gleam in his eyes.
Maureen and Mickey nodded in agreement that they were.
“Mind if we tag along?” asked Cindy.
Mickey and Maureen looked at each other.
“Sure. I’m Maureen Abner, and my boyfriend is Mickey Hanson,” replied Maureen.
“I’m Chris Moore, and this is my colleague Sally Duke,” he replied.
They all shook hands.
The crowd at the barricade stared, cheering, and then some of the girls started screaming. They saw The Rocking Tones standing by the front of their bus, waving and blowing kisses at the fans. They loved to do this for the fans who were unfortunate not to get tickets for their concerts. Jackie figured it would help keep their fan base growing if they showed the band cared.
“The Rocking Tones are leaving. Let’s head out of here,”
said Mickey.
Mickey and Maureen rushed through the crowd with Danny and Cindy behind them.
They walked right past Pastor Elmer Watson while he held up his Bible.
While Danny walked by Elmer, he glanced down and gave Danny the evil eye while holding his Bible up. Elmer thought there was something odd about Danny, but he could not place a finger on it. So he looked away and stared at The Rocking Tones still waving by the front of the bus.
Elmer’s stares gave Danny a weird chill throughout his whole body.
Danny rushed away from Elmer.
He and Cindy continued to follow Mickey and Maureen down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Danny, Cindy, Mickey, and Maureen soon heard Elmer yell,
“Repent you sinners!”
“That Bible guy gave me the creeps,” Cindy told Danny, Mickey, and Maureen while they walked down Pennsylvania Avenue.
“I know what you mean,” replied Danny.
While they walked down the street, The Rocking Tones got inside the bus.
Gus started up the bus and drove away.
Tom and Kenny exited the two vans and headed to the rear stage door. They went inside the music hall to tear down the instruments and drums and cart them off to the vans.
Danny and Cindy sat behind a green and white four-door 1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air a little later.
Mickey drove with Maureen by his side.
“We’re from Brooklyn,” said Mickey.
“Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also go to MIT,” replied Danny.
“Ah, smart people,” said Mickey.
“Mickey and I just started Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn. He wants to major in English, and I’m going to major in Nursing,” Maureen replied.
“Maureen and I have tickets for the Ed Sullivan show this Sunday. We can’t wait to see The Rocking Tones play live.”
“Are you two going?” asked Maureen.
“No. We lost out on that one,” replied Cindy.
“Too bad. We’re really looking forward to seeing play in the flesh,” said Mickey.
“So, we saw you being escorted by those two security guards. Did you sneak into the music hall?” Maureen asked.
“Yeah, we work as part-time reporters for the Cambridge Chronicle,” replied Danny.
“We were hoping to write an article about The Rocking Tones for our big break into journalism,” Cindy added.
“Too bad they tossed you out of there,” said Mickey.
Danny and Cindy silently prayed they would have better luck at the next concert. Then Danny looked at Mickey and Maureen sitting side by side. He was urged to sit next to Maureen but shrugged off that feeling, as he was too chicken to scoot closer to her.
“Mickey here wants to be a famous writer. He’s actually good and likes writing mysteries,” Maureen told Danny and Cindy.
It took Danny a few seconds, but then it dawned on him that he had bought Mickey’s book in 2014. But he did not want to spill the beans, so he shut his mouth.
It was a quiet drive while Mickey drove his Bel-Air through the streets of Buffalo.
Then Mickey reached over and turned on the AM radio.
The Mary Wells’ “My Guy” song was played on the radio station.
“As a matter of opinion, I think he’s top; my opinion is he’s the cream of the crop,” Maureen sang. Then she kissed Mickey on his cheek. She rested her head on his shoulder. He placed his arm around her shoulder.
Maureen continued to hum along with the song.
Danny and Cindy glanced at each other for a second. Then they both stared out their door windows. Danny wanted to slide beside her and place his arm around her shoulder. “She doesn’t want me for that reason,” he thought to himself, then returned to watching the nighttime view of Buffalo drive by.
While Danny glanced out his window, Cindy turned and glanced at him quickly, wondering why Danny had not tried to take her out on a date. She shrugged it off and went back to looking out her window.
It was Monday and three in the morning.
Mickey drove his Bel-Air down Troy Schenectady Road.
Bobby Goldsboro’s song “See the Funny Little Clown” played on the radio.
Mickey yawned.
Maureen rested her head on Mickey’s shoulder. She yawned.
In the backseat, Danny yawned, then Cindy yawned.
Mickey’s eyes started to drift closed while he drove down the road. His eyelids closed shut. The Bel-Air started drifting over to the left into the other lane.
Mickey’s eyes opened. It took a few seconds for it to dawn on him that he was in the other lane. His eyes widened in a little shock. He quickly moved the car back into his lane. “We need a place to sleep before we hit a tree or another car,” he said.
Danny, Cindy, and Maureen all nodded in agreement while they yawned.
A few minutes later, Mickey turned onto Old River Road, which ran parallel to the Mohawk River.
A little while later, Mickey found the perfect spot to pull over for the rest of the night.
He parked his car with the front end facing the Mohawk River and turned off the engine. He yawned a big yawn. “Sure could use my comfy bed right now,” he said.
“Me too,” Maureen said while she cuddled next to him.
Danny and Cindy looked at each other, smiled, rested their heads against their door windows, and closed their eyes.
It was 6:50 in the morning, and the sun started peaking above the horizon.
Inside Michael’s Bel-Air, he and Maureen were cuddled in the front seat, sound asleep.
In the backseat, Danny and Cindy were both sound asleep and slowly started to lean toward each other.
It was peaceful and quiet in the car.
A light tap on Mickey’s door window was heard.
Everybody still stayed asleep. The light tap turned into a knock on the door window. Everybody still stayed asleep. The knock on the window got louder.
Danny woke up to that sound and looked at his window.
He jumped up in a panic the second he saw a chubby middle-aged police officer in a black-on-black uniform with a white tie standing next to Mickey’s car door. “The police are outside the car,” he called out in a bit of a panic.
Mickey, Maureen, and Cindy all woke up and saw the cop standing out beside Mickey’s door with his billy club in his right hand, lightly tapping it against the palm of his left hand. He appeared mighty impatient.
Mickey rolled down his window. “Yes, officer.”
Officer Gerry Glass looked down at Mickey with a look that he had power. “Why are you parked here?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, officer. We drove from Buffalo, and I got tired, so I pulled over to get some sleep,” Mickey replied and got nervous.
“Drove from Buffalo. And where are you headed?”
Officer Glass asked while he continued to tap his billy club against the palm of his hand.
“To Cohoes. We’re fans of The Rocking Tones, and hopefully, we can get tickets for their concert at the music hall,”
replied Mickey.
Officer Glass quieted quietly, his billy club against his hand.
“The Rocking Tones,” he said while he took another glance at Maureen, Danny, and Cindy. “I need to see some identification,” he said.
Mickey removed his wallet while Maureen opened up her purse.
Danny and Cindy looked worried as they only had their fake reporter identifications.
Mickey and Maureen handed Officer Glass their driver’s licenses.
Danny and Cindy hesitated, and Officer Glass noticed, so he glared at the two in the backseat.
Danny removed his wallet and removed his reporter’s ID.
Cindy handed Danny her reporter’s ID. He rolled down his window and handed Officer Glass their ID.
Officer Glass looked at the two identifications. “You don’t have a driver’s license?”” he asked Danny and Cindy.
“Not with us, sir. We weren’t planning on driving,” said Danny, getting really nervous. He wondered if the officer would search his pants.
“We’re reporters trying to do a story on The Rocking Tones. We’re hitching rides to their concerts to save money,”
Cindy added sounding sincere.
“Our boss did not give us a large expense account for this story,” added Danny.
“I see,” Officer Glass said while he looked at the identifications. “I’ll be right back,” he said, then headed off to his squad car parked in the back of Mickey’sBel-Air.
“I hate The Rocking Tones,” Officer Glass muttered while he walked over to his black and white 1963 Dodge Polara police cruiser. He opened up his door and sat behind the wheel. He called his dispatcher to see if there were any warrants on the kids or if the Bel-Air was reported stolen.
After waiting a few minutes, the dispatcher replied that everything was clean.
Mickey, Maureen, Danny, and Cindy got nervous inside the Bel-Air.
Danny and Cindy, especially because they figured they would be locked in a nut house for being crazy if they said they had time-traveled from 2014.
Officer Glass walked back up to Mickey’s door. “You can go, but the next time, get a motel room. The residents of Cohoes would love the revenue,” he said, then handed Mickey the four IDs.
“Yes, officer. We will,” Mickey replied while he took the IDs.
While Officer Glass returned to his cruiser, Mickey returned everybody’s IDs.
Danny and Cindy sighed a sigh of relief. They had never planned on the chance meeting with a 1964 police officer.
Mickey started up his Bel-Air. The song “Java” by Al Hurt played on the radio.
Mickey looked in his rearview mirror and saw Officer Glass’ cruiser back onto Old River Road. He then drove off, heading east toward the town of Cohoes.
Mickey backed his car up Old River Road. He drove off and headed east toward Cohoes, following Officer Glass’s cruiser.
While Officer Glass drove down the street, he glanced in his rearview mirror to check on Mickey’s Bel-Air.
“I hate that rock and roll music. It’s going to ruin the country,” he said and hated it when his teenage daughters would repeatedly play those Beatles 45 records. “I want to hold your hand. What a stupid song,”” he said, then paused. “I want to hold your hand,” he sang out in a mocking manner of The Beatles while he pulled his cruiser off to the left into the grass for another spot by the Mohawk River.
He watched while Mickey’s Bel-Air drove past him. Then, he repositioned his car so he could surprise the speeders on Old River Road.
It was quiet inside Mickey’s Bel-Air while he drove down the road.
“And I thought for sure he was going to arrest us,” Mickey said. “Me too,” replied Danny.
Then Mickey’s stomach growled loudly.
Maureen looked at him. “Guess it’s time to find a breakfast place.
Danny and Cindy nodded in agreement as their stomachs also growled a little.
A little while later, Mickey, Maureen, Danny, and Cindy sat at a booth inside Jimmy’s Home Style Cooking restaurant on the outskirts of the town of Cohoes. Danny and Cindy were
surprised by the breakfast prices but then remembered that they were fifty years old and were relative to salaries earned in 1964.
After they had their breakfast, Danny, Cindy, and Mickey talked with Maureen out by the Bel-Air in the restaurant parking lot. The Rocking Tones bus drove down the street to the right and caught Maureen’s eye. “Here they are,” she called out, looking excited.
Danny, Cindy, and Mickey looked and saw the bus.
“Let’s find out where they’re staying,” Mickey said as he opened his driver’s door.
Maureen, Danny, and Cindy got inside the Bel-Air while Mickey started the engine.
He shoved his car in reverse and backed out in the driveway, then put it in drive and stomped on the gas pedal.
The second he got to the entrance of the parking lot, he made a fast turn to the right onto Harrison Avenue. Two car horns blew, and four tires screeched while they missed smacking into the rear of Mickey’sBel-Air.
Mickey raced his Bel-Air down the street with the rear of The Rocking Tones bus still in sight up ahead.
After numerous turns on other streets, Mickey drove his Bel-Air down Mohawk Avenue. They lost sight of the bus.
“I know they turned down this street,” he said while they searched for the bus.
“It’s over at that Holiday Inn,” Maureen called out the second she saw the bus parked by the rear of the Holiday Inn.
Mickey drove a little farther down Mohawk and turned right into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn.
They parked near the front office.
“How are you going to approach them?” Maureen asked Danny and Cindy while she glanced over her left shoulder at the back seat.
Danny and Cindy looked clueless at each other.
“We haven’t figured out that part yet,” Danny replied.
“We’re Going to get a room at that Motel Six that the waitress told us about, Mickey said, then winked at Maureen
“Do you want to also get a room there?” Maureen asked Danny and Mindy.
Danny and Mindy looked at each other.
“I think we can get a room here,” she replied, giving Danny a little smile.
“Yeah, we’ll try to get a room here,” he replied.
“Well, if you can’t because the band is staying here, come over to that Motel Six on Barton Avenue,” offered Mickey.
“If you’re successful, don’t forget to mention us in your article,” said Maureen.
“We won’t,” replied Danny, then motioned to Cindy that they should leave.
“Thank you for giving us a ride. You don’t know how much you helped us,” Cindy said.
“Yes, we would have been stuck in Buffalo if you hadn’t been so kind,” Danny added.
“Think nothing of it, and if you ever make it up to Brooklyn, look us up,” offered Mickey.
“We will,” replied Danny.
After a few seconds of shaking hands, Danny and Cindy exited MMickey’sBel-Air.
Mickey and Maureen watched while Danny and Cindy headed off to the front entrance of the three-story Holiday Inn.
“There’s something about Chris and Sally that seems really odd,” Mickey said.
“I know what you mean. I feel the same, but I can’t put my finger on it. It’s almost like they’re a little lost or something,”
Maureen added.
Mickey thought about what she said for a few seconds.
Then, his eyes lit up with an idea. “I have an idea for my first mystery novel. It’s about a couple lost on the road, and they’re trying to prevent a murder or maybe trying to catch a murderer,”
he replied and thought about what he had just said. The more he thought about it, the more he liked that idea. “Yeah, I’ll call it The Lost Couple.”
“I like that idea,” Maureen replied and scooted over to Mickey’s side.
“I’ll start jotting down some plot ideas after we get a motel room,” Mickey replied while he shoved his car in drive and drove away.
Maureen nodded in agreement while Mickey pulled back onto Mohawk Avenue and drove away down the street.
The two Chevrolet G10 vans driven by Tom and Kenny pulled into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn.
They drove around to the rear of the hotel, where the bus was parked.
A little while later, Danny and Cindy managed to get two rooms on the first floor with a perfect view of the pool area.
“How are we going to approach them?” Danny asked the second Cindy arrived in his room so they could plan their move.
She sat down on his bed.
Danny sat down next to her.
Cindy digested that question for a few seconds. “I guess I could sit at the pool, read a book, and maybe one of them will notice me,” she said, and the more she thought about the plan, the more she liked it.
Danny thought about her plan for a few seconds. He frowned a little. “I don’t know; I read that they always have female fans in their rooms. It could be dangerous,” he said.
“We can’t go around knocking on all the rooms of the Holiday Inn. The manager will eventually throw us out on the street,”” she replied.
Danny hesitated for a while before giving his approval.
“You don’t have a book,” he said, and he hated that idea.
“Actually, I bought one that was published in sixty-four. I thought it would help with our cover,” she replied.
“Please be careful.”
“Don’t worry, I have you here to protect me,” she said, then got up from his bed.
Danny looked jealous at the thought of one of The Rocking Tones flirting with Cindy.
Cindy left the room.
Danny immediately went to the window and peeked out the curtain. He had a good view of the swimming pool area.
A few minutes passed, and Cindy sat in a chaise lounge chair in the pool area. She was alone, as it was a little too cool to swim in the pool.
She opened up her “The Clocks” mystery novel by Agatha Christie and started reading.
While he read her book, she would occasionally glance up at the rooms of the Holiday Inn, looking for any signs of one of The Rocking Tones peeking at her from their windows.
She was disappointed when she saw nobody taking a peek from any of the rooms.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Cindy was still the only person in the pool area.
Another thirty minutes had passed, and Cindy was still the only person in the pool area.
An hour passed, and Cindy was still alone in the chaise lounge chair at the pool. Her eyes started to drift closed, and this was completely boring. She started to believe this was a stupid plan and would not work.
Her eyes closed. Her hands relaxed, and her book fell to the concrete. She did not notice that while she started to drift off to sleep.
“Miss, you dropped your book,” a male voice was heard while Cindy started to sleep.
She felt someone tap her shoulder. “Miss, you dropped your book,” the male voice called out again.
Cindy opened her eyes and saw a young man wearing a black Fedora hat and black-framed Ray-Ban sunglasses. “You dropped your book, darling,” Sig said while he held up her book.
It took Cindy a few seconds to dawn on her that one of The Rocking Tones took her bait.
“Oh, thank you, I guess I fell asleep,” she replied.
Sig looked at the cover. “The Clocks by Agatha Christie.
Is it any good?” he asked, then handed her the book.
“So far, but I just started with the first chapter,” she replied, took the book, and gave him a warm smile.
“And who might you be?” Sig asked while he sat in the chaise lounge chair beside her. He removed a Winston cigarette from his pack. He lit the cigarette and took a drag.
“I’m, ah, I’m Sally Duke,” she replied, and for a second, she almost goofed and gave him her real name.
“So Sally Duke, where are you from?” asked Sig.
“Cambridge.”
“Ah, Cambridge.”
There were a few brief seconds of silence between them.
From across the pool area, Danny’s head was visible, spying out of the window curtains from his room.
“You’re Sig from The Rocking Tones, right?”
“The one and only at your service. So, Sally, what do you do in Cambridge?”
“I’m a reporter for the Cambridge Chronicle and a student at MIT.”
“Are you here for a story in Cohoes?”
“Well, yes, I hoped my coworker and I could do a story about your band. It would be a huge break for us since we’re studying journalism,” she replied, giving him a warm smile and hopeful eyes.
Sig thought about her reply for a few seconds. “What kind of story?”
“We thought it would be good for an article on how your band started. And what it’s like to be on the road going from concert to concert.”
“That would be the kind of publicity that would help us.
Our current manager has been slacking off with some good PR