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Post by Tim on May 13, 2020 11:33:52 GMT -5
Glad they got papers for Rudy. He would have had a heck of a job explaining his true age (he would have been in his 70's by then, I think).
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on May 15, 2020 8:03:41 GMT -5
This is where they go: Canyon of the AncientChapter 6
After an hour the mountains flattened out and gave way to scrub and desert. But the desert wasn't ugly or barren; in fact, quite the opposite. The golden and orange sand contrasted with the cloudless blue sky, the occasional clump of tumbleweed and tussock grass adding a touch of green to the desert. "Mommy, this looks like the Eagles album", said Kayla. As if on cue, Peaceful Easy Feeling from the Eagles first album played over the radio: "Hah, you must be a good predictor", teased Linnea. "Yeah, like the Amazing Kreskin. He's awesome", said Kayla. "Kreskin is a TV magician who predicts things", Linnea explained. "Ah, a fortune teller. There was an old woman in our town who told fortunes, many of the young girls saw her. My sister saw her and the old woman claimed she would marry a Frenchman, which is what happened but since our Mama was French, it wasn't much of a prediction", he said with a shrug. "You're starting to fit in, since you're not using so much pomade on your hair and you're wearing jeans", she said. "I have noticed on the TV that men don't use pomade or slick down their hair. Perhaps I will grow my hair long and a mustache like the fellows in the Eagles", Rudy joked. "Maybe, most men out here have long hair and facial hair. In the East not as much, but it's more common out West", said Linnea. They arrived at Canyon of the Ancients National Park and Linnea followed the signs to the parking lot. The wheels crunched under the gravel in the lot as she parked the truck and they got out. Ahead of them was a low adobe building which housed the visitor's center as she paid the entrance fee and took two maps. "This is for later", she said as she bought three bottles of water from a vending machine. The coolness of the air conditioning was a relief after the heat of the desert outside. The center itself wasn't very comprehensive as there were only a few dioramas and models of the pueblo under glass, complete with tiny fiberglass people and animals. "Mesa Verde in Nevada is bigger, plus it's near Las Vegas", said Linnea as they gazed at one of the dioramas. It portrayed one of the pueblos with the tiny figures engaged in all sorts of activities such as grinding corn, making pottery and herding fiberglass sheep. "Butch went here with us last year and he was criticizing the displays and said they were inaccurate. His wife, my sister-in-law, Donna is Comanche. Her father is Comanche and her mother is white", she explained. "Were they the Indians with the big feathers?", he asked. "First of all, the correct term is Native American. And yes, the Plains tribes wore the big headdresses", she replied. "Because they were here before Columbus, si? Lo siento, but the only ones I am familiar with are the ones in the cowboy films", he said. "You're still learning", she said reassuringly. Rudy raised an eyebrow when she bought a blue baseball cap from the souvenir stand but he understood when they went back outside. The sun seemed to be shining brighter out here than when they had entered the visitor's center and the cap protected his face. The trails were filled with gravel and lined by scrubby grass and pint-sized cacti, the sky a very vivid and cloudless azure. "You must stay on the path because if you go off it, you can get lost and destroy the plant life", she explained. There were a few other families taking a guided tour as the trio joined them. The ranger nodded in acknowledgment as he started to talk about the history of the area while they walked. The pueblos were in fairly good shape except for a few bricks missing from the upper walls, many of the buildings with a wooden ladder leaning against them. The contrast between the well-preserved pueblos and the emptiness felt like an abandoned movie set after the crew had left, a feeling Rudy knew very well. He wondered exactly how bad the drought must have been if the people were willing to leave behind such a city. "I'm tired, Mommy", murmured Kayla. "I know, we walked a lot. You can rest in the truck until we get to Handlebar Sam's", said Linnea. "Yah!", squealed Kayla. "That's a restaurant in Ironton, 15 minutes from the house. I'll be too tired to cool", she explained.
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Post by Tim on May 15, 2020 11:42:47 GMT -5
We're they calling them Native Americans in the 70's?
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on May 15, 2020 11:48:17 GMT -5
We're they calling them Native Americans in the 70's? Yeah, that’s when there was more awareness of Native Americans and people realized how badly they had been treated, along with movements like the AIM and films like Billy Jack. Linnea’s sister in law is from the Comanche tribe so she would know that Native American would be the proper term, not Indians. In Canada, Native Americans are called First Nations?
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Post by Tim on May 15, 2020 12:03:24 GMT -5
They are.
I thought they didn't start calling them Native Americans until the 90's.
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on May 15, 2020 12:17:19 GMT -5
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Post by Tim on May 15, 2020 16:43:44 GMT -5
Ah, I didn't know that.
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on May 19, 2020 7:38:52 GMT -5
Chapter 7
It was still bright as they headed back, the sun and sky bright as midday. Kayla had fallen asleep in the backseat and Rudy made sure she was strapped in beforehand, the desert scenery still stunning as it had been the way here. "If you like the desert, you would really like Utah and Arizona. Their deserts are spectacular, Utah has Bryce Canyon and the Arches, Arizona has the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest and Native American reservations. Near Amarillo is the Palo Duro Canyon, which is only a little smaller than the Grand Canyon", said Linnea.
"Palo Duro, hard wood. You will learn to say it in proper Spanish", he teased.
"Hah, I'm American and I learned to say that the American way. Maybe I should teach you to speak like a Texan", she laughed.
Rudy just chuckled and continued watching the desert as it passed by the truck. Nearly an hour and a half later, Linnea turned off the exit for Ironton and parked in the lot of a restaurant. "Mr. Rudy, this place is really cool", said Kayla as she tugged on his shirt.
Rudy understood when they went inside. The décor in the foyer as they waited for a table was cowboy Western bordering on kitsch. Over the doorway was a stuffed deer head whose glassy black eyes gazed down impassively at the customers. The brown wooden walls were adorned by framed photographs of cowboys and desert landscapes in the style of Frederick Remington and portraits of cowboys and Native American chiefs in their regalia. Next to the podium was a wooden cigar store Indian holding a box of Phillies cigars who wore a vivid red and white carved headdress which resembled feathers, his reproachful look aimed right at the eye level of naughty children.
"Hello, welcome to Handlebar Sam's. Table for three?", asked the teenage girl at the podium.
Linnea nodded as the girl took three menus and led them inside. Rudy tried not to stare since the main room of the restaurant had more cowboy paintings, portraits of Native Americans and stuffed animal heads than the foyer. The waitresses wore cutoff jean shorts topped off by low-cut plaid blouses which exposed their midriffs, the ensemble completed by cowboy hats and stacked-heel cowboy boots.
Although Linnea had been here before many times with Kayla, this was the first time she'd been here with a man. The pretty waitresses in their sexy cowgirl outfits suddenly made her uncomfortable as her cheeks turned pink. "Aren't the cowgirls pretty, Mommy?", asked Linnea.
Linnea could only nod as the waitress came over with a tray of lemonades and took their orders. Rudy was shocked at first when he saw the waitresses in their sexy cowgirl outfits and wondered if they had accidentally went to a bordello, until he saw the families with children. He realized that dress standards had evolved in nearly fifty years, remembering when he was a teenager trying to see women's ankles under their long skirts. Rudy mused to himself that perhaps she seen the restaurant through his eyes, having been used to it that she didn't realize the waitress outfits would have been seen as very skimpy to him.
"Lo siento, Linnea", he whispered.
Linnea looked startled, her eyes wide and the color of polished turquoise. "I've come here so often with Kayla that I didn't realize this place would look strange to you", she said.
"I have heard of women cowgirls, but they didn't look quite like this. And the waitresses at my favorite Italian restaurant in Los Angeles were older ladies, not quite so pretty", he chuckled.
Linnea gave him a wan smile and took a sip of lemonade. Kayla was busy coloring the paper mat which had a horse grazing, her tongue stuck out in concentration as she painted the horse a vivid golden color. "Mommy, this is trigger from the Roy Rogers show", she said.
"Roy Rogers is a singing cowboy on TV, I watched his show as a kid and its on TV in reruns. That means the show isn't made with new episodes, but it's still on TV with old episodes", she explained.
"Trigger is a pretty horse, when we go to Uncle Butch and Aunt's Donna's house I get to ride on a pony. Colorado has too many mountains to ride horses", said Kayla as she colored the horse's mane snowy white.
"Butch runs the family ranch, he raises cows and Arabian horses. I grew up riding horses but here riding a horse is impractical", said Linnea.
"I have not ridden a horse in months", he said.
"I know, you're a natural. It didn't look as though you used a double", she said.
'No, I rode my own horse. I have been riding horses since I was a child in Apulia, my first horse was named Neri because he was black with white socks. I would have bought a horse but Los Angeles is too crowded", he laughed.
"Saturdays have cowboy movies on TV, it's going to rain according to the weatherman. Tonight we stay up to see The Midnight Special and sleep in Saturday morning", she said as the waitress arrived with their food.
Rudy was surprised that Kayla had a cheeseburger with fries for dinner, since he never had hand-held food for dinner. "It's common, at least in the US. In Sweden, sandwiches and burgers are lunch food. It must be a European thing", said Linnea as she carefully used a spoon to open her chicken pot pie.
Rudy nodded in understanding as he started on his steak. The two chatted amiably as the dinner progressed, the waitress refilling their glasses with lemonade. "Mommy, can we have desert?", asked Kayla.
Linnea saw that Kayla had eaten everything except for a few fries. "All right. Rudy, do you want to share the bread pudding?", she asked as he nodded.
Kayla eagerly ate her ice cream with chocolate syrup while the adults shared a plate of bread pudding. "One day I will make dinner", he said.
"You can cook?", she asked in disbelief.
"Si, it's very relaxing at the end of the day to cook dinner, use my hands. Especially since I did not like American food", he replied.
"Sorry if that sounded rude, but no guy I know can cook", she said, remembering how her ex-husband refused to ever set foot in the kitchen.
"Ah, I find that American are like that", he teased.
Linnea giggled nervously and a pink blush formed on her cheeks. She was grateful when the waitress arrived with their check as she reached for her wallet. "I will get a jog and pay you back, Linnea", he vowed.
"You don't have to, Rudy. I want to help, but I understand", she said softly.
They arrived back at the house fifteen minutes later as Kayla went to turn on the TV. "Kayla, wash your hands", she reminded her daughter.
The local TV news was showing the weather report for western Colorado. Rudy was mesmerized by the big map on the TV which showed the temperatures in different colors, the weatherman a fat guy in a hideous mustard yellow suit and an equally hideous brown toupee which looked as though he had a dead animal atop his head. "I would be embarrassed to appear like that in public", he said in distaste.
"Unfortunately, he is a meteorologist and few want to work for a small local station. And he said it's going to be sunny and 70F tomorrow", she said.
The weather report was followed by a short clip about the Denver Broncos training camp and highlights from local Little League games. "Denver and Boulder are on the other end of the state so the local news covers Little League games. Amarillo's the same way", she said with a laugh.
"It's different, I think I like it. I grew up in a small town and then I lived in New York and Los Angeles. I was poor in New York and rich in Los Angeles, at first it was exciting. But I got sick of it, I grew up in the country and I missed it", said Rudy with a frown.
"I know, I grew up on the ranch and then when I went to college in Boulder, I thought it was huge. But Ouray is like Palo Verde, the nearest town to the ranch and where we went to school", she said.
"Your pronunciation needs work, Linnea. The Spaniards probably found a lot of young trees", he mused aloud.
"Perhaps, they named a lot of stuff in the Southwest", she agreed.
The trio sat down on the couch and killed some time by watching their local TV channel which showed syndicated reruns of Rawhide, Bonanza and Have Gun Will Travel. "Cowboy and Western shows are very popular around here, so the local channel brought these shows. They're syndicated which means that any TV station can show them whenever they want", she explained.
The gritty realism of Rawhide contrasted with the color of Bonanza and the dashing demeanor of Paladin in Have Gun Will Travel. Rudy was fascinated with them all but he found he liked Paladin the best, the elegant private detective living in the plush hotel turned gunfighter for hire a fascinating character. He watched as Paladin received a telegram in his luxurious hotel room and how in the next scene, he was dressed all in black on a train headed to Nebraska. Paladin had been hired by a young widow whose husband had been killed by Confederate renegades while on a business trip to St. Louis for being a Yankee, charming the bar owner of their hangout. The episode culminated in with Paladin using his Kung Fu moves on the gang and getting them arrested by the local sheriff and deputy, then heading back to San Francisco to tell the widow.
"I like this Paladin fellow, he has a real code of honor and helped that poor lady. And I like the Roland reference", he chuckled.
"Of course, Roland, Charlemagne and the paladins. This was one of my favorite shows as a kid, Butch is also into cowboy shows and western films and shows. That's what happens when you grow up in Texas", she laughed.
The local channel showed the news at 11 followed by two reruns of Gunsmoke and then a Gene Autry film, the singing cowboy having a large fan base around here. Kayla had dozed off but she woke up immediately when she heard Wolfman Jack and the opening notes of the theme song, Midnight Special as performed by Johnny Rivers. "Mommy, the Doobie Brothers!", she exclaimed.
Linnea smiled at her daughter as they focused on the show. Wolfman Jack wore a tuxedo which contrasted with his slicked down black hair and goatee, his deep raspy voice well-known to radio listeners from his work on the megawatt Mexican stations. He introduced the evening's guest host, the Texan songwriter Mac Davis, who then introduced the first musical guest, the Doobie Brothers. Kayla got up to dance when the Doobie Brothers performed and Rudy thought they were an odd-looking bunch with their long hair and beards, longer than on anyone any woman. Before this show, such long hair would have looked effeminate but on these men it looked scary and menacing as a group of outlaws. Their music actually wasn't very loud or extreme but quite catchy and easy to dance to, the two percussionists creating a rhythm that made the crowd dance:
The final act was the Texan country singer Waylon Jennings. Rudy noticed Linnea frowning and she looked resolutely at Jennings while ignoring the other members of the band. Jennings had a fine baritone voice as he played guitar and sang about Luckenbach Texas, wanting to settle there with his family:
"Time for bed, Kayla", she said when the show finished. She took her daughter upstairs and laid her down on the bed before facing him. "My ex-husband is the guitarist in Waylon's band, Jim McCarty. Johnson is my maiden name", she said.
"I saw how you didn't look at him", he said.
"He's Waylon's guitar player, Waylon is a good guy but I'd rather not talk about Jim. Good night", she said.
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Post by Tim on May 19, 2020 11:15:30 GMT -5
What is Linnea's problem with Waylon Jennings?
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on May 19, 2020 11:26:22 GMT -5
What is Linnea's problem with Waylon Jennings? It’s not Waylon Jennings, her ex-husband is the guitarist in his backup band. She has no problem with Jennings, it’s her ex-husband who’s in his band.
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Post by Tim on May 19, 2020 23:38:43 GMT -5
Ah, thanks for clearing that up.
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on May 24, 2020 9:19:02 GMT -5
Chapter 8
Rudy was surprised when he woke up the following morning and saw Kayla already had the TV on, watching a cartoon where a black cat chased around a yellow bird. "Hi, Mr. Rudy. That's Sylvester and Tweety, Saturday morning they show cartoons", she explained.
"Should I wake up your mother?", he asked.
"Mommy's tired from watching Midnight Special, Saturday's I watch cartoons and get my own breakfast. I can have Lucky Charms", she said eagerly.
Rudy made coffee in the Mr. Coffee machine and sighed in relief when the coffee poured into the little glass pitcher. "The weather man says its gonna rain later, so Mommy's taking us to the library. I read my books already, and you can get a library card and read lots of cowboy books like Mommy", said Kayla.
Rudy made himself a cup of coffee which was about a half a cup with just a drop of milk and a pinch of sugar. "Eww, coffee is yucky", said Kayla as she made a face.
"Adults drink coffee to wake up in the mornings, Signorina Kayla. Children aren't supposed to drink it", he teased.
"Maybe, Grandpa and Mormor drink a lot of coffee", said Kayla with a shrug.
Rudy drank his coffee and watched as Kayla found a bright red box with a leprechaun on the front and poured the cereal into a bowl, the pieces a mix of tan wheat and brightly colored marshmallows. "These are Lucky Charms, those are marshmallows", she explained before pouring milk into the bowl.
Rudy made a mental note to ask Linnea about her daughter's breakfast as he sipped the coffee. He was even more surprised when Kayla sprawled out on her belly in front of the TV to watch cartoons and eat. Sipping his coffee, he recalled the formality of weekend breakfasts at his childhood home, the family seated stiffly at the table in the parlor as the maid served the food. Certainly those breakfasts didn't have marshmallow cereal nor could there lounge about while eating.
Rudy watched her for a few minutes and wondered how casual people had gotten in nearly fifty years. "My family didn't eat like that, Signorina Kayla", he teased.
"Yeah, Mormor says the same thing. You can't get Lucky Charms in Sweden, Mormor makes oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins. It's gross", said Kayla, making a face.
"Kayla, Swedish supermarkets don't have American products", chided Linnea.
"Good morning, Mommy. Mr. Rudy said they don't have Lucky Charms in Italy either", said Kayla as she shoveled a large spoon of Lucky Charms into her mouth.
Rudy finished the coffee and rinsed out his cup in the sink while Linnea went to the bathroom. He picked up the box of Lucky Charms and tried to read the ingredient list on the side. He had trouble reading the list as it was mostly oddly-named things with vaguely scientific sounds, wondering if one of the authors of Weird Tales had invented these ingredients. "Linnea, is this safe to eat?", he asked, showing her the box.
"Yes, food scientists test the products to make sure they're safe. If it causes sickness in animals, it can't be used. The scientists test the food chemicals on rats and mice since they're mammals, you can't test on humans", she explained.
"But those ingredients look as though they were dreamed up by the writers from Weird Tales", he protested.
"They're perfectly safe. You read Weird Tales?", she asked.
"Yes, I had my agent buy them so fans couldn't see. I always liked adventure stories since I was a boy, I really liked the Conan stories by Mr. Howard and the ones by Mr. Lovecraft, especially Dagon. That poor man who got stranded on that island and went mad", he said, shaking his head.
"When we go to the library, you can apply for a card. I think they may have the Conan books, I'm not sure if they have Lovecraft", she replied.
"I have a lot of time, or should I say had. With being on the train and in between takes, I read Weird Tales and adventure books to improve my reading English. But I prefer to read Dumas in French, the translations aren't very good in English", he said.
Linnea made a quick breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs. "I read mostly in English, and I like Mexican cowboy books which I read in Spanish. I have to order them through the interlibrary system, mostly from Pueblo since they have a library with a lot of Spanish books. Cloudy days like this are a good time to read a good book, I already did the cleaning Wednesday", she said.
After breakfast Linnea went to take a shower as Rudy did the dishes, the simple chore one that he remembered from Falcon's Lair since there were too few dishes for the servants to wash. He dried the dishes and put them away as he wondered if the family went to church on Sundays, reminding himself that he hadn't been to a church in years. Linnea came back downstairs wearing a denim skirt which fell to her knees and a Doobie Brothers t-shirt as Rudy suddenly felt the blood rise in his face. The skirt revealed her legs which were bare under the skirt except for white ankle socks, realizing he had never seen a woman's bare legs in public since woman wore stockings. "Are you all right?", she asked, concern in her blue eyes.
"Si, Linnea. I will have to get used to this", he mumbled.
Linnea got Kayla dressed into a pair of jeans and a sparkly pink t-shirt with a unicorn on the front and pink sneakers. "Isn't it pretty, Mr. Rudy? Mommy got it from K-Mart", said Kayla.
"Si, son una camisa bella, Signorina Kayla", he said.
Rudy wondered if his nieces ever wore sparkly shirts as he looked down at his own outfit. He wore a pair of Levi Wranglers and a flannel shirt in a red and black plaid with white sneakers and socks from K-Mart, chuckling to himself when he thought he looked like a cowboy. Linnea handed him a wallet and he looked inside. "This is your driver's license, you need it to do many things", she said.
Rudy nodded as he looked at his license inside the wallet shielded by a thin strip of plastic. The picture looked like him and his name as Rudy Guglielmi, born on May 11, 1943, height 5'9, weight 170 lbs, hair black and eyes brown, with the license being issued in Texas. "Soon, you'll have to go Grand Junction DMV and get a Colorado license", she said.
"Then I will learn how to drive your truck", he pointed out.
'I know, it might be easier to drive since most transmissions are automatic so you don't need to constantly switch between gears", she said.
Rudy was surprised that they walked instead of driving in the truck. "Ouray is a very small town and the library is only a few streets away, the school is one block away from the library. It's only a ten minute walk", she explained.
It was about half-cloud and half-sunny as they walked towards the library. The town had the neat little houses and backyard lawns of a movie set except with glimpses of real life. In one front yard an old woman watered rosebushes while in another several young children in bare feet and shorts chased each other, shrieking happily.
"Hey Kayla, you going to my party next week?", asked the boy.
"Yeah, Jason. This is Mommy's friend, Mr. Rudy. Uncle Butch sent him here and he's from Italy", said Kayla.
Jason's eyes went wide. "Wow, cool! Do you make pizza, Mr. Rudy?", he asked.
Rudy chuckled. "No, but I do like to cook spaghetti. And I hope Kayla enjoys your party", he replied.
"That's Jason and his sister Jennifer, Jason's in my class. I'm going to his birthday party next week, Jennifer's too little to go to school. Mommy already got him a present", said Kayla.
"I see. Is it common for young American children to have a party every year on their birthdays? I don't remember having a big party until I was thirteen, my birthday and my confirmation were in the same week", said Rudy.
"Okay, here in the US most kids have a birthday party every year unless they're Jehovah's Witnesses. Kayla's birthday is on December 19, since it's a school day I send a box of cupcakes to her class", said Linnea.
"I see. I would have liked that. When is your birthday?", he asked.
"January 3", she replied.
Rudy just nodded as he filed away this bit of information. Just down the street was the town's library, a two-story brick building with plaster columns out front. Inside it had the same bright fluorescent lights as the K-Mart and he wondered if these lights were dreamed up in some alien laboratory to torment humans. The library was mostly empty except for a group of children listening to an old woman read a story and several old men reading newspapers, the library itself seemingly consisting of old ladies with blue-rinsed hair and glasses.
Linnea went up to the front desk so the librarian could check in their books. "Signora, I would like to apply for a library card", he said.
The elderly blue-haired lady blushed and giggled. "Oh my, I love your accent. And you remind me of Valentino, I loved his films. It was such a shame", she said, shaking her head.
"Si, Signora", he agreed.
"Fill in this form and I need to see an ID", she said.
Rudy nodded and filled out the form. "Oh, were you named after him?", she asked.
"Si, Signora. My parents loved his films , he was from the same part of Italy as my family and his house is a little museum", he replied.
"Of course, I suppose there aren't many other Italian film stars. Here is a temporary card and we will mail you the actual one and it should arrive sometime next week. You have a limit of six books for three weeks each", she said, handing him an orange card with his name on in.
"Grazie, Signora", he replied.
"Up here is the adult section, the nonfiction is to the right and fiction to the left. The fiction is in alphabetical order by author's last name and the nonfiction is numbered according to this chart", said Linnea as she pointed to a Dewey Decimal poster.
"I see. And you will be in the children's section with Kayla?", he asked.
"Yes, that's downstairs. Have fun", she chuckled.
Rudy smiled as he headed towards the adult fiction. The first part of the fiction section were paperback novels that were divided into crime, romances and Westerns. The first two he passed over and went straight to the Westerns as he dove right in. Many of the novels had lovely paintings of cowboys and horses as he flipped them over to read the backs, selecting two by Louis L'Amour and another by Zane Grey that sounded interesting. In a separate section were the science fiction and fantasy novels as he set down the Westerns to browse. Rudy remembered what Linnea had told him and went right to the L section. To his delight he saw several collections of Lovecraft stories as he checked the indexes. He selected one which had the stories he'd read in Weird Tales which also had a group of tales about something called Cthulhu as he went over to the H's. He found several anthologies of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian stories as selected two of them.
Rudy was ecstatic as he carried the books to the nonfiction section and used the Dewey Decimal system to find the American history books. He found a large hardcover book about the Wild West and outlaws with many photos as he took the pile of books to the front desk. "Goodness, that was quick, Mr. Guglielmi", said the old lady as she stamped the return date on the card inside each book. "If you want to come back in three weeks to renew them, I'll stamp them again. Enjoy", she said, placing the books inside a white plastic shopping bag.
He took the bag and went to the children's section. Rudy had to smile when he saw Kayla seated in a circle with other children as a volunteer lady read them a book, a puppet shaped like a lamb on her left hand. He chuckled when she made a bleating sound and the lamb puppet's mouth moved up and down as the kids giggled. "You may go check out books, I'll watch Kayla", he told Linnea.
Linnea nodded in thanks as Rudy went to sit down. The volunteer finished the book and used the lamb puppet to ask the children questions, using the bleating lamb voice. The children eagerly answered the questions and she had to remind them to raise their hands to prevent calling out. The next story she read was about a mama duck and her ducklings as the volunteer switched to a duck puppet, the children laughing in delight when she used the quacking duck voice.
"Did you like it, Mr. Rudy? Mommy already helped me get books, she's probably going to get more cowboy books. Those are boring 'cuz they don't have pictures", said Kayla.
"I did like it, I wish there was a library like this in my town when I was a boy. Children would get into less mischief", he said.
"I got a Dr. Seuss book, a book on rabbits, and a book on Sweden since Mormor is Swedish. I want to show you pictures of Sweden", she said.
"Grazie, Signorina Kayla", he said gallantly.
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Post by Tim on May 24, 2020 12:06:11 GMT -5
Valentino was living at the time that magazines such as Weird Tales wee coming out.
So, he's a Lovecraft fan.
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on May 24, 2020 12:34:37 GMT -5
Yeah, Weird Tales came out in the 20s. I figured he might have liked it since he was fond of adventure books and to practice his reading English, he had his assistant buy them since Weird Tales wasn’t something a sophisticated grownup was to seen reading.
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Post by Tim on May 24, 2020 23:36:21 GMT -5
Could be.
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