Tommy had some rock music blaring as they drove off. “What you think about this ride,” Tommy was really laying it on now. “They say they may not make the Seville model much longer, I think I’ll get me another one before they stop, I love it, not too big but still classy,” Tommy said this knowing he couldn’t pay for this one but still trying to impress the kid. “This won’t take us long, everything is set up, we just have to go in, do our job and get out, it’s a piece of cake,” Tommy up to now was the only one to speak. “What are we going to do?” ask Rudolph. “Just something our customer doesn’t want to do himself,” Tommy responded. “I got a guy that wants to get out of the paint business,” Tommy told Rudolph. “How you gonna help him do that,” ask Rudolph. “We’re going to encourage the fire insurance company buy him out, it’s just that simple,” Tommy said smugly. “What do you mean,” Rudolph was trying to use as few words as possible. “We’re going to start a fire in the plant that will burn like hell with all the paint they have sittin around,” Tommy told him, never taking his eyes off the road while gauging Rudolph’s reaction. “Can’t we get in trouble for that,” Rudolph had now started gauging Tommy’s reaction. “We won’t if we we’re smart in how we do it,” answered Tommy. “The difference kid is that I know what we’re doing, you understand”? Rudolph unknown to Tommy was not the least scared. He had no feeling either way about what they were going to do. He did not want to go to jail but aside from the good things that happened to him today jail would be no different than his previous fifteen years. He did have enough sense to want to know why Tommy thought they could pull it off without trouble. It was time for Tommy to show him how smart he was putting something together. “Why do you think this is going to be so easy,” Rudolph was ready to hear the plan; he needed no more selling. “The owner is the one who hired me,” Tommy started, “he’s gotten rid of all the security guards tonight and left the plant open for us to get in without any trouble. Nobody really cares, the insurance company will cover the loss, hell that’s what they are in business for, it’s really a no loss deal,” Tommy explained. “Besides with all that paint the place will practically burn itself, we just have to get it going,” Tommy was convincing himself as much as Rudolph and Rudolph knew it.
The two drove to a shopping center where Tommy had parked a small dark blue van type truck. Tommy had taken the truck from a used car lot just before picking Rudolph up earlier that evening. The owner of the lot was a friend of Tommy’s and needed an insurance loss himself to move the truck out of his inventory and would not report the truck as stolen until the next morning when he went to his lot. Tommy handed Rudolph two pair of white surgical gloves and told him to put them on and keep them on until they got back into this car later. Tommy told Rudolph they would put all their personal belongings into a bag and secured them in the trunk of the Seville. Rudolph took the only thing he had, the $20.00 bill Tommy had given him earlier out of his pocket and placed it into the bag along with Tommy’s wallet, some keys and a money clip that held the same roll Tommy flashed earlier when he bought Rudolph all his new ‘stuff’. Tommy opened the trunk using a small keypad located on the driver’s side of the car and placed the bag with all the personal belongings in the trunk, pushed tightly under the spare tire. As Rudolph got into the truck he was almost overcome with the smell of gasoline. Tommy had bought 50 gallons of Amoco white gas that afternoon and stored it in 10 five-gallon buckets. One of Tommy’s mentor’s once told him on a previous job the white gas from Amoco would not leave any residual evidence once it burned and he always used it for any arson job. Tommy had no idea whether white gas story was true or not but he was afraid not to use Amoco gas for this type of work. Tommy had parked the truck in this parking lot nearly two hours before; locked with the windows tightly rolled to the top, making the truck almost unbearable with fumes, a little problem he always seemed to forget. “Don’t light a match in here,” he said laughing at the situation he created. “Let the windows down and let’s get moving,” Rudolph said, acting much more level headed than Tommy. The two drove away from the parking lot with their heads hanging out the window until they were at least a mile from where they found the truck. The plant was over four miles from the shopping center. As they drove into a small industrial park Rudolph noticed a sign at the entrance that listed all the businesses located in the park. One of the businesses was ‘Coverall Coatings’, supposedly ‘Covering Pittsburgh and all of the Southwest Pennsylvania area’. Toward the backside of the park Rudolph finally saw the ‘Coverall Coatings’ building. It was the usual metal industrial building with an office, identified by the different roof design attached to the front and nearest the street. Sure enough there were no security guards anywhere in sight and the gate to a fenced area to the sides and back of the plant was chained but with the lock hanging open on the chain. Tommy told Rudolph to open the gate and to bring the lock back with him. As the chain link gate swung open Tommy pulled the truck through the fence and waited for Rudolph to get back inside the truck after pushing the gate to the closed position but without fastening it shut. They pulled slowly around the plant to a roll-up door on the backside of the plant. On the backside of the plant was an area designed for shipping and receiving that provided a large open area which Rudolph assumed was to give eighteen wheelers plenty of room to move around. On that night there were no trucks in the area or around the plant. Tommy backed up to a roll-up door and told Rudolph to get out and raise the door. As soon as Rudolph had the door up and braced Tommy backed the truck into the open area inside the plant and cut off the engine. He motioned Rudolph to lower the door. “We’re going to choke in there if you close this door”, Rudolph said as Tommy was getting out of the truck. Tommy walked just outside the door and looked around at the back of the plant and beyond the fence. There was nothing to the back of the plant and beyond the fence except a wooded area and there were no lights in sight within a mile of the fence. “I guess you’re right,” Tommy said after looking around, “just pull it down about half-way and brace it with one of those old pallets laying outside.” Rudolph braced the door as Tommy instructed and walked back around to the back of the truck where Tommy was unloading some of the gas cans and two regular floor mops. “Let’s start spreading this stuff in the office area first then work our way back toward this door,” Tommy told Rudolph. Each of them took a mop and two five-gallon containers and walked through the plant area to the front office. When they found the door leading into the office area Rudolph was the first to try the door. “It’s locked,” Rudolph told Tommy as he walked up, struggling with the two five-gallon cans and a mop. “Hold on I know where they keep the key,” Tommy responded. He set his gas cans and mop down next to the office door and walked a few feet away to a time clock machine hanging on the wall separating the plant from the office. Tommy studied the metal slots holding time cards until he found the one he was looking for and then reached to the bottom of the slot and retrieved a key on a small ring. Tommy came back to the door and tried the key which immediately unlocked the lock, he then opened the door, bowed to Rudolph and said in jest, “please come into my office, I think I have a little work for you.”
After a very brief instructional period, Tommy and Rudolph begin to pour the gasoline onto the floor then to spread it over every surface they could see with the mops. The office area, including file cabinets they opened, desks, chairs, walls and even a huge copy machine they covered in Amoco white gas. The entire office area took the 20 gallons they brought in to begin with. “Let’s take these cans back to the truck and get some more to start on the plant area,” Tommy instructed. The two returned to the truck, stacked the four containers to the side of the truck, took another two cans each and returned to the front of the building. Tommy without slowing down took the south end and Rudolph the northern most part of the building. “Be sure you open the paint drums that are closed and get them all covered as good as you can with the gas. This stuff don’t need much, just something to get it started, it won’t hurt if you pour some of the paint and the other shit in those drums out on the floor. This place will go up fast once this paint gets going,” Tommy was training while he worked. The two were almost to the back of the plant, in the shipping area, before they exhausted the two containers each they had taken for the operating part of the plant. Both,within minutes of each other, returned to the truck and stacked the newly emptied cans next to the first four and Tommy took the remaining can onto the loading dock, where several drums of finished paint product had been placed waiting to be shipped. Tommy loosened the lids on drums of paint stacked on the loading dock and covered the outsides of the drums with gas from one of the last containers. Rudolph covered a pile of used pallets that had collected on one side of the dock with the last can of the gasoline and the two stood for just a moment admiring their work and trying to think of any place they had not soaked in Amoco white gas. “Let’s light this thing and get out of here,” Tommy said as he began to move back toward the truck. “We gotta put the cans back in the truck and take them with us,” Tommy told Rudolph,“somebody might figure out where they came from.” Rudolph was trying his best to figure out how Tommy intended to ignite the fire he knew was coming. The two loaded the empty cans into the truck and Tommy told Rudolph to wait by the door while he pulled the truck out of the plant. “How you gonna get this started,” Rudolph asked,getting a little concerned about all the fumes that were by now filling the plant. If Rudolph knew anything, coming from a family of underground miners he knew that the fumes were the most ignitable part of gasoline. He really was concerned about just starting the engine on the truck in that plant because he knew it would not take much to get this place going under any circumstances. Tommy told Rudolph to open the door all the way while he pulled the truck out. Rudolph did as Tommy told him and Tommy pulled the truck just barely outside the plant door and left it running. Rudolph was still standing by the open door when Tommy walked back into the plant and picked up one of the gasoline soaked mops they had been using since they first got there. “I’m gonna light this mop and throw it onto those pallets laying on and around the loading dock, that stuff will get it going and give us some time to get out of here before everything blows,” Tommy told Rudolph. “When I throw the mop you pull the door down and haul ass to get in the truck,” Tommy explained to Rudolph. “You can’t do that Mr. Douglas, these fumes will explode as soon as you light that mop and blow us both up,” Rudolph had seen fumes ignite before. “I’ve done this a hundred times, Rudolph, you just pull the door and get in the truck, we’ll have a few minutes before it blows,” Tommy actually had never done this large of a plant and had never thought about what Rudolph was saying. Rudolph stepped in front of the truck now sitting few feet outside the plant door and watched as Tommy, standing just barely outside the building, lit the mop using a Bic lighter and held it for a moment to allow it to become totally involved in flame. Tommy, standing just outside the plant and near the back door of the truck one the passenger side, drew the mop back over his right shoulder and trying as hard as he could to throw the flaming stick into the building got almost to the release point when the fumes in the building ignited in a huge flash of light, flames and energy. Rudolph watched as Tommy was blown upward and through the air and completely over the truck. Tommy came down in front of the driver’s door, knocking the rear view mirror off the side of the truck with his body. Tommy standing close enough to feel the shock and wave of scorching heat ran immediately to Tommy who seemed unconscious. Rudolph pulled Tommy to his feet while trying to determine if he was alive or dead. Rudolph threw Tommy over his shoulder and carried him to the passenger side of the van, threw him in and closed the door as quickly as possible. All the time what Rudolph imagined must be like being in the middle of a bomb explosion was raging just inside the plant door. Rudolph ran immediately to the drivers side of the van and sliding in under the steering wheel quickly put the truck in geared and got out of that place as fast as possible. When he got to the gate he remember he had closed when they came in, he stopped, eased the gear stick to the P on the display, jumped out, opened the gate, got back into the truck and pulled into the street as fast as possible. The kid never once thought about closing the open gate as he drove away. Rudolph had never driven a car or truck before in his life. His total experience came from watching his dad, mom and uncle before leaving Kentucky and Tommy on the earlier drive to the plant. Fortunately, Tommy began coming around almost as soon as the little van got back to the street. Rudolph was scared to death, he was trying to drive for the first time in his life, he had no idea how bad Tommy was hurt and he had no idea how to get to a hospital to save Tommy’s life if needed. Tommy looked like a lump of coal from Matewan but he was at least beginning to move around and grown soon after they got through the gate. “Wake up, wake up,” Rudolph was screaming. “I’m o.k., I’m o.k.,” Rudolph heard Tommy say. “Can you drive?” Rudolph was pleading more than asking. “I think so,” whispered Tommy, “stop right here and let me take it.” Rudolph had not even driven past the front of the plant. Just as he open the door to run to the passenger side as Tommy slid across the front seat and under the wheel, the fire, having spread quickly through the plant and into the office area, exploded and blew the few windows on the front out and scattered glass all around Rudolph and the truck. Rudolph felt several shards of glass cut into his left side, which was exposed to the building as he ran. None of the cuts were serious; it was more like multiple bee stings but scared the hell out of Rudolph as he ran. By the time the kid got back into the truck on the passenger side Tommy had the truck rolling and was soon speeding away from the inferno they had just started.
As the two drove through the small industrial park and by the neighboring plants Rudolph saw lights being turned on and even saw one security guard running toward the street carrying a flashlight while struggling to pull on a jacket. In less than a minute they were back on the main road and headed back in the direction they had originally come earlier that night. Tommy was soon driving at a reasonable speed and made at least two turns before they met the first car. They had gone at least a couple of miles and were sure no one was following before either spoke. “Are you hurt bad”, Rudolph ask Tommy as both begin to settle down from the scared and nervous rush they had just experienced. “I don’t think so”, answered Tommy, “I burned the shit out of my clothes and hair but I don’t think I’m really hurt too bad, are you O.K.?” “Yes, I just felt the blast and the heat”, replied Rudolph, “I didn’t get any of the explosion.” “Good”, Tommy said, “let’s get rid of these cans and dump this truck, I’ve got to get cleaned up before anybody sees me.” The two stopped at five different dumpsters along the way to dispose of the five gallon containers they had carried their Amoco white gas in for the job. After dumping the containers Tommy drove another twenty minutes before pulling in behind a small strip shopping center and parking the truck. “We’re about ten minutes from the car but we need to be careful about not being seen”, Tommy told Rudolph as they got out of the truck. “It’s going to be dark so you need to stick with me as close as you can,” Tommy told Rudolph as they started down an extremely dark ally. Rudolph had no idea where they were and where they were going, he just knew that he’d never been any place like this before in his short life. The two wound their way up and down back streets for what seem like hours to Rudolph but finally emerged within sight of the parking lot where they had left Tommy’s Seville. After watching for several minutes, Tommy said “Come on let’s go, nobody’s around”, they ran to the car and waited for Tommy to punch in the magic numbers on the driver’s door key pad to pop the trunk and retrieve their small bag from under the tire and quickly got into the car and pull away. As they drove back onto the street in front of the shopping center Rudolph noticed that he still had the two pair of rubber gloves on that Tommy had given him earlier. “What do I do with these?” Rudolph asked Tommy as they drove away. For the first time Tommy broke out into laughter. “Can’t say you don’t follow instruction,” Tommy said, “throw them out one at a time while we drive, not too close together, just scatter them as we go”. Tommy seemed to be loosing up now that they were back in his car and seemly safe. The two soon stopped in front of Maxine’s place and both Tommy and Rudolph got out and eased into the boarding house without waking anyone. They went straight to Rudolph’s new room and quietly closed the door before turning on the light. Rudolph had never laughed much in his entire life, but when he saw Tommy in the full light of his room he almost laughed out loud. The front of Tommy’s clothes was literally singed to the point of burning. Tommy’s hair, his eye brows and all the hair on the backs of his hands and arms was gone and even his eye lashes were gone. The flash from the explosion had stripped Tommy hairless and the stubby singed hair looked like tiny balls or specks everywhere hair had once been. In addition to that he smelled like some kind of wet animal. Rudolph had not smelled the burned hair and clothes as long as they had been outside but now the smell was almost sickening. “You’ve got to get cleaned up now”, Rudolph said. “If anyone saw or smelled you like that they would think you’d been in a fire not started one,” Rudolph continued. “Is it that bad,” Tommy asked as he pushed Rudolph aside to get to the small mirror over the dresser Rudolph was so proud of. “Holy shit”, Tommy said when he saw his reflection in the little mirror, “what am I gonna do”? “You get a shower right now, while you’re here”, Tommy told him, “be quite and don’t wake anybody up, I’ll take mine in the morning”. Tommy took one of Rudolph’s bath cloths, some soap, a towel and eased back into the hallway and into the bathroom at the end of the hall. Rudolph sat in the chair near his bed, his mind still racing, while Tommy was trying to clean up. In a few minutes Tommy came back into the room. This time he looked stranger than before. Without a shirt and dressed only in the black jeans he had worn earlier and without a shirt or shoes the loss of hair was even more evident. The burned and singed areas of his body were as smooth as a newborn baby, while the parts that had been covered and not exposed were as hairy as ever. Tommy looked like a freak. “What am I going to do?” Tommy asked the younger man that was staring at him. “Take a shirt from my stuff and my other sweatshirt and get back to your apartment and stay low for a couple of days, if anybody ask what happened tell them you got too much lighter fluid on some charcoal you were trying to light and it exploded on you”, the kid was giving the instructions. Rudolph had seen this happen one time when his dad had tried to start a fire in their small home with some gasoline and he had also watched his uncle trying to start a charcoal grill one time after his mother sent him to Pikeville to live. He’d never seen anyone burned like this but he figured something like this was possible. Tommy took the clothes and after using some of Rudolph’s new after-shave to both soothe the singed areas and to remove the still strong smell he once again quietly eased back into the hallway and left Rudolph’s room and the boarding house. Rudolph was left sitting in his new chair, a sixteen year old kid, pondering everything that happen to him that day. He had not slept more than an hour or two in the park near the church where he first met Tommy Douglas. Since waking to the sound of garbage trucks clanging dumpsters they were relieving of their trash until this very moment had been less than twenty-four hours but what a day it had been. For the first time in his life Rudolph Crumpton felt like a real person. In less than twenty-four hours he had acquired a room, more new clothes than he ever owned and he hoped had a job that would pay him more than anyone in his family ever made. What would all those who snickered at him when he walked into a school room or laughed when they saw him and his impoverished mother come into the little grocery store in Matewan to plead for the out of date milk and browning produce.
(to be cont'd)
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
THE RUDOLPH VALENTINO CRUMPTON STORY Part 6
When Rudolph walked into the dining room the table was almost full. There were the two older men he and Tommy had seen and Tommy talked to on the front porch, two other younger men Rudolph had never seen, a woman with a small boy and Miss Maxine, sitting at the head of the table. There were two chairs unoccupied and Maxine motioned for Rudolph to take the one nearest her. For the first time Rudolph notice another table, smaller and unset with any dishes running parallel to the big table. “We have a new guest tonight,” Maxine announced to everyone and no one in particular. “Mr. Rudolph Crumpton will be staying with us for a while and I want everyone to make him feel at home,” she continued. Neither of the two men Rudolph had not seen before even looked up. The black man that had been on the porch smiled and quickly spoke, “he’s kin to Tommy Douglas and hiding from the law,” breaking his buddy from the porch up with laughter. “He’s wanted in Alabama for killin his family because they told him he’s kin to ole Tommy,” the other front porch guy said, breaking the first porch buddy up. “Shut up you two,” said Maxine, “you two wouldn’t know it if he was, you can’t read and don’t know how to operate the T.V.” The others continued to fill their plates with the grandest meal Tommy had ever seen, the diner from the morning included. As bowls of mashed potatoes, green beans, fried chicken, biscuits and gravy were emptied Agnes and Roxanne would refill them and the people around the table kept eating. Maxine tried to introduce or at least point out the others and give them names but Rudolph was too busy eating as fast as he could. After two helpings of everything in sight Agnes brought out a huge bowl of banana pudding. Rudolph again filled his plate with the most wonderful concoction he had ever put in his mouth. He was so full by the end of the meal he could hardly move. “Honey you had enough,” one of the two black angels he had fallen in love with ask. “Yes mam,” Rudolph replied, “I’ve never seen or eaten so much in my life.” “Do ya’ll eat like this all the time?” Rudolph asked to no one in particular. “Miss Maxine believes in feedin her folks good baby boy and we just try to keep her happy,” answered the black lady who was pouring Maxine a cup of coffee. Rudolph had stopped trying to figure out which one it was, he just said, “thank you, it was great.”
A large grandfather clock standing in the corner of the room showed 7:25 by the time everyone was finished. There had been little conversation during the meal, everyone seem to be too busy eating and passing food to talk. One by one the diners got up from the table and disappeared from the room soon leaving only Maxine with her coffee and Rudolph. “Rudolph, I don’t know what Tommy has in mind for you but I do want you to be careful,” Maxine said trying to start a conversation. “I love that boy like he was mine, but I’ve known him a long time and I don’t trust him worth a damn.” Rudolph was surprised and had no idea what to say. “I just want you to be careful,” Maxine continued as Agnes and Roxanne cleared the table. “He’s always paid me every dime he owed me and I have no guess as to what he does for a living, I just have a bad feeling he’s going to get in trouble some day he can’t get out of and I don’t want to see him hurt anyone else, especially someone as young as you.” “He’s just going to help me get started here in Pittsburg Ms. Maxine, I don’t have anyone else and he’s been better to me in one day than anyone I’ve ever been around,” Rudolph said. “My old man died a couple of years ago and my mom sent me to Pikeville because she had it so bad.” “I ain’t good in school and I don’t have nobody else, I’m nearly twenty years old and I got to do it on my own, if Mr. Douglas can help me I’ve got to take it, I ain’t gonna do anything that gets me in trouble, I promise.” “Just remember what I said,” Maxine went on, “Tommy can do anything he wants, he’s smart, he can get along with people and he’s a charmer, just be careful.” “Yes mam,” Rudolph replied, “Ain’t nobody ever talked to me like this and I appreciate you caring about me, it feels good and I’ll be careful.”
Rudolph went back to his room and lay across his bed to ponder the conversation he just finished with Maxine and all the other events of the day. If Tommy Douglas had no family here in Pittsburg as he told him earlier why was he coming out of the church office where he said he had been to visit his aunt? If he was such a big businessman, why had he been in and out of this boarding house so many times everyone here knew all about him and Miss Maxine knew him so well she did not trust him. Rudolph was a big ole oversized man-child, appearing not too bright and totally alone in this new world. He knew some things were not adding up, the question was what was he supposed to do about it when did he get it figured out. Rudolph while savvy but not the brightest kid was tough as nails and mean as a snake, he would not be a fall guy or anybody’s dummy. Tommy needed him for something and Rudolph would parlay that into a life comparable to Tommy’s. Tommy could either be a part of it or not, Rudolph was not as dumb as Tommy thought. Rudolph’s thought processes were a little different from most people. That night he decided he really didn’t care. If it meant earning a living, and having the kind money Tommy had, he would do anything it took to get to that place himself. If Tommy told him to cut Maxine’s throat he would only ask for a knife. Thinking further he decided he would only be associated with Tommy so long as it was beneficial to him. He would not take any falls for anyone but would give loyalty when loyalty was deserved. When loyalty was not deserved people would be living at their own peril with Rudolph.
Rudolph looked at the dime store watch he inherited from his dad and saw it was almost 9:00. He opened his closet and pulled the black hooded sweatshirt they purchased earlier in the day from its hanger and walked down to the front porch. The two older guys on the porch when he first arrived were sitting in the same chairs they had occupied earlier in the day. “Where you and ole Tommy headed tonight?” the white guy asked as Rudolph walked through the door. “Ya’ll goin lookin for some ole rusty heeled girls?” the second ask, bringing a big laugh from his buddy. Rudolph still not feeling comfortable with people he didn’t know said nothing. “Ole Tommy knows them all,” said the black guy, “he’ll make a man out of you boy, just be sure you don’t catch nothing,” bringing another big laugh from the old white guy. Rudolph sat down on the top step and the two old goats returned to talking about the Pirates and how the management had sold the team out to the highest bidder. “We are family my ass,” the black guy said, “they gonna trade Stargell and everybody else that’s worth a shit.” “I ain’t even goin this year,” the white man said, “we won’t win 40 games and now they raisin the damn bleacher seat tickets to $15, that’s bullshit.” Rudolph never cared much for any sport or knew anything about them, sports were just entertainment for rich people, poor folks didn’t have the time nor money to play them or even pay much attention to them.
A few minutes after 9:00 Tommy pulled up in his Cadillac Seville; Rudolph eased off the porch and walked down the sidewalk toward Tommy and his future life. Tommy unlocked the passenger side door with his automatic door lock control just as Rudolph reach for the door handle. Though impressed, Rudolph knew this was another effort to impress him and said nothing as he slid into the seat next to Tommy.
(to be con'd)
A large grandfather clock standing in the corner of the room showed 7:25 by the time everyone was finished. There had been little conversation during the meal, everyone seem to be too busy eating and passing food to talk. One by one the diners got up from the table and disappeared from the room soon leaving only Maxine with her coffee and Rudolph. “Rudolph, I don’t know what Tommy has in mind for you but I do want you to be careful,” Maxine said trying to start a conversation. “I love that boy like he was mine, but I’ve known him a long time and I don’t trust him worth a damn.” Rudolph was surprised and had no idea what to say. “I just want you to be careful,” Maxine continued as Agnes and Roxanne cleared the table. “He’s always paid me every dime he owed me and I have no guess as to what he does for a living, I just have a bad feeling he’s going to get in trouble some day he can’t get out of and I don’t want to see him hurt anyone else, especially someone as young as you.” “He’s just going to help me get started here in Pittsburg Ms. Maxine, I don’t have anyone else and he’s been better to me in one day than anyone I’ve ever been around,” Rudolph said. “My old man died a couple of years ago and my mom sent me to Pikeville because she had it so bad.” “I ain’t good in school and I don’t have nobody else, I’m nearly twenty years old and I got to do it on my own, if Mr. Douglas can help me I’ve got to take it, I ain’t gonna do anything that gets me in trouble, I promise.” “Just remember what I said,” Maxine went on, “Tommy can do anything he wants, he’s smart, he can get along with people and he’s a charmer, just be careful.” “Yes mam,” Rudolph replied, “Ain’t nobody ever talked to me like this and I appreciate you caring about me, it feels good and I’ll be careful.”
Rudolph went back to his room and lay across his bed to ponder the conversation he just finished with Maxine and all the other events of the day. If Tommy Douglas had no family here in Pittsburg as he told him earlier why was he coming out of the church office where he said he had been to visit his aunt? If he was such a big businessman, why had he been in and out of this boarding house so many times everyone here knew all about him and Miss Maxine knew him so well she did not trust him. Rudolph was a big ole oversized man-child, appearing not too bright and totally alone in this new world. He knew some things were not adding up, the question was what was he supposed to do about it when did he get it figured out. Rudolph while savvy but not the brightest kid was tough as nails and mean as a snake, he would not be a fall guy or anybody’s dummy. Tommy needed him for something and Rudolph would parlay that into a life comparable to Tommy’s. Tommy could either be a part of it or not, Rudolph was not as dumb as Tommy thought. Rudolph’s thought processes were a little different from most people. That night he decided he really didn’t care. If it meant earning a living, and having the kind money Tommy had, he would do anything it took to get to that place himself. If Tommy told him to cut Maxine’s throat he would only ask for a knife. Thinking further he decided he would only be associated with Tommy so long as it was beneficial to him. He would not take any falls for anyone but would give loyalty when loyalty was deserved. When loyalty was not deserved people would be living at their own peril with Rudolph.
Rudolph looked at the dime store watch he inherited from his dad and saw it was almost 9:00. He opened his closet and pulled the black hooded sweatshirt they purchased earlier in the day from its hanger and walked down to the front porch. The two older guys on the porch when he first arrived were sitting in the same chairs they had occupied earlier in the day. “Where you and ole Tommy headed tonight?” the white guy asked as Rudolph walked through the door. “Ya’ll goin lookin for some ole rusty heeled girls?” the second ask, bringing a big laugh from his buddy. Rudolph still not feeling comfortable with people he didn’t know said nothing. “Ole Tommy knows them all,” said the black guy, “he’ll make a man out of you boy, just be sure you don’t catch nothing,” bringing another big laugh from the old white guy. Rudolph sat down on the top step and the two old goats returned to talking about the Pirates and how the management had sold the team out to the highest bidder. “We are family my ass,” the black guy said, “they gonna trade Stargell and everybody else that’s worth a shit.” “I ain’t even goin this year,” the white man said, “we won’t win 40 games and now they raisin the damn bleacher seat tickets to $15, that’s bullshit.” Rudolph never cared much for any sport or knew anything about them, sports were just entertainment for rich people, poor folks didn’t have the time nor money to play them or even pay much attention to them.
A few minutes after 9:00 Tommy pulled up in his Cadillac Seville; Rudolph eased off the porch and walked down the sidewalk toward Tommy and his future life. Tommy unlocked the passenger side door with his automatic door lock control just as Rudolph reach for the door handle. Though impressed, Rudolph knew this was another effort to impress him and said nothing as he slid into the seat next to Tommy.
(to be con'd)
Monday, December 27, 2010
THE RUDOLPH VALENTINO CRUMPTON STORY Part 5
By this time they pulled into a parking lot adjoining a huge strip mall that featured a K-Mart sitting square in the middle. “Come on Rudolph, we have got some shopping to do,” Douglas said as he parked the car between a pick-up truck and an older model Ford that happened to be near the front and almost half way between the doors marked ‘Entrance and Exit’.
For almost an hour the two shopped in what seemed to be every department in the largest store Rudolph had ever seen, much less been in. Tommy quickly determined Rudolph’s sizes and tore through the racks of shirts and pants finding at least six shirts and just as many jeans and khaki pants. He found a heavy jacket, a couple of sweatshirts and several packages which included under shorts, T-shirts and socks. Next they went to the shoe department where Tommy picked out a pair of work type shoes and a pair of tennis shoes made by a company in China or some other foreign country. As soon as Tommy was satisfied Rudolph had enough clothes he was off to what Rudolph called the drug store part of the giant K-Mart. In this area Tommy quickly threw soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb/hairbrush set and though Rudolph had only shaved a few times Tommy added shaving cream, a razor and some Aqua Velva aftershave into the now overflowing shopping cart. “Can you think of anything else you need”, Tommy asked Rudolph as they headed for the long row of checkout registers. “No sir,” Rudolph was using words he never used before, hoping it would keep the dream alive for just a while longer. Rudolph was amazed; he could not believe his eyes. He had never seen a store this big, he had never seen this much merchandise for sale under one roof and never dreamed one person could ever buy this much ‘stuff’ at one time. The best part was that it was all for him, Rudolph Crumpton, the dumb kid from Matewan, West Virginia. It seemed like it took forever for the lady at the cash register to go through each piece and add each price to the growing stream of paper running through the top of her register. All the time Rudolph was sure when she finally had a total and told Tommy how much it was he was going to scream in panic and run out of the store leaving him standing there to explain how all this ‘stuff’ had gotten to the check-out lane in the first place. Rudolph was literally holding his breath when the lady finally hit the total button and the numbers flashed on the screen at the top of the register. One hundred seventy-four dollars and seventy-eight cents ($174.78), Rudolph could not breathe or even look. The next thing he knew Tommy was peeling two one hundred dollar bills away from a roll he pulled from his pocket and handing them to the lady at the register. As he received his change from the lady he turned to Rudolph and handed him two sacks the sack boy had not been able to get on the once empty shopping cart and motioned for Rudolph to carry the bags while he pushed the cart now full of Rudolph’s new ‘stuff’.
By the time Tommy and Rudolph unloaded the shopping cart and Rudolph returned the cart to the cart lane, and both men were in the car ready to leave, the tough little kid from the coalmines of West Virginia was wiping tears from his eyes. Rudolph did not want Tommy to see him cry but never in his nearly sixteen years had anyone ever been so kind or spent so much money on him. Tommy had the kid exactly where he wanted him and he knew this kid was going to return his investment many times over. Tommy had just set the bait on a catch that would be paying dividends for years to come. Tommy could see the day when he would be moving into sales and management exclusively and Rudolph would be the muscle and brawn for all the work Tommy could bring in.
Tommy hurried Rudolph back to Maxine’s boarding house and helped him take all the bags into the house and up to his room. No one was around when the two hauled what seemed like a dozen big shopping bags into the house and to the room Roxanne and Agnes had shown him earlier. “It gets quite around here this time of the afternoon,” Tommy told Rudolph, “the girls are supposed to be cleaning and getting supper ready but I think they take a nap before starting to cook. You’re going to love the food here, they make it their mission to see that you are full every time you leave the table,” Tommy said smiling at Rudolph like he was onto a big secret between the women. The two piled all the bags onto Rudolph’s new bed and Tommy turned to go back through the door. “I’ll pick you up around 9:00 tonight,” Tommy told Rudolph as he started down the hallway and back to the front steps. “You try on your new clothes and get everything put up before they call you for supper and I’ll see you later,” with that Tommy was gone. Rudolph did not want to take anything out of the bags. He sat down on the edge of the bed and just felt each bag over and over. He savored the smell of new clothes; he handled the comb and brush, opened the Aqua Velva bottle and smelled the sharp but wonderful smell of the bright blue liquid inside. All this was more than he had ever owned in his life. A few times he could remember having one new pair of jeans or maybe a new pair of gym shoes every now and then, but never more than one of anything at one time. The only hard sole shoes he ever owned were shoes that his mother salvaged from the little outreach mission in Matewan or handed down from his dad or some distant cousin he never knew or even saw. All this was his, bought for him, for only him to use and he was totally involved with every item he touched and clung to. Rudolph had a fleeting thought about grabbing everything on his bed and running as far away as he could get so no one could ever take it away from him. After over an hour he began to carefully place each item in the chest he examined earlier. He carefully hung each shirt on its own hanger he found in the hanging part of the closet. With the same care he hung each pair of pants in the same closet on separate hangers all with the tags still fastened exactly as he had seen them in the store. He neatly arranged the toiletries in the top drawers, leaving comb and brush in the plastic container they came in, only removing the scotch tape that held clear plastic cover in place. Even the toothbrush was left in the little plastic tube it came in and he neatly placed the toothpaste next to the new toothbrush. After he finished placing everything where he thought it should go he folded each of the big shopping bags stuffed them into one and shoved them under the bed in case someone came to reclaim his treasures and return them to the store he just came from. With everything in the places he thought they should go he left the doors to the hanging section open where he could see and still smell all his new possessions. He lay down on the bed and simply stared in amazement at what this day had brought. Rudolph had apparently fallen asleep because the next thing he knew was when he was startled awake by the sound of either Roxanne or Agnes’s voice coming from a woman standing above him telling him to wake up. The room was much darker than when he and Tommy returned. “Wake up honey,” the voice said, “you better get them feet off Miss Maxine’s bed and get yo’self cleaned up fo supper.” “Miss Maxine ain’t gonna like no boy dirty as you sittin at her table and we bout to eat in :20 minutes.” “Yes mam,” was all he could get out before the woman was out the door and gone. Rudolph jumped up and quickly made an inventory of all his new possessions before trying to continue the conversation with the quickly disappearing figure heading down the hallway toward bathroom and the back stairs. Quickly shaking the cobwebs out of his head, Rudolph took a bar of soap from the pack of three, a wash cloth from a pack of six, a towel, his new comb and headed for the bathroom. He quickly peeled the flannel work shirt he had worn for four days off and gave himself what his mother always called a sponge bath. He was still wearing his old work suit pants he had taken from his uncle and the old work shoes he inherited from his dad but at least his upper body was relatively clean. He combed his hair for the first time since he left Kentucky, tried the Right Guard deodorant Tommy insisted he pickup in the store and even tabbed a little Aqua Velva on his face. Tommy could not believe the way he smelled. He had only smelled one man that smelled as good as he did that night and that was Mr. Bud Brown, the man at the funeral home in Matewan in charge of his father’s funeral. He picked out one of his new collared long sleeve shirts, pulled it out of the closet and took it off the hanger he earlier placed it so carefully on just an hour or so earlier. He checked himself in the mirror above the dresser and smiled at the thought of wearing a brand new shirt while knowing five more were still hanging in the little closet he just recently stocked.
By the time he finished he heard either Agnes or Roxanne calling from downstairs for everyone to come to dinner, and to come right now, it was time to eat.
(to be con't)
For almost an hour the two shopped in what seemed to be every department in the largest store Rudolph had ever seen, much less been in. Tommy quickly determined Rudolph’s sizes and tore through the racks of shirts and pants finding at least six shirts and just as many jeans and khaki pants. He found a heavy jacket, a couple of sweatshirts and several packages which included under shorts, T-shirts and socks. Next they went to the shoe department where Tommy picked out a pair of work type shoes and a pair of tennis shoes made by a company in China or some other foreign country. As soon as Tommy was satisfied Rudolph had enough clothes he was off to what Rudolph called the drug store part of the giant K-Mart. In this area Tommy quickly threw soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb/hairbrush set and though Rudolph had only shaved a few times Tommy added shaving cream, a razor and some Aqua Velva aftershave into the now overflowing shopping cart. “Can you think of anything else you need”, Tommy asked Rudolph as they headed for the long row of checkout registers. “No sir,” Rudolph was using words he never used before, hoping it would keep the dream alive for just a while longer. Rudolph was amazed; he could not believe his eyes. He had never seen a store this big, he had never seen this much merchandise for sale under one roof and never dreamed one person could ever buy this much ‘stuff’ at one time. The best part was that it was all for him, Rudolph Crumpton, the dumb kid from Matewan, West Virginia. It seemed like it took forever for the lady at the cash register to go through each piece and add each price to the growing stream of paper running through the top of her register. All the time Rudolph was sure when she finally had a total and told Tommy how much it was he was going to scream in panic and run out of the store leaving him standing there to explain how all this ‘stuff’ had gotten to the check-out lane in the first place. Rudolph was literally holding his breath when the lady finally hit the total button and the numbers flashed on the screen at the top of the register. One hundred seventy-four dollars and seventy-eight cents ($174.78), Rudolph could not breathe or even look. The next thing he knew Tommy was peeling two one hundred dollar bills away from a roll he pulled from his pocket and handing them to the lady at the register. As he received his change from the lady he turned to Rudolph and handed him two sacks the sack boy had not been able to get on the once empty shopping cart and motioned for Rudolph to carry the bags while he pushed the cart now full of Rudolph’s new ‘stuff’.
By the time Tommy and Rudolph unloaded the shopping cart and Rudolph returned the cart to the cart lane, and both men were in the car ready to leave, the tough little kid from the coalmines of West Virginia was wiping tears from his eyes. Rudolph did not want Tommy to see him cry but never in his nearly sixteen years had anyone ever been so kind or spent so much money on him. Tommy had the kid exactly where he wanted him and he knew this kid was going to return his investment many times over. Tommy had just set the bait on a catch that would be paying dividends for years to come. Tommy could see the day when he would be moving into sales and management exclusively and Rudolph would be the muscle and brawn for all the work Tommy could bring in.
Tommy hurried Rudolph back to Maxine’s boarding house and helped him take all the bags into the house and up to his room. No one was around when the two hauled what seemed like a dozen big shopping bags into the house and to the room Roxanne and Agnes had shown him earlier. “It gets quite around here this time of the afternoon,” Tommy told Rudolph, “the girls are supposed to be cleaning and getting supper ready but I think they take a nap before starting to cook. You’re going to love the food here, they make it their mission to see that you are full every time you leave the table,” Tommy said smiling at Rudolph like he was onto a big secret between the women. The two piled all the bags onto Rudolph’s new bed and Tommy turned to go back through the door. “I’ll pick you up around 9:00 tonight,” Tommy told Rudolph as he started down the hallway and back to the front steps. “You try on your new clothes and get everything put up before they call you for supper and I’ll see you later,” with that Tommy was gone. Rudolph did not want to take anything out of the bags. He sat down on the edge of the bed and just felt each bag over and over. He savored the smell of new clothes; he handled the comb and brush, opened the Aqua Velva bottle and smelled the sharp but wonderful smell of the bright blue liquid inside. All this was more than he had ever owned in his life. A few times he could remember having one new pair of jeans or maybe a new pair of gym shoes every now and then, but never more than one of anything at one time. The only hard sole shoes he ever owned were shoes that his mother salvaged from the little outreach mission in Matewan or handed down from his dad or some distant cousin he never knew or even saw. All this was his, bought for him, for only him to use and he was totally involved with every item he touched and clung to. Rudolph had a fleeting thought about grabbing everything on his bed and running as far away as he could get so no one could ever take it away from him. After over an hour he began to carefully place each item in the chest he examined earlier. He carefully hung each shirt on its own hanger he found in the hanging part of the closet. With the same care he hung each pair of pants in the same closet on separate hangers all with the tags still fastened exactly as he had seen them in the store. He neatly arranged the toiletries in the top drawers, leaving comb and brush in the plastic container they came in, only removing the scotch tape that held clear plastic cover in place. Even the toothbrush was left in the little plastic tube it came in and he neatly placed the toothpaste next to the new toothbrush. After he finished placing everything where he thought it should go he folded each of the big shopping bags stuffed them into one and shoved them under the bed in case someone came to reclaim his treasures and return them to the store he just came from. With everything in the places he thought they should go he left the doors to the hanging section open where he could see and still smell all his new possessions. He lay down on the bed and simply stared in amazement at what this day had brought. Rudolph had apparently fallen asleep because the next thing he knew was when he was startled awake by the sound of either Roxanne or Agnes’s voice coming from a woman standing above him telling him to wake up. The room was much darker than when he and Tommy returned. “Wake up honey,” the voice said, “you better get them feet off Miss Maxine’s bed and get yo’self cleaned up fo supper.” “Miss Maxine ain’t gonna like no boy dirty as you sittin at her table and we bout to eat in :20 minutes.” “Yes mam,” was all he could get out before the woman was out the door and gone. Rudolph jumped up and quickly made an inventory of all his new possessions before trying to continue the conversation with the quickly disappearing figure heading down the hallway toward bathroom and the back stairs. Quickly shaking the cobwebs out of his head, Rudolph took a bar of soap from the pack of three, a wash cloth from a pack of six, a towel, his new comb and headed for the bathroom. He quickly peeled the flannel work shirt he had worn for four days off and gave himself what his mother always called a sponge bath. He was still wearing his old work suit pants he had taken from his uncle and the old work shoes he inherited from his dad but at least his upper body was relatively clean. He combed his hair for the first time since he left Kentucky, tried the Right Guard deodorant Tommy insisted he pickup in the store and even tabbed a little Aqua Velva on his face. Tommy could not believe the way he smelled. He had only smelled one man that smelled as good as he did that night and that was Mr. Bud Brown, the man at the funeral home in Matewan in charge of his father’s funeral. He picked out one of his new collared long sleeve shirts, pulled it out of the closet and took it off the hanger he earlier placed it so carefully on just an hour or so earlier. He checked himself in the mirror above the dresser and smiled at the thought of wearing a brand new shirt while knowing five more were still hanging in the little closet he just recently stocked.
By the time he finished he heard either Agnes or Roxanne calling from downstairs for everyone to come to dinner, and to come right now, it was time to eat.
(to be con't)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
THE RUDOLPH VALENTINO CRUMPTON STORY Part 4
Downstairs, Tommy and Maxine were talking about what Tommy had in mind for Rudolph and how he intended to keep him here. Tommy and Maxine went back several years and Maxine, as much as she loved Tommy, knew that his fortunes could rise and fall overnight. There was even a time when she had kicked Tommy out and now he wanted to put a kid he admitted was broke into Max’s last empty room. “I need him Maxine and I promise I will keep him paid up, you know me, give the kid a break,” Tommy pleaded his case. “Tommy, I’ve got to have my money to live”, Maxine reminded Tommy, “you know I’d do anything for you but this is business”. “You’ve got my word, Max, I’ll pay in advance every Monday, just give me the monthly rate and I’ll pay every week”, Tommy seemed sincere and Maxine had never been able to say no to him anyway. “O.K., Tommy, $550.00 per month or $130.00 per week, due every Monday by noon”, Maxine agreed to Tommy’s plan like she knew she would. “Great, I promise you won’t be sorry, I will see to it”, Tommy said giving Maxine a big hug to close the deal. “Today’s Friday, so I’ll go ahead and give you $150 now for the rest of this week and next week, o.k.” Tommy pulled a roll of currency from his pocket. “I know I’m going to lose something, sometime on this but I guess it won’t be the first time or the last”, Maxine said as she took the seven twenties, a five and four ones. “Now go get the kid some decent clothes and we’ll take care of him from there, and don’t get this kid hurt or killed Tommy, you know that’s not fair”, Maxine was serious and Tommy knew it. “I’m out of all that Max, I promise, just legitimate work, that’s all I do now, scout’s honor”. Tommy and Maxine both got a smile out of that one, probably for two different reasons.
Rudolph, Agnes and Roxy came down the front stairs. Rudolph would not have been anymore impressed if he had been in the Governor’s mansion. Stairs in the front and stairs in the back of the same house, no one in Matewon would ever have believed Rudolph Crumpton would be living in a place like this. “Let’s go kid, your new angel here has already given me my instructions to get you clothed to match the manner to which your about to become accustomed”, Tommy said even though Rudolph had no idea about what in hell he was talking about. The two left the house by the same door they came in and the two old men were in the same places they had been when Tommy and Rudolph arrived. “You coming back to live Tommy”, the black man hollered as the two almost ran down the steps. “Not now”, Tommy hollered back, “but I sending a spy in to make sure you quit trying to get Agnes and Roxy pregnant”, Tommy shouted back as the both old men broke out laughing.
Tommy and Rudolph were in the car and headed somewhere to get Rudolph some clothes and basic living essentials. Rudolph had a thousand questions for this man he met just hours before, but never being much of a talker sat silent and listened to Tommy talk about the people he just met. Rudolph’s mind was racing so hard and fast he did not hear a word. He wanted to scream ‘time out’ or ‘wait a minute’ or to just stop Tommy’s chatter long enough to again think clearly. He did not say a word for fear he would wake up from this unreal dream. Finally, he mustered courage enough to simply hold up both hands and mutter “wait, Mr. Douglas, give me a minute”.
Tommy saw the confusion and distress on Rudolph’s face and for the first time realized he was overpowering the kid he just picked-up a few hours ago. Tommy, as street smart as he was, never thought about what Rudolph was going through. Tommy had grown up hustling in a big city. He had always known street life in a city like Pittsburgh. His parents lived and worked in Pittsburgh, his dad at in the mills at Bethlehem Steel and his mother as a lunchroom worker at P.S. 132. He had been hustling all his life, first for marbles and lunch money from the rich kids and then running numbers for a penny ante street punk in his hood. He had been kicked out of school after school until he finally graduated from an alternative school at the age of seventeen. Unlike Rudolph, who lost his father and mother to bad health and death, he had simply broken his parents heart with his street hustling life style. Tommy was only twenty-six years old but had a lifetime of street education. He had always made his way beating someone out of something or working outside the law. He assumed everyone else operated in the same way, beating people out of money was o.k. if you didn’t get caught. Tommy worked for a short time as a carnival barker and traveled with a group that moved from town to town setting up and operating county fairs, screwing the rednecks like Rudolph out of what little cash they could scrape together once a year. Tommy had continually moved further and further outside the law in his few short years until now where it was the only life he knew. Tommy was smart, the kind of smart savvy people like Maxine recognized. The kind of smart that causes honest people to think they can straighten someone out and get them started on a path that will lead to great success once they applied themselves in legitimate ways.
Tommy saw it was time to pull back and to give Rudolph a chance to ask his questions. Now was the time to persuade him to do whatever he needed him to do.
“What’s wrong Rudolph”, Tommy ask, “am I going a little too fast for you”? “I just don’t understand Mr. Douglas”, Rudolph said, “why are you doing all this for me, I just met you this morning and we haven’t even known each other for six hours and you are doing all this for me”. “What is it you want me to do”, ask Rudolph. “You don’t know anything about me, I lied about finishing the ninth grade, I failed a bunch and don’t know how to do much”, Rudolph was about to break down. He did not want to lose everything that appeared to be in his future. But he really did not want to get into something that would get it all taken away because he had not been something Tommy thought he was. Tommy hesitated, he had waited for this opportunity and he almost talked himself right through it, which is something he had a problem with in the past. “Rudolph, I’m sorry I got so far ahead of myself”, Tommy begins to spin his web. “I guess I just saw in you as an image of me at your age and saw a kid that I could help like no one helped me”. Tommy could have been a world-class con man, and he played Rudolph perfectly. “I was a kid on the street just like you not too long ago”, Tommy started. “Both my parents were killed in a car wreck when I was only twelve, and I had no one to turn to”, all of which was a lie, his mom and dad were still alive and living right there in Pittsburgh. “The state put me in a couple of foster homes but both places beat me and nearly starved me to death while they collected the money the state paid them to keep me”, Tommy was almost crying. “By the time I was fifteen I’d had enough so I went out the window one night and hit the streets”. “Within a week I lied about my age and got a job as a busboy in that very diner where we ate this morning”, Tommy was making this up as he went and was doing a great job of it. “I was lucky I left in the summer because I slept on the streets for the first few weeks and was able to steal enough food from the dinner to eat”. “I lived that way until I met a guy in that same neighborhood that ran a numbers book, you know what a numbers book is don’t you”? Rudolph shook his head no. “Well it’s a way to gamble that a lot of people in the city play,” Tommy explained. “Somewhere there is a number published every day that everyone can find and see,” Tommy was on a roll now. “The guy running the book collects money from everyone that wants to play and they give him the money and the number they think will show up on the play day. If their number shows up they win a percentage of all the money collected and if it doesn’t the guy running the book keeps their money.” Tommy thought Rudolph was getting it. “If no one hits the number then the book man keeps everything, understand,” Tommy did not really care if Rudolph understood or not. “My job was to collect the money all around the city from the places where the people played, beer joints, liquor stores and places like that, some days I would pick up $10,000 to $15,000 and deliver it to the book man,” Rudolph was really listening now. “I could make a couple of hundred dollars a day which was a lot better than the two bucks and hour and tips I was making at the diner.” Tommy was impressed a little himself at this line he was feeding the kid. “While I was doing that I met some people that would pay me to do little jobs for them they did not want to do,” Tommy just about had the trap set. “The reason I tell you this is I had to figure all this out myself, without help, and when I saw you and heard your story I saw an opportunity to help you like no one had done for me,” Tommy almost believed this story himself. Rudolph bought it hook, line and sinker, believed every word. “I’ll do whatever I can Mr. Douglas, I won’t let you down,” was all Rudolph could say. Rudolph knew he wasn’t as smart as Tommy Douglas but he also knew he’d do anything he could to be around the kind of money Tommy Douglas was flashing and talking about.
(to be cont'd)
Rudolph, Agnes and Roxy came down the front stairs. Rudolph would not have been anymore impressed if he had been in the Governor’s mansion. Stairs in the front and stairs in the back of the same house, no one in Matewon would ever have believed Rudolph Crumpton would be living in a place like this. “Let’s go kid, your new angel here has already given me my instructions to get you clothed to match the manner to which your about to become accustomed”, Tommy said even though Rudolph had no idea about what in hell he was talking about. The two left the house by the same door they came in and the two old men were in the same places they had been when Tommy and Rudolph arrived. “You coming back to live Tommy”, the black man hollered as the two almost ran down the steps. “Not now”, Tommy hollered back, “but I sending a spy in to make sure you quit trying to get Agnes and Roxy pregnant”, Tommy shouted back as the both old men broke out laughing.
Tommy and Rudolph were in the car and headed somewhere to get Rudolph some clothes and basic living essentials. Rudolph had a thousand questions for this man he met just hours before, but never being much of a talker sat silent and listened to Tommy talk about the people he just met. Rudolph’s mind was racing so hard and fast he did not hear a word. He wanted to scream ‘time out’ or ‘wait a minute’ or to just stop Tommy’s chatter long enough to again think clearly. He did not say a word for fear he would wake up from this unreal dream. Finally, he mustered courage enough to simply hold up both hands and mutter “wait, Mr. Douglas, give me a minute”.
Tommy saw the confusion and distress on Rudolph’s face and for the first time realized he was overpowering the kid he just picked-up a few hours ago. Tommy, as street smart as he was, never thought about what Rudolph was going through. Tommy had grown up hustling in a big city. He had always known street life in a city like Pittsburgh. His parents lived and worked in Pittsburgh, his dad at in the mills at Bethlehem Steel and his mother as a lunchroom worker at P.S. 132. He had been hustling all his life, first for marbles and lunch money from the rich kids and then running numbers for a penny ante street punk in his hood. He had been kicked out of school after school until he finally graduated from an alternative school at the age of seventeen. Unlike Rudolph, who lost his father and mother to bad health and death, he had simply broken his parents heart with his street hustling life style. Tommy was only twenty-six years old but had a lifetime of street education. He had always made his way beating someone out of something or working outside the law. He assumed everyone else operated in the same way, beating people out of money was o.k. if you didn’t get caught. Tommy worked for a short time as a carnival barker and traveled with a group that moved from town to town setting up and operating county fairs, screwing the rednecks like Rudolph out of what little cash they could scrape together once a year. Tommy had continually moved further and further outside the law in his few short years until now where it was the only life he knew. Tommy was smart, the kind of smart savvy people like Maxine recognized. The kind of smart that causes honest people to think they can straighten someone out and get them started on a path that will lead to great success once they applied themselves in legitimate ways.
Tommy saw it was time to pull back and to give Rudolph a chance to ask his questions. Now was the time to persuade him to do whatever he needed him to do.
“What’s wrong Rudolph”, Tommy ask, “am I going a little too fast for you”? “I just don’t understand Mr. Douglas”, Rudolph said, “why are you doing all this for me, I just met you this morning and we haven’t even known each other for six hours and you are doing all this for me”. “What is it you want me to do”, ask Rudolph. “You don’t know anything about me, I lied about finishing the ninth grade, I failed a bunch and don’t know how to do much”, Rudolph was about to break down. He did not want to lose everything that appeared to be in his future. But he really did not want to get into something that would get it all taken away because he had not been something Tommy thought he was. Tommy hesitated, he had waited for this opportunity and he almost talked himself right through it, which is something he had a problem with in the past. “Rudolph, I’m sorry I got so far ahead of myself”, Tommy begins to spin his web. “I guess I just saw in you as an image of me at your age and saw a kid that I could help like no one helped me”. Tommy could have been a world-class con man, and he played Rudolph perfectly. “I was a kid on the street just like you not too long ago”, Tommy started. “Both my parents were killed in a car wreck when I was only twelve, and I had no one to turn to”, all of which was a lie, his mom and dad were still alive and living right there in Pittsburgh. “The state put me in a couple of foster homes but both places beat me and nearly starved me to death while they collected the money the state paid them to keep me”, Tommy was almost crying. “By the time I was fifteen I’d had enough so I went out the window one night and hit the streets”. “Within a week I lied about my age and got a job as a busboy in that very diner where we ate this morning”, Tommy was making this up as he went and was doing a great job of it. “I was lucky I left in the summer because I slept on the streets for the first few weeks and was able to steal enough food from the dinner to eat”. “I lived that way until I met a guy in that same neighborhood that ran a numbers book, you know what a numbers book is don’t you”? Rudolph shook his head no. “Well it’s a way to gamble that a lot of people in the city play,” Tommy explained. “Somewhere there is a number published every day that everyone can find and see,” Tommy was on a roll now. “The guy running the book collects money from everyone that wants to play and they give him the money and the number they think will show up on the play day. If their number shows up they win a percentage of all the money collected and if it doesn’t the guy running the book keeps their money.” Tommy thought Rudolph was getting it. “If no one hits the number then the book man keeps everything, understand,” Tommy did not really care if Rudolph understood or not. “My job was to collect the money all around the city from the places where the people played, beer joints, liquor stores and places like that, some days I would pick up $10,000 to $15,000 and deliver it to the book man,” Rudolph was really listening now. “I could make a couple of hundred dollars a day which was a lot better than the two bucks and hour and tips I was making at the diner.” Tommy was impressed a little himself at this line he was feeding the kid. “While I was doing that I met some people that would pay me to do little jobs for them they did not want to do,” Tommy just about had the trap set. “The reason I tell you this is I had to figure all this out myself, without help, and when I saw you and heard your story I saw an opportunity to help you like no one had done for me,” Tommy almost believed this story himself. Rudolph bought it hook, line and sinker, believed every word. “I’ll do whatever I can Mr. Douglas, I won’t let you down,” was all Rudolph could say. Rudolph knew he wasn’t as smart as Tommy Douglas but he also knew he’d do anything he could to be around the kind of money Tommy Douglas was flashing and talking about.
(to be cont'd)
Monday, December 20, 2010
THE RUDOLPH VALENTINO CRUMPTON STORY Part 3
Tommy Douglas knew the lady that ran the place well and used it many times over the years when he was broke and between apartments or homes. Right now he was in great shape, new car to drive and cash in his pocket, but never mentioned to Rudolph his situation often changed. In his line of work it was generally either chicken or feathers and right now just happened to chicken. The work was coming in on a regular basis and Tommy had the type of personality that always saw the glass as half full and for now things were going great.
It took almost forty-five minutes to drive from the diner to this house in an older and somewhat rundown part of Pittsburg. Two men, one black and one white, both probably in their late fifties or early sixties sat on rusted lawn chairs on the front porch as Tommy and Rudolph walk up the steps. “Where’s Maxine,” Tommy ask to neither man in particular as they made it to the top of the steps and walked onto the porch. “She’s in there somewhere,” the black man responded, “we just got through with lunch about thirty minutes ago so she’s probably in the kitchen cleaning up.” “Where you been Tommy,” the older looking of the two and the white guy ask, “mak’in that big money now and don’t need ole Maxine or this old dump now, do ya,” he was laughing now as Tommy and Rudolph eased through the screen door and into a dark and heavily curtained foyer. Tommy continued down a small hallway, leading Rudolph like someone who knew his way around. When he came to a closed door in a large room where Rudolph saw a large dining table, cover with a white table cloth and surrounded by chairs pushed close to the table, Tommy went directly through the door and into a brightly lit kitchen. Standing next to the sink, washing and drying dishes, were two women, both black and wearing aprons, much like Rudolph’s mother wore around his old home in Matewan. Tommy turned to Rudolph and said in a louder than usual voice, “Rudolph, these two were kidnapped from the Playboy Mansion just two days ago and they are being held for a huge ransom here in the palace.” Both women broke into a big laugh and moved toward Tommy. “Mister Tommy, where you been,” said the smaller of the two, “this place is like a funeral home when you gone,” she grabbed Tommy and planted a big kiss on his cheek. “Are you coming home child,” the second one said as she collected her hug and big kiss. “I would if you two would let me get any sleep and quit sneaking into my room all hours of the night,” Tommy said as all three laughed and hugged on each other. “Rudolph, these two are the greatest women in Pittsburg,” Tommy was really laying it on and Rudolph was trying to figure out how to take everything being said. “Girls, I want you to meet my little brother, Rudolph, I going to leave him here for you to take care of but I don’t want him moving in on my territory”. Rudolph having never been around such an exchange didn’t believe everything Tommy was saying but also didn’t know what to believe. “Agnes and Roxanne, this is Rudolph Crumpton, Rudolph, these two beauties are Agnes and Roxanne”. The two ladies immediately turned to Rudolph grabbed him and hugged him like he was long lost family. “How you get messed up with a crazy man like Tommy,” Agnes asked Rudolph laughing all the time. “He been crazy long as I can remember,” she continued, “we tried but we can’t do nothing to make him right”. Rudolph did not know how to act; he had never seen or been around black people or anyone this friendly and outgoing. He was almost in a state of shock. “Where’s Maxine”, Tommy ask. “Who’s looking you good looking hunk of trouble”, Rudolph heard the voice coming through the same door he and Tommy had just come through. Turning to face the voice Tommy almost shouted, “Max, your still the most beautiful woman in the world, how much have you missed me?” The older woman with bright red hair and a lot of make-up met Tommy about half way into the kitchen and the two hugged each other the way Rudolph had seen people do one time in a movie when they had not seen each other for a long time. “You can’t be looking for your old room”, the lady said as she turned Tommy loose, “your still driving that expensive car which means you’re in the money this week”. “Not me beautiful”, Tommy said, “I want to enroll my little buddy in your finishing school for wayward boys”. “Maxine Little, I want you to meet Rudolph Crumpton, a friend of mine that needs a place to stay like a dead man needs a coffin”. Rudolph was stunned by it all and just stood there trying to be as still and quite as possible, “Rudolph, you just call me Maxine and do what I say and I promise to do a better job on you than I did on this fool”, pointing to Tommy. “Seriously Max, the kid needs a place to stay and I will be responsible for whatever it cost”, Tommy said as Rudolph nearly passed out. Rudolph could not remember Tommy ever mentioning being responsible for the rent and food. Rudolph wanted to say something but could not think of anything he could add. He had the $20.00 in his pocket and the clothes on his back, what could he add to the conversation. “We’ve got a room, not that you bothered to ask”, Maxine said mostly to Tommy, “and we need a young stallion in this stable again”, she finished. “Where’s his stuff, I’ll help him get moved in”, Rudolph thought it was Agnes who made the offer and that him not having anything might be a deal breaker. “We’ll have to get him some ‘stuff’ first”, Tommy said, emphasizing the ‘stuff’. “Agnes, you and Roxy get his room ready while I take him to get that ‘stuff’ you mentioned and we’ll be back in a couple of hours”, Tommy said. Rudolph’s head was spinning with everything he was hearing. What had he done or said to make this guy, who he did not know, open his wallet to get him settled into Pittsburg. Whatever he wanted or whatever he needed to do would not be a problem.
Tommy and Maxine walked out through that same door they had entered and into the dining room they first came through to get to the kitchen. “Show him his room”, Maxine shouted back at the three left standing by the sink, “while Tommy and I talk for a minute”. “You hungry honey”, Agnes asked as the other two left the room. “No, I just ate at a diner Mr. Douglas took me to”, Rudolph answered. “Then follow us boy and we’ll show you where you’ll be sleepin’ for a while”. Agnes and Roxy led Rudolph up some stairs that ran from the back of the kitchen past the second floor and on to a third and top floor of the old wooden structure. They first showed Rudolph a large bathroom at the end of a hallway. The only door to the bathroom led to a hallway the length of the building with three doors on each side. The two ladies then guided the kid to the second door on the left where they led him into a small but neatly furnished and clean room. “This is it honey”, Rudolph thought it was Agnes talking, “it ain’t much but I promise you it will always be clean and the light bulbs will work”. It was the greatest room Rudolph had ever seen. The bed was a full size bed and the room had a small table and chair for eating and an upholstered chair like had been in the little living room of his home in Matewan. There was not a closet but a cabinet with doors that opened into an area where he could have hung clothes if he had any. Underneath the area that would be used for hanging things were drawers for whatever clothes he might need to fold. There were drawers for anything and everything he could imagine. There was even a small refrigerator with a coffee maker on top. “Now baby boy there ain’t a lot of rules but the ones they are you better follow or Miss Maxine will get plenty upset”, Rudolph was sure this was Roxy. “Number 1, is you don’t cook nothing in here but coffee, don’t care how drunk you are or whose in here with you, don’t cook, you got that. Number 2 is don’t make no noise after 10:00 at night and damn sure don’t make none after 12:00 o’clock, number 3 is don’t forget number 1 and number 2, you understand them rules”? “Yes mam”, Rudolph was still looking at the bed and the big chest where he could hang clothes if he ever had any. “We serve breakfast at 6:30 in the morning, lunch at 12:00 noon sharp and supper at 6:00 in the evening, we don’t wait on nobody and don’t warm nothing up later, them times and them times only, you understand”, Rudolph was sure this was Agnes talking this time. “Yes mam, I understand and I promise I won’t break a rule and I won’t be late”. “That’s good cause Miss Maxine is the best woman in the world but she don’t give a shit who you are if you break her rules, she even kicked Mr. Tommy out one time and it took him nigh on a year to get back in, you understand”? “I do and I won’t mess up, I promise”, Rudolph was not going to screw this up, he even thought about writing his uncle and aunt about the good life he stumbled onto here in Pittsburgh. As the three walked out in the hallway and headed back down stairs one of the women, Rudolph couldn’t tell them apart, added what Rudolph figure was another rule he’d better remember. “Keep clean, don’t want no stinkin rednecks around here, we ain’t gonna wash them sheets but two times a week”.
(to be cont'd)
It took almost forty-five minutes to drive from the diner to this house in an older and somewhat rundown part of Pittsburg. Two men, one black and one white, both probably in their late fifties or early sixties sat on rusted lawn chairs on the front porch as Tommy and Rudolph walk up the steps. “Where’s Maxine,” Tommy ask to neither man in particular as they made it to the top of the steps and walked onto the porch. “She’s in there somewhere,” the black man responded, “we just got through with lunch about thirty minutes ago so she’s probably in the kitchen cleaning up.” “Where you been Tommy,” the older looking of the two and the white guy ask, “mak’in that big money now and don’t need ole Maxine or this old dump now, do ya,” he was laughing now as Tommy and Rudolph eased through the screen door and into a dark and heavily curtained foyer. Tommy continued down a small hallway, leading Rudolph like someone who knew his way around. When he came to a closed door in a large room where Rudolph saw a large dining table, cover with a white table cloth and surrounded by chairs pushed close to the table, Tommy went directly through the door and into a brightly lit kitchen. Standing next to the sink, washing and drying dishes, were two women, both black and wearing aprons, much like Rudolph’s mother wore around his old home in Matewan. Tommy turned to Rudolph and said in a louder than usual voice, “Rudolph, these two were kidnapped from the Playboy Mansion just two days ago and they are being held for a huge ransom here in the palace.” Both women broke into a big laugh and moved toward Tommy. “Mister Tommy, where you been,” said the smaller of the two, “this place is like a funeral home when you gone,” she grabbed Tommy and planted a big kiss on his cheek. “Are you coming home child,” the second one said as she collected her hug and big kiss. “I would if you two would let me get any sleep and quit sneaking into my room all hours of the night,” Tommy said as all three laughed and hugged on each other. “Rudolph, these two are the greatest women in Pittsburg,” Tommy was really laying it on and Rudolph was trying to figure out how to take everything being said. “Girls, I want you to meet my little brother, Rudolph, I going to leave him here for you to take care of but I don’t want him moving in on my territory”. Rudolph having never been around such an exchange didn’t believe everything Tommy was saying but also didn’t know what to believe. “Agnes and Roxanne, this is Rudolph Crumpton, Rudolph, these two beauties are Agnes and Roxanne”. The two ladies immediately turned to Rudolph grabbed him and hugged him like he was long lost family. “How you get messed up with a crazy man like Tommy,” Agnes asked Rudolph laughing all the time. “He been crazy long as I can remember,” she continued, “we tried but we can’t do nothing to make him right”. Rudolph did not know how to act; he had never seen or been around black people or anyone this friendly and outgoing. He was almost in a state of shock. “Where’s Maxine”, Tommy ask. “Who’s looking you good looking hunk of trouble”, Rudolph heard the voice coming through the same door he and Tommy had just come through. Turning to face the voice Tommy almost shouted, “Max, your still the most beautiful woman in the world, how much have you missed me?” The older woman with bright red hair and a lot of make-up met Tommy about half way into the kitchen and the two hugged each other the way Rudolph had seen people do one time in a movie when they had not seen each other for a long time. “You can’t be looking for your old room”, the lady said as she turned Tommy loose, “your still driving that expensive car which means you’re in the money this week”. “Not me beautiful”, Tommy said, “I want to enroll my little buddy in your finishing school for wayward boys”. “Maxine Little, I want you to meet Rudolph Crumpton, a friend of mine that needs a place to stay like a dead man needs a coffin”. Rudolph was stunned by it all and just stood there trying to be as still and quite as possible, “Rudolph, you just call me Maxine and do what I say and I promise to do a better job on you than I did on this fool”, pointing to Tommy. “Seriously Max, the kid needs a place to stay and I will be responsible for whatever it cost”, Tommy said as Rudolph nearly passed out. Rudolph could not remember Tommy ever mentioning being responsible for the rent and food. Rudolph wanted to say something but could not think of anything he could add. He had the $20.00 in his pocket and the clothes on his back, what could he add to the conversation. “We’ve got a room, not that you bothered to ask”, Maxine said mostly to Tommy, “and we need a young stallion in this stable again”, she finished. “Where’s his stuff, I’ll help him get moved in”, Rudolph thought it was Agnes who made the offer and that him not having anything might be a deal breaker. “We’ll have to get him some ‘stuff’ first”, Tommy said, emphasizing the ‘stuff’. “Agnes, you and Roxy get his room ready while I take him to get that ‘stuff’ you mentioned and we’ll be back in a couple of hours”, Tommy said. Rudolph’s head was spinning with everything he was hearing. What had he done or said to make this guy, who he did not know, open his wallet to get him settled into Pittsburg. Whatever he wanted or whatever he needed to do would not be a problem.
Tommy and Maxine walked out through that same door they had entered and into the dining room they first came through to get to the kitchen. “Show him his room”, Maxine shouted back at the three left standing by the sink, “while Tommy and I talk for a minute”. “You hungry honey”, Agnes asked as the other two left the room. “No, I just ate at a diner Mr. Douglas took me to”, Rudolph answered. “Then follow us boy and we’ll show you where you’ll be sleepin’ for a while”. Agnes and Roxy led Rudolph up some stairs that ran from the back of the kitchen past the second floor and on to a third and top floor of the old wooden structure. They first showed Rudolph a large bathroom at the end of a hallway. The only door to the bathroom led to a hallway the length of the building with three doors on each side. The two ladies then guided the kid to the second door on the left where they led him into a small but neatly furnished and clean room. “This is it honey”, Rudolph thought it was Agnes talking, “it ain’t much but I promise you it will always be clean and the light bulbs will work”. It was the greatest room Rudolph had ever seen. The bed was a full size bed and the room had a small table and chair for eating and an upholstered chair like had been in the little living room of his home in Matewan. There was not a closet but a cabinet with doors that opened into an area where he could have hung clothes if he had any. Underneath the area that would be used for hanging things were drawers for whatever clothes he might need to fold. There were drawers for anything and everything he could imagine. There was even a small refrigerator with a coffee maker on top. “Now baby boy there ain’t a lot of rules but the ones they are you better follow or Miss Maxine will get plenty upset”, Rudolph was sure this was Roxy. “Number 1, is you don’t cook nothing in here but coffee, don’t care how drunk you are or whose in here with you, don’t cook, you got that. Number 2 is don’t make no noise after 10:00 at night and damn sure don’t make none after 12:00 o’clock, number 3 is don’t forget number 1 and number 2, you understand them rules”? “Yes mam”, Rudolph was still looking at the bed and the big chest where he could hang clothes if he ever had any. “We serve breakfast at 6:30 in the morning, lunch at 12:00 noon sharp and supper at 6:00 in the evening, we don’t wait on nobody and don’t warm nothing up later, them times and them times only, you understand”, Rudolph was sure this was Agnes talking this time. “Yes mam, I understand and I promise I won’t break a rule and I won’t be late”. “That’s good cause Miss Maxine is the best woman in the world but she don’t give a shit who you are if you break her rules, she even kicked Mr. Tommy out one time and it took him nigh on a year to get back in, you understand”? “I do and I won’t mess up, I promise”, Rudolph was not going to screw this up, he even thought about writing his uncle and aunt about the good life he stumbled onto here in Pittsburgh. As the three walked out in the hallway and headed back down stairs one of the women, Rudolph couldn’t tell them apart, added what Rudolph figure was another rule he’d better remember. “Keep clean, don’t want no stinkin rednecks around here, we ain’t gonna wash them sheets but two times a week”.
(to be cont'd)
Saturday, December 18, 2010
THE RUDOLPH VALENTINO CRUMPTON STORY Part 2
The young man looked Rudolph over for a minute and then told him to come with him to get something to eat and talk. Rudolph did not know whether he hit it lucky or was just being hustled out of the church because of the way he looked. As they walked, the young man Rudolph had run into introduced himself as Tommy Douglas and continued to lead Rudolph away from the church and to a diner nearly three blocks away. During the walk Tommy questioned Rudolph all the way. He learned Rudolph arrived in town three days before after hopping a coal train from Kentucky. Rudolph’s dad was dead and he dropped out of school somewhere around the ninth grade. Tommy learned Rudolph was behind in his class and was looking for work. Douglas was easy to talk to even for Rudolph. Rudolph had not spoken more than a few words to anyone since he left his uncle’s house but he caught up with his talking on this Mr. Douglas. Tommy knew exactly what he wanted from Rudolph by the time they walked into the converted streetcar/diner. Tommy told Rudolph to order whatever he wanted and suggested the steak and eggs, hash browns, sliced tomatoes and both orange juice and coffee. Rudolph had never had more than a single hamburger and Coke from any restaurant in his life. The only time he had ever even been inside a restaurant was before his dad had gotten sick when he would take Rudolph to the little ‘City Café’ in Matewan, on Saturday afternoons, to get a hamburger and large Grapico. Rudolph remembered the hamburger and drink had cost $1.73 and how he thought that was so much money and how special he was to have his dad spend that much on him just to eat. As hungry as he was, the thought of ordering a steak with his eggs plus both coffee and orange juice simply blew him away. Rudolph thought he must have stumbled across the richest preacher in Pittsburgh and just kept talking and talking much to Tommy’s delight.
Finally Rudolph, trying to figure out how to stay on this gravy train decided to ask this generous man a few questions. “Are you a preacher”, Rudolph ask as he loaded his last piece of toast with as much butter as he could smear. “No”, Tommy said laughing, “I did not mean to mislead you.” “My aunt is a secretary and bookkeeper at the church and I had just gone by to tell her Happy Birthday and give her a little present. I’m really not much of a church go’er,” Tommy said, “I’m a businessman here in Pittsburgh.” “What kind of business,” Rudolph asks trying to determine if this might be someone that could turn into a job opportunity. “I do things for people that they don’t want to do themselves,” Tommy answered, seeing an opportunity to make Rudolph a part of his world. “Why aren’t you working today,” Rudolph ask, trying hard to make sense out of everything going on. “Most of the time I don’t work at regular times,” Tommy told him. “The things I do for people are usually done at night, and a lot of the time outside of Pittsburgh,” Tommy was really confusing Rudolph now, all the time watching, trying to read Rudolph’s reaction. “Do you do the same things every time or do you do different things at different times,” Rudolph while always having struggled in his class work was already street savvy and was beginning to smell something even a kid from the coal fields knew may not be just right. “I do different things at different times, depending on what my customer needs, I’m working tonight,” Tommy offered, “why don’t you come with me.” “You don’t have anything else to do or anywhere to stay,” Tommy said, “come on with me, I’ll help you get a place to stay and pay you a hundred dollars ($100.00) to help me tonight.” “A hundred dollars,” Rudolph nearly spit his coffee across the table. He had never held more than the thirty-five dollars ($35) he had taken from his aunt in his hands at one time in his life. To Rudolph one hundred dollars was a dream, as far as he was concerned a hundred dollars was probably more than anyone in Matewan could put together. Rudolph did not even ask or care what he had to do to get this money. For a minute he did wonder if he was going to be expected to kill someone but even that thought did not bother him that much. He would almost kill himself for that much money and he certainly would kill someone he did not know. Tommy saw the change in Rudolph immediately and knew then he had the help he had been looking for so long. To seal the deal Tommy left a $10.00 tip and handed Rudolph a twenty-dollar $20 bill to stick in his pocket for what he called ‘walking around’ money. They left the diner and quickly found Tommy’s year old Cadillac Seville and headed toward a boarding house on the south side of Pittsburgh and Rudolph’s new way of life.
(to be cont'd)
Finally Rudolph, trying to figure out how to stay on this gravy train decided to ask this generous man a few questions. “Are you a preacher”, Rudolph ask as he loaded his last piece of toast with as much butter as he could smear. “No”, Tommy said laughing, “I did not mean to mislead you.” “My aunt is a secretary and bookkeeper at the church and I had just gone by to tell her Happy Birthday and give her a little present. I’m really not much of a church go’er,” Tommy said, “I’m a businessman here in Pittsburgh.” “What kind of business,” Rudolph asks trying to determine if this might be someone that could turn into a job opportunity. “I do things for people that they don’t want to do themselves,” Tommy answered, seeing an opportunity to make Rudolph a part of his world. “Why aren’t you working today,” Rudolph ask, trying hard to make sense out of everything going on. “Most of the time I don’t work at regular times,” Tommy told him. “The things I do for people are usually done at night, and a lot of the time outside of Pittsburgh,” Tommy was really confusing Rudolph now, all the time watching, trying to read Rudolph’s reaction. “Do you do the same things every time or do you do different things at different times,” Rudolph while always having struggled in his class work was already street savvy and was beginning to smell something even a kid from the coal fields knew may not be just right. “I do different things at different times, depending on what my customer needs, I’m working tonight,” Tommy offered, “why don’t you come with me.” “You don’t have anything else to do or anywhere to stay,” Tommy said, “come on with me, I’ll help you get a place to stay and pay you a hundred dollars ($100.00) to help me tonight.” “A hundred dollars,” Rudolph nearly spit his coffee across the table. He had never held more than the thirty-five dollars ($35) he had taken from his aunt in his hands at one time in his life. To Rudolph one hundred dollars was a dream, as far as he was concerned a hundred dollars was probably more than anyone in Matewan could put together. Rudolph did not even ask or care what he had to do to get this money. For a minute he did wonder if he was going to be expected to kill someone but even that thought did not bother him that much. He would almost kill himself for that much money and he certainly would kill someone he did not know. Tommy saw the change in Rudolph immediately and knew then he had the help he had been looking for so long. To seal the deal Tommy left a $10.00 tip and handed Rudolph a twenty-dollar $20 bill to stick in his pocket for what he called ‘walking around’ money. They left the diner and quickly found Tommy’s year old Cadillac Seville and headed toward a boarding house on the south side of Pittsburgh and Rudolph’s new way of life.
(to be cont'd)
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
THE RUDOLPH VALENTINO CRUMPTON STORY
Rudolph Valentino Crumpton had been born in Matewan, West Virginia fifty-three years ago. Matewan is a small coal-mining town in southwest West Virginia near both the Kentucky and Virginia state lines. Life there was tough and Rudolph’s family had it the toughest. His dad was a coal miner who became disabled with a severe case of black lung disease when Rudolph was 13 and in his second year of the 6th grade. His mother tried every way possible to hold the family together but was finally forced to give up her family by the time Rudolph reached the age of 15. There were no jobs in Matewan other than underground in the mines. With his mother’s health failing Rudolph was forced to move to Pikeville, Kentucky to live with an aunt and uncle, his dad’s brother, just as he entered the 8th grade. Rudolph had never been much of a student but now he was at least three years behind the other kids his age and never hope to catch up or graduate. Rudolph hated Pikeville, his aunt and uncle and everything about his life. He fought everyday at school because as the new kid, three years behind the other kids his age. He was not really a people person and he had a chip on his shoulder as big as the trains, loaded with coal that rolled through the small town every day. In hopes of finding something he could do to make life a little more bearable Rudolph jumped a coal train out of Pikeville headed to Pittsburgh. Rudolph took thirty-five dollars from a stash he knew his aunt kept and quickly stuffed his second pair of pants and two extra shirts his uncle had bought him into an old Belk-Hudson bag he found under a bed. He arrived in Pittsburgh, almost sixteen years old, with twenty-eight dollars, the clothes on his back and a few extras in a Belk’s shopping bag. He had spent seven dollars when he got off that first train in Lexington, thinking he was in Pittsburgh. The kid had no identification, no place to stay and did not know anyone that could help him in any way. The Crumpton’s had never been a church going family but an old man Rudolph met while still in the train yard in Pittsburgh told him to find a church and to ask for food and money for a room. It was in the early fall when Rudolph arrived in Pittsburgh and he was able to live on the streets for a couple of days before totally exhausting his twenty-eight dollars and finding himself broke and desperate. Rudolph spotted a church the first day in town but had not tried to solicit any help thinking he could find work on his own. He had never been in a church in his life and was actually a little scared of churches.
In Matewan there were only two churches and his family did not attend either one. There was the one in the middle of town where all the ‘rich’ people went and where the Crumpton family would never fit in. The other was on the outskirts of town where some of Rudolph’s schoolmates attended. Rudolph heard from his schoolmates the people in this church drank poison and handled snakes, which gave him ample reason to steer clear. The little church was located just a mile or so outside downtown Matewan. Like all the structures in that part of West Virginia the church was wedged between a small two-lane highway and one of the huge mountains that locked everything in the valley. The outside walls were whitewashed and the signage was hand painted by members of the congregation with what must have been large brushes. The sign over the door announced this was the “Apostolic Church Forever in the Spirit” but the sign that always bothered Rudolph was painted on the wall and said;
"And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
This scripture covered most of the wall facing the little highway. Rudolph always figured this meant the things he heard about the snake handling were for real and he just never saw a need to check it out or certainly join in whatever went on there. Sadly after two days in Pittsburgh, and with no luck in finding work, Rudolph saw no alternative except to try his luck at the Church. Around 10:30 in the morning on his third day in Pittsburgh, snakes or no snakes, he walked into the office area of the Church he noticed upon arriving in Pittsburgh and asks a young man coming out of an office if he could help him get something to eat.
(to be cont'd)
In Matewan there were only two churches and his family did not attend either one. There was the one in the middle of town where all the ‘rich’ people went and where the Crumpton family would never fit in. The other was on the outskirts of town where some of Rudolph’s schoolmates attended. Rudolph heard from his schoolmates the people in this church drank poison and handled snakes, which gave him ample reason to steer clear. The little church was located just a mile or so outside downtown Matewan. Like all the structures in that part of West Virginia the church was wedged between a small two-lane highway and one of the huge mountains that locked everything in the valley. The outside walls were whitewashed and the signage was hand painted by members of the congregation with what must have been large brushes. The sign over the door announced this was the “Apostolic Church Forever in the Spirit” but the sign that always bothered Rudolph was painted on the wall and said;
"And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
This scripture covered most of the wall facing the little highway. Rudolph always figured this meant the things he heard about the snake handling were for real and he just never saw a need to check it out or certainly join in whatever went on there. Sadly after two days in Pittsburgh, and with no luck in finding work, Rudolph saw no alternative except to try his luck at the Church. Around 10:30 in the morning on his third day in Pittsburgh, snakes or no snakes, he walked into the office area of the Church he noticed upon arriving in Pittsburgh and asks a young man coming out of an office if he could help him get something to eat.
(to be cont'd)
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