Things were too calm. It seemed something was about to happen. As usual, I wrote the suspense off as growing pains with the band, but this time it would be bad news from the home front.

Even though I'd sort of "left the nest" and was spending  most of my time  at our garage apartment, "The Shady Rest", I would still drop by my parent's house daily to take a bath, eat, and get my clothes washed. (The bathroom at the garage apartment was not fit for human habitation.) I was usually in and out--not around enough to know about any personal conflicts between mom and dad.  One day, mom caught me before I could scurry away unnoticed and laid it on the line. Apparently, there were problems--big problems! 

It was a classic case of two people staying in a marriage "for the sake of the children." Once the children are grown, the truth has a way of coming out.  They weren't happy and hadn't been in a good while.  There was every indication that they would be splitting up soon if something didn't happen FAST! Something DID happen, and the marriage was oddly reconciled as a result of it. We were relieved that mom and dad were staying together, but the circumstances of the intervening events were anything but desirable and brought a whole new world of grief with them.  Here's the scoop...

On the afternoon of February 3, 1978, mom called me at the garage apartment with some news and a question; the news was that my Grandpa, Tom Meals (her dad)  was dying.  The question was, "would I be a pallbearer?"  I'd been so busy thinking only of myself, my band, my nightlife, and my newfound celebrity (as small time as it may have been) that I'd lost track of those I'd grown up around and loved. I suppose it isn't even fair to say I'd "lost track" because I hadn't been tracking them. 

Thomas Henderson Meals had been the perfect Grandfather. He'd lost a leg in a train  accident when my mom was just a little girl. Prior to mom being born, he and my Grandmother (Elsie May) had been sharecroppers until a settlement from the railroad  left them with just enough money to buy a little house of their own in the sleepy town of Covington, Texas.  That's where my mom grew up. Covington was basically a dusty main street with a post office, a drug store, and a barber shop. Covington made Mayberry look like a Metropolis!  Beyond the main road, everything else was spread out as far as the eye could see.  

We used to visit them often, and loved the change of pace offered by the country surroundings. My brothers and I would ride mini bikes, go fishing, roam the old cemetery,  and do everything Tom Sawyer could've done without the benefit of a Mississippi River nearby--or modern restrooms.  Tom Meals was a good man; he was honest, hard working, and lead a simple life. His wife, Elsie, died in 1961, just as I would start first grade. 

 
Grandpa at Grandma's grave

Now, Tom was dying fast and there was nothing anyone could do to reverse that fact. I visited him in the hospital just in time. He died the next day. After the initial shock of losing my last surviving grandparent wore off, I was left with an odd realization; I was going to be a pall bearer in a day or two but didn't even own a suit! I was discussing this fact at the "I" during a rehearsal when one of the daytime regulars overheard my plight. The old fellow's nickname was Saggy. I never knew his real one. He was a retired businessman who liked to hang out at the "I" during happy hour.  

Saggy told Barbara, the daytime manager, that his son had recently died and left a lot of really nice suits that would probably fit me perfectly. Saggy wanted me to have his son's clothes!  Barbara came over and told me that Saggy wanted to talk to me. I went over and shook his hand and sat down with him. He was getting a little choked up just thinking about his son.  I don't know why Saggy felt so close to me at that moment; I was a young, long-haired kid in a band.  But he insisted I take the clothes. He had no room to store them, and if I didn't take them he was going to give them to charity.

Saggy told me a bit about his son. He said his son had been very successful and loved to spend lots of money on fine clothes. According to Saggy, I would find clothes fit for a king in those boxes, and I was welcome to keep all that I wanted. This made the deal a bit more interesting for me, and allowed me to get past the idea of just getting a bunch of dead man's clothes. I began to imagine all kinds of great silk suits, and fancy three piece jobs. I pictured myself on Wall Street in my new - or slightly used apparel once the funeral was behind me. 

There ended up being one suit in the whole lot that I could - or even would wear. It was fine for the funeral, but the rest of the stuff  just wasn't for me.  In fact, most of it looked as if it came from a trunk belonging to a comedy improv group. I kept a few jackets to use for Uncle Ernie routines and gave the rest to Goodwill.  I truly appreciated Saggy's motives, and he helped save me the cost of buying a new suit. It rained during the funeral and I got mud all over the trousers.  I never saw Saggy in the "I" again after he dropped off those clothes for me. 

After Grandpa died, things seemed to get back to normal back home with mom and dad for some reason.  I never asked why and they never told me. Either way, I was relieved to get back into the groove at the "I" again, but not before having a major event with Pam, my ex girlfriend.  She'd come to be somewhat of the "bell of the ball" around the "I", and was dating a couple of different musicians by this time.  The night of Grandpa's death, she came into the "I" with a smug look on her face, ready for another night of making my life hell on the job. Since she'd met my Grandfather, I decided to mention to her that he'd passed away. On our first break I approached her table and gave her the news. She leaned back in her seat, cleared her throat, and practically shouted, "Well what do you want from me? A song and dance?"  I shrunk backwards into the faceless crowd without saying a word or showing any emotion. But inside my head I was completely shocked by her cutting words. It was the coldest thing anyone had ever said to me, and I made a secret personal vow to make her pay for that one!

Boogie Nights At the Hungry I!