Harlem Renaissance Time Traveler's Diary

by Lashonda Beauregard

  Lashonda Beauregard

  The Harlem Renaissance Time Traveler's Diary

  BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

  80331 Munich

  Chapter 1

  It was December 30, 1926. I had just performed my music selection Jazz Thunder with my band here at the nightclub. It was the Harlem Renaissance and the spirit of jazz was alive. There wasn’t a night in Harlem that would go by without hearing jazz music on the streets. Harlem was full of great music and great musicians, and I West Barrington, was among many black musicians here in Harlem.

  There was another well-known musician here by the name Duke Ellington. Duke had just performed here at the nightclub tonight, he and his band. Duke and his orchestra bring down the house every time they perform here. There have been some comparisons to me and Duke, but there’s not any competition between us. Duke’s a cool guy. I respect his music and he’s gained a lot of fame here at the nightclub.

  My girlfriend, Lanna Gold, is the lead singer of the group Crystal Dream. They’re a trio. Lanna, Stacey, and Donna have also been getting a lot of success here at the nightclub.

  There’s also another well-known musician here who has gained a lot of exposure. Bobby Jazz Blues, also known as Bobby J. Blues, is a musician from New Orleans who came here to make his mark on the Harlem Renaissance. Bobby J. Blues brought a southern style of music here to Harlem.

  I wasn’t as established as Duke and Bobby as a musician, but I was well on my way. I’ve recently been offered another show at a different nightclub downtown. I was also asked to tour with Bobby J. Blues to the South. Our bands will perform in New Orleans then head back up to Nashville before performing here again in Harlem.

  I feel like my work is finally taking off and is appreciated. It was such a wonderful night. I felt like I was at a good time in my life. My music career was starting to take off, but with all the good things happening in my life and on this day, this was the night that my life changed.

  After my performance, I decided to take a walk. I walked out of the backstage door of the nightclub. As I pulled out my pocket watch I saw that the time was 10:07 p.m. It was a crisp, calm, cold night in Harlem. I like to take walks sometimes while I’m working on a new music selection because I feel that it helps with the creative process.

  As I continued to think about my next music selection piece, I decided to walk a little further. There are some back pathways and alleys behind some of the businesses and nightclubs in the area. I thought what a cold, yet beautiful night in Harlem. The moon was full that night, not a cloud in the sky. The stars were bright. It was peaceful, quiet, unlike the nightclub I had just left from. I could still hear music and applauding from the nightclub.

  As I continued to walk further the music from the nightclub became less and less audible. All of a sudden, the peace and night silence was broken as I heard what sounded like the voice of two men fighting. It sounded like it was coming from right around the corner. I saw Silk and Ron in an argument. From the sound of the argument, it was clear that the dispute was over money. Maybe a business deal that has gone wrong?

  Silk Silky K. Turner, also known as Silk, was not the type of person you would want to cross. He was one of those well-known, high roller, mafia, crime lord type of guys. Silk was also a very dangerous businessman. Silk didn’t play by the rules. Ron T. Mallens was a manager at one of the other nightclubs in the area.

  Ron said, "I don’t have the money Silk!”

  It was about this time that I saw Silk pull out a gun and point it at Ron.

  Silk said, “Nobody crosses me, Ron. Time is money, and money is time. Which I’m sorry brother, you’re out of."

  The gun went off. I was stunned, shocked. I couldn’t believe I had just witnessed a murder.

  Ron fell to the ground as Silk’s crew walked towards him. I turned around away from what I had just seen. I put my head back against the cold brick wall. This can’t be happening. I could hear Silk and his crew discussing how they would cover up the crime that had just taken place.

  As I peeped around the building once more, my pocket watch fell to the ground and make a noise. I grabbed it quickly as I saw Silk and his crew stop talking as they looked around.

  I started to run back to the nightclub hoping that Silk, his crew, or no one else would see me. The couple of minutes back to the nightclub seemed like forever. I made it up to the back door of the nightclub as I reached for the door and pulled it. As it started to open I was thankful that it hadn’t locked after me. I was also thankful that I hadn’t run into anyone on the way back. I was still in shock at what I had just seen.

  Even though it was a cold winter night in Harlem, fear and the run back to the nightclub caused sweat to run down my face. By this time my heart was beating out of my chest. I reached for my pocket handkerchief, but it was nowhere to be found. I noticed that I still had my pocket watch and the time now was almost 10:30 p.m.

  As I continued to walk down the hall backstage, a group of musicians walked past me and said, “Good show tonight West”.

  I was still trying to get a grip of what I had just witnessed as I heard a voice ask, “Are you okay man?”

  I replied, "I’m fine."

  Bobby J. Blues said, “Well, okay West I guess I’ll see you at tomorrow night’s show?”

  I said, “No doubt, I wouldn’t miss it for the world."

  I saw Lanna backstage as she was getting ready to go out on stage and perform that night.

  She came up to me and said, “West, are you coming back out to watch us perform?”

  I said, "Of course."

  We welcomed each other with a kiss. She saw that I was still in shock.

  She asked, “Are you okay West? What’s wrong?”

  I said, “Nothing. It’s just that I’ve had a long night. I’ve been working hard on my next music selection. I’ve been spending a lot of time getting my music sheets together for me and my band.”

  Lanna said, “Well why don't you take a break from writing and come watch us perform."

  I said, “Okay."

  I went out onto the floor of the nightclub and had the waiter hand me a drink. I saw Lanna and her group Crystal Dream come out on stage as the main lights darkened and the spotlight shined on her. She was beautiful that night. You could hear a pin drop as she and her group Crystal Dream sang their new song.

  After their performance, all I could hear was applauding. The crowd loved them.

  I kissed her and said, “Congratulations baby.”

  She replied, "Thanks," as she hugged me.

  I gave her a ride home and kissed her goodnight before I headed home to get ready for my performance tomorrow night. I had a hard time going to sleep that December night. As I tossed and turned I prayed that tonight was all a dream. I had witnessed a murder. If Silk and his crew found out I had seen them my fate would very much end up like Ron’s. Nobody crossed or stood up against Silk and his crew. Let alone told on him. All he has to do is make one phone call and you’re gone. He’s sort of like the mafia around here. No one messes with Silk.

  It was 2:45 a.m., I was still tossing and turning trying to fall asleep. I woke up the next morning thinking I finally fell asleep. I looked at my pocket watch and saw that it was just after 9:30 a.m. I was still thinking, wishing, and hoping that last night was just a dream. I opened my door and I saw that the paperboy had delivered my newspaper.

  I couldn’t keep my mind off what I had seen last night. I spent the day pondering over what to do, hoping that Silk wouldn't find out that I saw him shoot Ron. I started to think about how I wish that I had never taken a walk last night. I knew that it was going to be hard to perform
tonight with all this on my mind, but I was trying to hold it together, at least until after the performance.

  Later that night the nightclub was packed as usual. As my band and I were performing, I happened to see Silk walk through the nightclub. I grew nervous as I felt my heart pounding in my chest. As he turned to look towards the stage, I acted as if I hadn’t seen him by turning to look at the rest of the audience.

  Once again my band and I performed well that night. I thanked my band and the audience for coming tonight. As my band and I walked off the stage I could still hear the audience applauding. Lanna came up to me to kiss me and congratulate me on my performance. She said she was going to rehearse with the other singers for their performance tomorrow night. I said okay and that I was going to work on my music piece as well.

  I went backstage to practice my music selection for my next show. I tried to keep my mind off last night by keeping busy with my music composition. It was 11:45 p.m., as I was working on my sheet music when I felt my eyelids grow tired.

  As I opened my eyes the next morning I thought I must have fallen asleep at my piano. I noticed that my piano was different. Where were my music sheets? I noticed the time on a clock, a strange clock I’d never seen before. There was no hour and minute hand on this clock, only numbers. According to this strange clock, it was 8:17 a.m. The room was different. The furniture had a different style than I’ve seen before.

  I got up from the piano bench and opened the door to walk down the hall. I noticed that the hallway was different. This didn’t look like backstage at the nightclub. It was about this time that I saw a man who I didn’t recognize walk towards me.

  He said, “Excuse me, Sir! Who are you? How did you get in here? Why are you dressed like that?”

  I was still wearing my suit that I had performed in last night. It was about this same time that I noticed how strangely this man was dressed as well.

  I said, “I’m West. Who are you?”

  The man replied, “I’m Carl, the maintenance man for this building. Can I help you with something?"

  I said, “Well, I was practicing for my show here at the nightclub tonight.”

  He said, “Sir there hasn’t been a show or a nightclub here in years. This is a music school.”

  I said, “A music school? What are you talking about? Is this some kind of joke? Why does the backstage area look so different? Where is my band? Where are Duke, Bobby J. Blues, and Lanna?”

  He said, “Sir, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You apparently seem confused. Maybe you’ve been through something?”

  I felt confused, lost. I didn’t understand what had happened. My surroundings were different. Everything looked different like someone remodeled the building.

  He said, “Look, calm down. Everything is going to be okay. Whatever you’ve been through last year it’s a thing of the past. It’s over with. Happy New Year.”

  “That’s right it's a new year,” I said.

  I was so caught up with everything that was going on with my music and what I had witnessed Silk do the other night that I hadn't even realized. I was still stunned, shocked, and of course, in fear because I had been a witness to a murder.

  Carl patted me on the back and said, “I hope 2016 is better for you young man.”

  I gasped and said, “2016? It’s 1927.”

  Carl said, “What are you talking about? It’s 2016. Stop joking around young man.”

  Once again I said, “It’s 1927.”

  He said, “It hasn’t been 1927 in years. Those days are gone, history.”

  I said, “It can’t be 2016. I’ve never heard of such a year. What happened to the 19? It was just December 31, 1926. I performed with my band at the nightclub. Where is everyone?”

  Carl said, “Well it’s Saturday, the school is closed.”

  I replied, “School? There was just a nightclub here.”

  He said, “Sir I don’t know what you’re talking about. I know things get a little crazy for New Year’s. Maybe you had too much to drink? Did you party too much?”

  I replied, “I went to sleep at my piano at the nightclub where I performed last night. What’s going on? It still has to be 1927. It can’t be the year 2016. It can’t, that’s impossible.”

  Carl said, “It’s 2016. Yesterday was December 31, 2015.”

  Many thoughts were going through my mind. It felt like it was all just a dream, maybe because that’s what I wanted all this to be. I wanted all of this to end up being a dream that I could wake up from. Just two days ago I had witnessed a murder in 1926 Harlem. Then I go to sleep on the eve before 1927, and I wake up to some strange man who’s telling me it’s some strange year in the future. A year I’ve never heard or thought of.

  I still disagreed with Carl about it being 2016 as we walked down the hall. About halfway down the hall, there was a small table with a newspaper on it.

  Carl reached for the newspaper as he said, "I can prove to you it's 2016."

  I said, “I just read the newspaper yesterday at my house. It was December 31, 1926.”

  Carl handed me the newspaper. I was in awe, shock at what I was looking at. I couldn’t believe it. Right above the headlines the newspaper read, "Happy New Year 2016". I could feel the wind being knocked out of my chest. The cold January breeze coming through the slightly opened window offered no relief from the cold reality I was just becoming aware of. For a moment, I couldn’t speak.

  He said, "The proof is right here. It's 2016. Sir, I don’t know why you think or believe you are from 1926. You seem confused. Maybe you should take a walk to clear your head. It’s New Year’s. You should be with your family.”

  I was still in shock as I agreed to take his advice and go for a walk to try to make some sense of what all was going on around me. After I opened the door I was in disbelief. Harlem was different. The buildings that I knew were replaced with taller different buildings. Some buildings stood tall like mountains. There were moving vehicles like I had never seen before. This didn’t look like 1927 Harlem.

  The people were dressed strangely and everyone walking down the street had something in their hand. Everyone had these strange box-shaped items next to their ear. It looked as if someone was talking on the telephone, but they were moving and there was no wire. How could this be?

  The music I heard down the street was music my ears had never heard before. What style of music was this? Where was the jazz that I usually hear on the Harlem streets? The music I heard didn’t sound like singing. This was music with a lot of rhythm. It was more like a sort of talking instead of singing. I saw young people dancing to this style of music in a way I had never seen anyone dance before. Whatever style of music this was, it was far from jazz music.

  As I continued to walk down the street I passed by what appeared to be a small café. There were people sitting down looking at what looked like small movie screens as they typed. What was this? What I was seeing was far from 1927. While I continued further down the street, I began to wonder why and how I got here. How, or even if I would be able to get back to my life in 1927 Harlem.

  I began to walk back to my apartment building. The streets and houses I had known were all gone. There were different houses and buildings than I had ever seen before. The building I lived in was no longer there. My home and all my things were gone. If my home and things were gone, I knew my family, friends, and Lanna were gone. They were all back in 1927 Harlem.

  I continued about three blocks down, as I headed towards where my parents’ home once was. It was clear to me that everyone who once lived in this neighborhood was gone. My parents’ home was gone just like everything else from 1927. I continued to walk since I had nowhere to go. I had no home since my apartment building and my family were all back in 1927.

  As I turned between two buildings I smelled something burning. As I got closer I saw a group of what appeared to be homeless people trying to stay warm around a metal trash can with a fire burning inside. It became clear to me t
hat I was much like them, without a home. I sighed as I placed my head against the cold brick wall.

  One of the men said, “You must be homeless too?”

  I simply replied, “I’m a long way from home.”

  He touched me on the shoulder and said, “It happens to the best of us sometimes. By the way, Happy New Year.”

  This wasn’t what I wanted to hear. This wasn’t my New Year. I’m not supposed to be here. My New Year is 1927. I’ve got a get back to 1927 Harlem. I had nowhere to stay. I needed to get back to the music school. Maybe Carl is still there.

  As I made my way back the traffic was louder than it had ever been before in Harlem. I was so close to home, yet so far. As I made my way back I reached into my pocket. I realized that I not only still had my pocket watch but also my driver’s license from 1926. My pocket watch stopped working at exactly 12:00 a.m. The door I had left out of had locked behind me. I started knocking, hoping that someone would answer. This went on for a couple of minutes.

  All of a sudden, the door opened. It was Carl.

  He said, “Oh it’s you again, Mr. New Year. 1927 right? Just kidding. Did you come to your senses?”

  I said, “Carl, I’m from 1926.”

  He said, “You still believe you’re from 1926?”

  I said, “Yes, I am. I’ve got the proof."

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out my driver’s license that read 1926 and handed it to Carl. Carl took my license. As he noticed the date on my license he became shocked.

  He said, “This license says 1926, West Barrington. That’s impossible. There's no way this can be real. Oh my God! If this license is real then you really are from 1926. You’re from the Harlem Renaissance.”

  Carl looked as if someone had knocked the wind out of him. He looked as though he had seen a ghost.

  He asked, “How did you get here?”

  I replied, “I’m not sure how or even why I’m here in the future. Listen Carl, you’ve got to help me. My home, my family, and their homes are all gone. Not really gone, it’s just everything I have or know is back in 1927.”