Farewell PFC Polk: The End of a Nightmare (In the Valley of Hope Book 2)

by Richard Weirich

  Otto’s All Stars – June 1, 1953

  In the summer of ’53, air conditioning in automobiles was a scarcely available option. Hot weather traveling was handled with the windows down which produced considerable noise and a lot of yelling between passengers. Simple conversation was a strain as was the widespread use of tobacco. If you were a non-smoker, you were in the minority. In fact, of the 4 riders in Otto’s vehicle, Buddy was the only one who had not taken up the habit. As his 3 cohorts puffed away, Buddy felt like he was riding in a chimney.

  “You don’t smoke?” asked Eddie Johnson. “How come?”

  Buddy figured that the real answer, smoking was forbidden by his mother, would not be cool. “Just never appealed to me. My daddy does enough smoking for all of us.”

  “Hey, Otto.”

  “Mr. Bly,” said the field manager firmly. “You’re to call me, Mr. Bly.”

  “Uh, Mr. Bly, then,” replied Eddie, correcting himself. How about you buy us some beer for a little party at the hotel tonight? We’ll give you the money if you buy it for us. Right fellas?” Eddie looked to the backseat for a response.

  “Don’t know. Short on cash,” said Will Hottle.

  Buddy didn’t say anything.

  “What’s with you, Charles? You don’t smoke. You don’t drink. Are you like Amish or Mennonite or something?” asked Eddie laughing at his cutting humor.

  “Nope. Lutheran,” said Buddy pretending to enjoy the teasing. “I’m messed up enough. Don’t need it.”

  Will Hottle took up for Buddy, “Now the truth comes out. As long as you’re messed up like the rest of us, then we’re going to get along just fine.

  “Mr. Bly, you didn’t answer my question,” said Eddie.

  Otto Bly pulled to the side of the road and stopped. “Now, we need to get a few things straight. You represent the state of Virginia and as such you will conduct yourselves as gentlemen. There will be no wild parties, no drinking, and no activities that would be an embarrassment to your employer. All it takes is one misdeed and you’ll be sent packing. I also expect all of you to get along. There will be no fussing and fighting on my watch.”

  For the remainder of the journey to West Point, the crew had little more to say. Buddy watched the passing scenery and Eddie and Will took a nap. Otto Bly tuned to a country station on the car radio in an attempt to drown out Eddie’s snoring.

  Just inside the West Point city limits, Mr. Bly stopped at a grocery store where he purchased food and supplies for their in-the-field lunches. “Hope you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Chances are, by the end of summer…you’ll hate them.”

  On the way from the grocery store to the West Point Hotel, Otto explained that the hotel would serve as their base of operations. Each week they would work an area within their assigned region. He also made it clear that any damage to a place of lodging would be paid for out of the offender’s pockets.

  Finally, they arrived at their summer residence. The aging 2-story wooden structure reminded Buddy of the Hotel Strasburg. Noticeably different were three signs across the front of the wraparound porch that advertised the “award winning hotel dining room.”

  “Ain’t as good as your mama's’ cooking, but it ain’t half bad,” said Otto while the crew disembarked from the automobile and stood on the gravel driveway. “My third summer here. Gets hotter than Peter Piper’s Peppers but you’ll get used to it.”

  The team followed their field manager onto the front porch where they were instructed to rest on a bench while he checked them in.

  “Got a hotel about like this one in my hometown,” said Buddy. “And it’s haunted, or so I’ve been told.”

  “As long it’s a good-lookin’ female ghost, it’s OK by me,” said Eddie Johnson. “Anybody know if we’re getting individual rooms? By the way, if anybody wants a beer I’ve got a fake ID. The only thing I ask is that when you use it, you get me some Budweiser. Oh, yeah. One more thing, anybody that’s a snitch gets a knuckle sandwich. It won’t be pretty. Ain’t never lost a fight.”

  Maybe that mail order judo course will finally come in handy, thought Buddy, amused that such a little guy could have such a big opinion of himself.

  When Mr. Bly returned, he announced room assignments. “Here’s how it’s going to be and there will be no changes. Will and Charles will be together and Eddie, you’ve got me for a roommate.”

  Buddy thought for sure that he heard Eddie mumble an unintelligible curse word. Apparently, Will also picked up on the epithet. When he and Buddy made eye contact, they both smiled. Clearly, Otto had Eddie’s number.

  “Get settled in,” said Mr. Bly. “The dining room closes at 7:00 so let’s meet over there at 5:30.

  As luck would have it, or as Buddy believed, by divine intervention, he was paired with a good roommate who appeared to share similar values. Will Hottle was from Charlottesville and, like Buddy had just graduated from high school. This was also his first time away from home which appeared to be a bigger problem for him than Buddy. Fifteen minutes after unpacking his bag, Will headed for the pay phone in the lobby to call his mother.

  It wasn’t that Buddy wasn’t close to his parents, but the Polks were a very frugal family and they believed that their phone bill was an unnecessary expense. In fact, if it had not been for Helen’s persistence, Charlie Polk still would not have that infernal noise-making contraption. “Why should I have to pay to talk to somebody I don’t want to talk to?” he often said. “If they want to speak to me that bad then they ought to pay for it.”

  With Will out of the room, Buddy laid down on his bed and thought about the distance that separated him and his friends. Donnie would just be finishing his first day at summer school. Trudy was probably ringing the cash register at the Five and Dime, that is if it worked. And Bobbie Jean had likely spent the day getting some sun in her backyard, at least, that’s what she said she would be doing. Then he thought about his daddy and said a short prayer asking the Lord to put a stop to his father’s drinking. As a gentle afternoon breeze blew through an open window, Buddy drifted off to sleep.

  “Wake up,” urged Will. “Wake up. It’s suppertime.”

  Shaken from his slumber, Buddy sleepily pulled himself together and followed Will to the hotel restaurant. Even this was a new adventure. His only experience with dining out was fries and a Coke at the Virginia Restaurant. He worried that the 50 dollars that he brought with him would run out before receiving his first travel reimbursement.

  It was not difficult to find their table. Eddie’s unmistakable raspy laugh could be heard at the hostess station. And when they found him, they were surprised to discover that he was alone.

  “Where’s Mr. Bly,” said Buddy as he and Will sat down at the table.

  “Otto is on a business call with Walter. He left me in charge,” announced Eddie.

  Either Mr. Bly had a sudden change of heart about the name by which he was to be called or Eddie was blowing smoke. Buddy figured it was the latter. And putting Eddie in charge. Not buyin’ it, thought Buddy, as he picked up a menu with prices that startled him more than Eddie’s arrogance. He was accustomed to filling up for 20 cents at the Virginia Restaurant. While Eddie continued to pontificate about how he was getting along famously with his boss, Buddy stared out the window, hoping that there was a grocery store nearby. A loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter would last him nearly a week.

  Soon after, Mr. Bly joined his crew. “Ordered yet?”

  “No, sir,” said Eddie continuing to do more to butter up his boss than the cracker in his hand. “I told the fellows that it would be disrespectful to order before our boss. Very bad manners.”

  Will kicked Buddy under the table and made a face. Buddy just shook his head in disbelief.

  “I was telling Will that at the end of each summer we select two from the program to apply for full-time jobs in the department,” said Mr. Bly, which helped explain Eddie’s behavior.

  “What can I get you gentlemen this evening?�
�� interrupted the waitress.

  Eddie wasted no time turning on the nauseous charm for the attractive young lady with long black hair. “Oh, my goodness. Are you really the waitress? I thought you were a model or a movie star. What’s your name, darlin’?”

  “Sally,” said Buddy. “Her name is Sally.”

  Mr. Bly and Will laughed at Buddy’s disclosure, but Eddie couldn’t figure out how he knew her name.

  “Nametag,” said Will.

  Eddie quickly covered his oversight. “Well, it’s no wonder. When I saw those lovely brown eyes, I guess I just got distracted.”

  “Take your order?” said the waitress obviously annoyed by Eddie’s forwardness.

  “Hamburger steak for me,” said Eddie.

  “Thought you were going to let the boss order first,” said Will laughing.

  “I’ll have the cheeseburger and fries,” said Mr. Bly.

  “Same here,” said Will.

  The waitress looked at Buddy and smiled. “And you sir? Have you made up your mind?”

  Suddenly Buddy realized that he was staring at the waitress. “Have we met?”

  Eddie laughed. “That’s the oldest line in the book. Surely you can do better than that.”

  “No, seriously. You look really familiar. I’ve been trying to figure out where I’ve seen you.”

  The waitress didn’t appear to be offended at his inquiry, but she did have other customers waiting. “Your order, please.”

  “Soup and a whole bunch of crackers,” said Buddy doing the math in his head. “Just a bowl of soup.”

  “Anything else?”

  “No, mam. Had a big lunch.”

  While waiting for their food to arrive, the three workers flooded their boss with questions. “When do we get paid? How do we get our money? Will it be by cash or check? Where will we be going this summer? Where can we wash our clothes?”

  Mr. Bly also had a question for them. “All of our teams have nicknames. We need a catchy name for our gang. What do you think?”

  “The Three Musketeers,” said Will.

  “Otto’s All Stars,” suggested Eddie still trying to impress his boss

  “Actually, I kind of like that,” said Buddy and it didn’t take long for the others to agree that Eddie’s offering was worth adopting.

  15 minutes after placing their order the waitress pushed a cart beside their table and proceeded to distribute the food. When she got to Buddy, she set a bowl of soup, a plate full of crackers, and a cheeseburger in front of him.

  “Oh, no mam. I didn’t order a cheeseburger. Just the soup.”

  “Cook made a mistake,” she said. “No point in it going to waste. There’s no charge.”

  When Buddy looked up to thank her, she flashed a smile that made him melt, more than the cheese on his burger. Once again he was in new territory. There were plenty of beautiful girls in his hometown. But none of them had that effect on him. Not Bobbie Jean. Not Trudy. And they were cheerleaders and beauty queens. Maybe, he theorized, it was because he had grown up with those girls. They were more like sisters. This girl made him feel different.

  “Dating is permitted but only on weekends,” announced Mr. Bly while staring at Buddy.

  “That girl was into you, Charles,” said Will.

  “No, way,” objected Eddie. “She was just playing it cool with me. She really dug me.”

  Eddie’s three companions laughed at his assertion.

  “You just watch. She’ll be mine by the end of summer.”

  The Heat is On – June 2, 1953

  At 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a routine that would continue through the summer, Mr. Bly met with his team in his room. Lunches were prepared, drinking water buckets were filled, and individual assignments were given.

  By 8:00, no matter the weather, they were to be on the road and headed for their designated drop-offs to record traffic volume at intersections of interest to the Virginia Highway Department.

  Buddy’s first assignment was where state Highway 33 intersects with Highway 30, one of the busiest crossings in West Point. As advertised, it was an easy job, at least, that first morning. Then came the scorching afternoon sun and the hours seemed to drag on forever.

  Periodically, throughout the day, Otto Bly checked in on his team, monitored their well-being and checked their work to make sure that each individual was taking the job seriously. Buddy quickly gained Otto’s confidence as did Will, but Eddie was a different story.

  When Otto checked in on Eddie that afternoon, he had abandoned his workstation. 20 minutes later Eddie was spotted walking back to his post and Otto was fit to be tied. Eddie complained that he was on break and was trying to find a bathroom and ended up walking to a service station nearly a mile away. Mr. Bly had coached his workers on every detail required for conducting their jobs efficiently and one of the most important rules was how restroom breaks were to be handled. “Next time, wait for me to give you a ride,” said Otto. “Won’t fire you this time but one more slip up like that and you’re out of the program.”

  At the end of the workday, Otto picked up his crewmembers, collected their report forms, and drove back to the hotel where they went straight to the dining room. Buddy skipped breakfast, had only eaten a sandwich for lunch, and he looked ill. “Think I’m going to have to go the room,” said Buddy,” and then he handed Will a five dollar bill for a take-out order and quickly headed upstairs to rest.

  Eddie wasted no time flirting with Sally, the waitress but, once again, she gave no indication that she was interested in him. Undeterred by the apparent rejection, Eddie still believed that she was just playing hard-to-get. “That girl is falling for me,” he said.

  “All day in the hot sun will make you crazy,” retorted Will, to which Otto laughingly agreed.

  “You guys are just jealous.”

  When Sally returned with their food, she asked about what happened to the boy that was with them the previous day. Before Will could explain, Eddie gave his own spin. “Charles is a sissy. Takes a real man to do our job.”

  “He’ll be alright. Just needed some rest,” said Mr. Bly.

  “Speaking of Charles, I almost forgot. I need the blue plate special to go, please,” said Will. “That veal cutlet wasn’t half bad.”

  Mr. Bly and Will teased Eddie about his failed flirting, but he still refused to accept defeat. “You obviously don’t know women as well as I do.”

  Eddie’s assertion that he possessed superior knowledge of the opposite sex prompted discussion from his companions about their relationships. Otto was married, had been for five years, and the couple had twin 3-year-old boys. Will spoke of his fondness for a particular girl back home, and just as soon as he landed a steady job, he was going to ask her to marry him. When the ball of conversation was tossed to Eddie, he claimed no less than a dozen girls as conquests.

  When Sally brought the to-go order to their table, she gave instructions to “tell Charles I said, ‘Hi,’” which resulted in more light-hearted jabs at Eddie.

  Impervious to her concern for Buddy, Eddie announced that he would be free for the weekend and needed someone to show him the sites in West Point. Sally quickly pointed out that there was a handy tourists’ guide at the front desk in the lobby.

  Eddie came back with a series of personal questions. “Are you from here in West Point? What do you do for fun when you’re not working? Do you have a boyfriend?”

  Sally did offer that the waitress job was only temporary, just for the summer. In the fall, she would begin her second year at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.

  “We have something in common,” said Eddie, acting as if he had made an important discovery. “I’m going to be here all summer, just like you.”

  Sally flashed a friendly smile and asked if there was anything else they needed and then she looked at her watch. “About time for us to shut down for the evening.”

  Otto was amazed at Eddie’s relentless pursuit of the young waitress and even suggested l
ater that Eddie should consider a career in automobile sales.

  “Funny you should say that,” said Eddie. “My dad owns a Ford dealership in Richmond.”

  It was nearly 7:00 when Will headed back to the room. He was severely fatigued and ready for a good night’s rest. His greatest concern was the heat in his upstairs bedroom which only had the benefit of one window which was closest to Buddy’s bed. Will found Buddy resting but not asleep, and feeling considerably better. “Sally, says ‘hi.’”

  “Sally who?” asked Buddy.

  “The waitress.”

  When Buddy removed the contents of the paper bag containing his meal, there was a note written on the bill. “Feel better, soon. Missed you today. Sally.”

  Will wondered why Buddy was staring at the bill. “Is there a problem?”

  To his recollection, this was the third time in a year that a girl had slipped him a note. First Bobbie Jean Beeler, then Trudy Miller, and now, Sally. “No problem. Just wondered what I was eating. Veal cutlet. First time for everything.”

  While Buddy consumed the blue plate special, Will headed for the upstairs bathroom that was shared by all the guests on the top floor. There was a bench at the end of the hallway where potential bathers waited their turn. Soon after he left, there was a knock at the door.

  “Come in,” said Buddy, who was surprised to see his boss enter the room.

  “I need your report form,” said Otto, apparently annoyed.

  “Gave it to you in the car on the way back,” replied Buddy rising to his feet. “Should be with the others.”

  “Don’t have it. Need it now. I told you how important it is to get these forms to me. If you want to keep your job…I’ve got to have it.”

  Buddy opened his briefcase and checked to see if the document was there but it was not. “That’s crazy,” said Buddy. “I promise you that I filled it out and gave it to you when Will and Eddie gave you their reports.”

  “Last time I checked, those forms don’t have legs. Didn’t walk off on its own. Opened the envelope what I got to my room and yours was the only one that wasn’t there.”

  “I remember the count. I can fill out another form if that’s OK?”