Chapter 29

Chuck

We had a wonderful time. Mom said so.

“You think?”

“God, yes,” she said. “I got to dance with my handsome, tall son.”

“Yeah. You did,” I said. “On the other hand, I HAD to dance with my mom.”

“You ... you ... you ... youyou you.”

“Okay, okay, okay ... I had a good time. I’m still gonna be embarrassed.”

“I doubt it,” I said.

We stopped in Sandusky and found the ballroom. Toledo ... all the ballrooms. Detroit, Lansing, Holland, Muskegon, Ludington, Milwaukee.

Milwaukee was fun because we took the SS Badger across the lake. Milwaukee has many hotels with ballroom dancing ... we hit them all.

We danced our way across southern Minnesota and south South Dakota. In Rapid City we hit the pawnshops and military surplus stores, bought Jerry cans and bases and had five of them bolted to a little platform welded across the rear bumper braces.

The bumper was unbolted and stored with the Volvo parts.

Bike week was over so we could find a room in Sturgis. We danced the two step in every saloon in Deadwood, Sturgis, Crook City and Whitewood. I had women from 15 to 35 asking me to dance. They said I was different, tall, single and did a wicked two-step.

In Whitewood we bid farewell to civilization and took Montana34 from Whitewood to US85 through Belle Fourche and connected with the desolation of US212 to Brodus.

Driving on US212 you buy gas every chance you get ... even if you bought gas 20 miles back. That might make the difference between getting to the next gas and not getting anywhere again. We gassed up in Colony, Wyoming, again in Hammond, Montana, Epsie, Lame Deer, Busby and Crow Agency.

In Crow we stopped in to see James BlackElk, a buddy from mom’s wilder days. They both cried about the loss of Hairy. Jimmy sold her a two axle trailer and installed a very good load leveler hitch. He cut off the gas platform and welded it to the front of the trailer.

For a whiteyes she got a good deal. Only twice what an indian would pay ... but cheaper than a white-man would charge.

East end of Billings we took US87 north through Roundup and Grass Range ... turned left when 87 did, and hot footed it to Lewistown.

The next morning she closed the deal on the house next to the Library, got permits and demolished over the weekend.

With the trailer still hitched up mom drove out to the ranch, bought a 544 for fifty bucks. Went back to town, offloaded and headed for Geraldine, bought two more. While she was there she made a deal to buy the abandoned railroad from there to Lewistown.

Two years later the LDGRR was a going concern running steam trains from Lewistown to Denton and Geraldine and back ... with stops at Denton for lunch and Geraldine for dinner. Then mom bought the abandoned track and right of away to Great Falls. She’s a tycoon.

How about that!

I made two 544’s out of the three. Then I sold one to some idiot from Seattle ... bought five more ... made three and suddenly Chuck’s Volvos is famous. I cleaned out the Volvo population in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Alberta and Saskatchewan. They never did make the popularity that the VW did, but ... you could drive ‘em in the winter.

A couple times a year, I drove out to see my sister ... or so I said. Becky said I was keeping company with the girl across the street. She was right.

Cora

Like I said, Amber was a nice girl and I wasn’t really surprised when he brought her home. As the years went by ... she recovered ... slowly. Until ... one frosty morn she got out of bed to pee ... she died sitting on the john. Charlie came home from work and found her sitting there, eyes wide open. The coroner said it was an aneurysm from a long ago head injury.

Chuck never danced again.