Chapter 2: Something for John

I haven’t told you a lot about my brother John, but he is a very unique individual. We don’t really know why he is different. Our doctor simply said his brain was wired differently than ours. As I’ve explained, he isn’t lacking intelligence ... in fact, quite the opposite. Inside that head of his is an IQ that is far above mine. It’s just that he doesn’t take many opportunities to show it. So far, only his school work reveals just how smart he really is. I’m sure part of it is his amazing memory, but the rest is something else.

He seems fairly happy inside that shell of his, and there are times when I think he is laughing at us mere mortals. His smile comes easily, and while he doesn’t really express enthusiasm very often, I know there are things he really enjoys. One of them is music. He has a Sony Walkman with a set of headphones that I think he might even wear to bed at night. He got the Sony for Christmas and his collection of tapes keeps growing. He’s also found a way to tape off the radio. It’s the only thing he spends his allowance money on.

I should have paid more attention to the kind of music John likes, but I really didn’t. About the time I started going into the music store in Sonoma, John came with me and insisted that he come with me every time I was going there. It was good to see him find something that he really liked, so I wouldn’t think of going without him. It was one of those visits that changed everything for John ... and to some extent for our whole family.

I needed some guitar strings and I was paying off the balance I owed on the keyboard when we visited Solomon’s Music one Saturday. Solomon Goldman was standing by a large drum kit that hadn’t been in the store the last time we visited.

“Something new, Sol?” I asked, handing him the envelope with my final payment.

“Yes. I’m not sure it’s the smartest deal I’ve ever made, but I took the set in trade for an electric guitar and a big amp. I got the impression the young guy who owned the drums was driving his parents and the neighbors crazy. I hope he doesn’t deafen them with the amp he took. It can knock down small buildings if he isn’t careful,” he chuckled.

“I need some guitar strings, so I’ll see you at the counter shortly,” I explained.

I found what I was looking for within a minute or so and headed for the front counter to pay for them. I’d lost track of John, but wasn’t worried. He wasn’t prone to wandering off. I was about to look around for him when I heard the drum set start up. I looked around and saw John sitting there like he’d done all this before. And ... he was playing that set to the background music that was always on in the store. As I watched and listened, I realized it was as if he’d been playing drums for a while. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing.

At some point, Sol turned up the background music and pointed at John. He got the message immediately and began to play those drums exactly the way the music would dictate. It wasn’t loud rock music, but softer background music and John soon changed over to brushes and I watched in amazement as he played as if he were in the band we could hear over the speakers. As far as I knew, he’d never played a drum in his life, but you wouldn’t know it by watching him.

“Hey, I didn’t know your brother was so good on the drums,” Sol said as he watched John perform.

“Neither did I,” I admitted, bewildered.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen him smile,” Sol added.

Sol was right. John had his eyes closed as he played, but his smile was a mile wide. He was in some secret place that only he knew about and he was having the time of his life.

“How much is that drum kit worth?” I asked Sol.

“I’d be happy to get $500 for it,” he said, still not taking his eyes off John.

“That’s a lot of money for me, but I’m going to see if I can swing it. John doesn’t ask for anything and he hardly ever spends any of his allowance. It’s something I could do for him that would give him a lot of pleasure.”

Sol looked at me and nodded. “He really is a special kid, isn’t he?”

“Yeah ... not many people understand him. Some are even scared of him because he doesn’t act like you and me. But he’s very smart and really very gentle. He takes all kinds of abuse from kids and it just rolls off him. I don’t know how he does it because I know he understands what they are saying to him. I’ve kind of taken the role of protector for him. Anybody lays a hand on him will answer to me.”

Sol smiled as he nodded, then clapped me on the shoulder. “I hope you can swing something for the drum kit if he really wants it. Same deal as last time if you can’t come up with all the money right away.”

“Yeah ... that’s great, Sol. Thanks a lot. I owe you a lot for what you’ve done already. Let me know if there’s any way I can do something for you.”

“If you’re looking for a part time job on the weekends, I can find a place for you.”

“That’s very generous of you, Sol. Let me know the hours and what it pays. I may take you up on that if it means I can buy that drum set for John.”

“Sounds like we might have a deal in the works then,” he grinned.

“Could be, Sol. Thanks again,” I nodded, pocketing my guitar strings and heading for John at the drum set.

“Time to go, John,” I said as he sat on the stool admiring the kit.

“Yeah,” he nodded, standing up and stepping back to further examine the set.

John was a man of very few words, but that simple “yeah” spoke volumes for how he felt about those drums. I knew then that this was my next project. I would talk to Gramma and Gramps that evening and see if there was any way I could get an advance that would help me buy the set for John.

“So, I was hoping I could find a way to buy that set for John. You know he never asks for anything for himself. I’d like to do this for him. If you saw him playing on that set this morning, you’d be amazed. I have no idea how he learned to play, but he did.”

Gramma put her hand over mine and said, “Don’t you worry about that money, Nicholas. There’s something you should know, since you’re going to be out on your own one day soon. Your father was a manager of an insurance company and he had made sure he had plenty of insurance in case something happened to him. Well, something did happen to him and your mother and the policy left a lot of money in our care until you and John became adults.

“Your grandfather and I have been very careful with that money and made sure we didn’t spoil you with it. You’ve proven to be very responsible with your spending. You’re willing to earn it and you don’t spend it frivolously. Perhaps we’ve been a little too miserly with it. But what makes us both so proud of you is how protective you are with John. We know he’s not a normal kid, but that doesn’t seem to matter to you. If you think that set of drums would be something that John would really love, then we’ll make sure you have enough money for it.”

“Oh, great, Gramma. That’s really great. I know John will find a way to thank you, even if he doesn’t know how to say it. If you could have seen the look on his face this morning, you’d know just how grateful he’ll be.”

“I’m sure I’ll know how he feels, Nicholas. He’s a good boy too. I just wish I could talk to him like I can talk to you. I really wonder how he’ll make out in this world when he’s on his own.”

“That insurance money has actually grown quite a bit in the last fifteen years,” Grampa said. “There’s quite a bit more in the account now than when the claim was settled. It’s going to give you both a good start in life.”

“What about you and Gramma, Grampa? You’ve given up so much to look after us for all these years. You should have some of that money too,” I said.

“Don’t you worry about us, Son,” he smiled. “Your father set aside some for us to take care of both of you just in case. Ever since I joined up with that buying group, the store has done very well. We don’t have any financial worries at all. The only concern I have is what will become of the business when you and John are gone. I don’t want just anyone buying it. It’s part of this community and it should be in the hands of someone who is going to run it like it should be run.”

“You’ve got lots of time to find the right kind of person,” I said. “I’d be surprised and disappointed if you couldn’t find someone you’d be happy to sell to.”

“I hope you’re right, Son. I truly hope you’re right.”

I hadn’t given a lot of thought as to where we would put the drum set ... or even how we would get it home. We might be able to fit it into Grampa’s car in pieces, but I doubt there would be room for both John and me. Grampa had modified his garage to include a heated work area, and that was the ideal place to store the drum set. It was well away from the house and wouldn’t disturb either us or the neighbors.

One of the guys in our music group had the answer. He drove a small pickup truck and was happy to help us move the kit either to our house or to the room we used at the college. He was sure there was adequate room and that it would be secure there, so after asked the others about it, we agreed to set it up and leave it there. John would have access to it as a member of our group. We just wouldn’t bother telling the music department that he wasn’t yet a student.

It takes a lot to get John excited about something, but he was very excited when I took him with Clary Clement in his pickup truck to get the drums. It was a tight fit in the cab of the truck for the three of us, but we managed for the short drive to the campus. His old Ford F100 had a cap over the box in case it rained.

There was a reason that our group was welcoming John, of course. He was the only person who had a drum set, and we knew it would add to our sessions. I could take care of transporting John to the campus and he would have a couple of hours to learn just what the group wanted from a drummer. I had been careful to brief the group about John and assured them that he was very bright and would catch on to what they wanted from him very quickly. That turned out to be factual, and from the start they were all very open and welcoming to him.

I guess it was the fact that the kids in the music group were pretty well educated and understanding that John was different, but not a problem. He smiled a lot, and that always helped, I thought. I bought him a pair of wraparound sunglasses and a straw cowboy hat to give him some sort of persona, and it seemed to work well. One of the girls bought him a t-shirt with a big X on the front and a big question mark on the back. She gave it to him with the instructions he was to wear it when he was drumming. John thought that was great.

It didn’t take him long to learn what the group wanted in the way of percussion in our sessions. We could give him instructions and he instinctively knew what we wanted and went with it. Pretty soon, the sound coming out of that room on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday was attracting attention. We were playing a weird mix of pop songs, ballads, a bit of country, and some other stuff that defied description. As we got familiar with each other, we found we could work together well, making some pretty good music while we were at it.

I was mostly a passenger, playing rhythm guitar. Ardelle never missed a session, and she was getting very good on the keyboard, experimenting with all the various sounds it could produce. She was also doing some singing with Donna Alvarez, Marianna’s older sister. She had a pretty good voice, and together they sounded very good. Donna’s voice was an octave lower than Ardelle’s, but that was a benefit, not a problem. She was great on both the violin and the big acoustic base. She loved to slap her hand on the strings when the occasion called for a little extra something.

Her sister Marianna played three different guitars. She had a very nice Martin flat top acoustic, a Gretsch Streamliner hollow body electric, and a Fender Telecaster solid body. She could play. Hell, she could play anything; blues, jazz, rock, soft ballads ... you name it, she could play it. She had a slide bar and would sometimes sit in the corner with her Martin and quietly play blues style tunes I didn’t recognize. She could make that guitar cry.