The Chair: Volume I

John-2

I saw it in 1929 lot of people lost all their money. Gordon Monahan is still here though. No one knows where his money was. Some say he had vault filled with gold. Buried out in country. I heard them. Many years later. Always wore hat. War bonds. War bonds. Beat back Hun! But that during war when John was not here.

Marlon Frederick who was war hero in great war lost all of his money. Whether they all found out he was never in war in France I do not know. But some knew. Then more said they knew. He was never in war. Some forgot. But they never let on they knew he was not in war because by then he had nothing. John was in war.

Jeffrey Lancaster went to school in Maryland for Navy. He was friends of John. They both went away at same time. Lancaster wanted to fly aeroplanes. His friends thought he was crazy. Jeffrey was never heard from again ‘round here.

You always knew it was Mrs. Jacobson coming upstairs pop pop pop pop pop so fast. Curious. She asks lot of questions. Not always answers. She kept asking. No one answered her.

Linda McFall, “distant cousin” of Terry’s used to show up at many holiday celebrations dinners other occasions Coopers’s home.

Linda once said “I’m always set down at end of table for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, children birthdays. Many times, I am seated with children in other room near someone’s kitchen.”

She became afterthought only to then soon be forgotten left alone when party was over. Linda was not really cousin, but instead was wife of man who once worked in train timetable department office for Terry.

Theodore McFall, apparently on dare, decided to take Standard J two-seat basic trainer “two bay” biplane produced in United States in 1916, powered by four-cylinder inline engine. It was constructed from wood with wire bracing fabric covering so off into sky one Saturday afternoon, “apparently bored with life, his wife Linda, his job.” He had less than five hours flight training, only maybe two hours in air. Trailed around red wagon directional compass counted so said for some practice on ground. Soloed twice. “Ted” McFall took off with fully fueled aeroplane, along with having fully loaded himself, according to patrons at O’Connor’s Bar over on Crable St., with three quarters of fifth of Early Times whiskey, narrowly clearing tree at end of dirt runway in meadow. Woman named Ellen owned O’Connor’s after death of her husband Angus. She was not there that day, only showed up on Friday nights. Later she would write treatise period piece book “The Naked Alone©.” Her nephew Eric Timpkin tended bar. Only witness, Erwin Summersby, Canadian, maintenance man airfield, said “I saw him get airborne, then I saw plane bank hard right at about hundred feet immediately then nosedive right on down into ground. I ran towards him. Boom! I saw gigantic fireball. Fire exploding pieces everywhere. By time I got up on ‘eem, there was nothing I could do. It was bonfire by time I got to plane then looked to see if I could pull him out of blazing wreck. Ted was good guy, from what I had seen of him. I think he had only one or two lessons with Mr. Sullivan. I coulda stopped it, but I was out in back hangar eating my lunch, some fried chicken from yesterday with bottle’uh grape soda pop. Simply’d I’d’a placed stopper pin in engine that woulda been that. Couldn’t’ve fired it up. No way. But I was letting grease lubricant job I did drip all down through. I run out there heard engine starting but he roared out of hangar. Lousy thing to happen to him for sure.”

There was also Tommy McFall, son of one of McFall’s, but not Theodore Linda, but Theodore’s brother Monahan McFall, inventor of “boom box” radio Tommy was famous for, who died in Maui, on day Hawaii became 50th state in Union. His father Monahan knew Charles Lindbergh there went fishing with him and Tommy. Lindbergh famous for flying New York to Paris, France. Heard of that on radio. Terry read newspaper about that smoking Lucky Strikes.

Terry invited her because Linda had nowhere else to go, had no children, no family, usually did not make too much fool of herself drinking too much. Linda would always help clean up. That was good thing. She was good cardplayer. She would one day remarry to very good cardplayer in Las Vegas late in her life.

“Vengeance is in my heart, death is in my hand, bloody revenge is hammering in my head.” “There, I said it,” John Cooper railed ranted raved in his room.

John spun around to no one. Not me. Although I was there. He had landed part of Aaron in “Titus Andronicus” school play. John was rehearsing his lines. I was sitting there watching him as he spoke in front of tall mirror. I never knew what he was going to do next. Of course, this was when he was little younger still freshman in high school. He got part over older boys. Before again he left for New York state, to army school, go across ocean Atlantic, to France to war.

On November 9 in 1912, Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania faced off against college football powerhouse, and maker of generals, Army. On one side stood a team captained by football legend Jim Thorpe that used its speed, guile, and ingenuity to achieve a 9-0-1 record going into game. On opposing side was team that had future U.S. president and Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower on its roster that used its plethora of substitutes and size to battle opponents, a strategy completely in line with Army war fighting later in Europe two different times.

Two months before, Jim Thorpe was called “the world’s greatest athlete” by King of Sweden Gustav V, after winning gold in both decathlon and pentathlon at 1912 Summer Games.

“Thorpe had already made first team All-American,” said Tom Benjey of Carlisle to The Sentinel newspaper. “It was clear he was heading for another All-American season. It was obvious to all the experts that Thorpe was the best player to ever step onto the field. Many still think he was the best player who ever played the game.”

Carlisle often travelled to the opposing schools because there was a bigger payday for the school, as it was not permitted to charge patrons as a result of it being an Army installation. And the team arrived at West Point that day to about 3,000 fans, supposedly 7,000 fewer spectators than the first game the two teams played in 1905. Although, Carlisle played all of its players on both sides of the line of scrimmage all day, the team also had the advantage of being coached by Glenn “Pop” Warner, who developed the single-wing formation, which allowed his running game to thrive, because the quarterback could also double as an additional blocker.

In the second quarter, Army advanced the ball to Carlisle’s 25-yard line, due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Carlisle fullback Stancil Powell, who punched Army’s Vern Pritchard. This set up the Cadets for the first touchdown, and their only points of the game. The first half concluded with Army leading Carlisle, 6-0. “John Cooper, a sophomore from New Rumley, Ohio” came into the game to catch a pass and was tackled six yards downfield by Jim Thorpe, and then later tackled Jim Thorpe coming to his side around end twice for losses in the third quarter. “Cooper was tall, over six foot two inches, and could peer from his flanked position into the Carlisle backfield and see which way Thorpe was looking and leaning before the snap of the football,” Elbert V. Rose of the New York Times wrote.

Then in the second half Army, not to be outdone, one upped Carlisle’s personal foul with one of its own, when All-American right tackle Leland Devore got unnecessarily rough with Carlisle left tackle Joe Guyon. Devore was booted from the game.

Thorpe, who ran all over Army in the first half but was kept out of the end zone, was not to be denied in the second half. He accounted for two touchdowns and kicked three field goals, which lifted Carlisle to a 27-6 victory. After the game, Gen. Willie C. Kennfick, assistant adjutant administrator and Professor of War Strategy, who had ridden with Theodore Roosevelt as part of “The Roughriders,” was heard to remark “Damn, I wish we had that Injun on our side.” While the football team was one of the bright spots for the school, the overall institution of the Carlisle School and what it represented were reprehensible. Native American children were taken from their homes from across the country and subjected to cultural g******e, which stripped them of their native languages and traditions. Children were given white names and buried with those white names at the school’s cemetery. To this day, the bodies of these children have yet to be returned to their families or native lands, though progress is allegedly being made on that front, according to The Sentinel.

In May one year, the U.S. Army promised to pay to move and again bury the remains of at least ten Native American children to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The children died more than a century ago at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Train ride to California long. I heard laughter I was in my room as I was up all night watching no one was supposed to be up then they should've been sleeping. It better not be John can't be him but there was well there must be good reason I have been looking out onto beach across water since sunset last evening. It was him. Wedding tomorrow.

Must be wedding party. Way I hear splashing. One girl from Cleveland she is stupid I knew it she’s very mean. Her name is Jennifer. How did she get invited? Michael is yelling, too. I do not know why Michael is yelling. I don’t know why John invited him. Can name for you all his other friends soldiers who were there in France with him John saved all of them saved all of their lives forever in France he saved them. Yves will be here. I hope. Yves should be canonized as saint John says. “St. Yves.” Yet to meet him. Michael must be with Theresa. That has to be it.

“No, no bring that over here,” someone said as sun was coming up. “Excuse me” Oh. Great. Next thing I know is “Bring it all out here.” I wished I was on patio although not covered this was set up tables chairs do not understand we were not ready. Then all of sudden I was on it. But still I was not ready at all!

Susan, Theresa, Jane, Marian. Eileen. Eileen’s sister Patricia was nurse in France in war. Joan. Some others. Iris maybe not come yet. They are all there for Deborah. To become Deborah Constance née Chatterton Cooper. John, of course. Deborah is younger sister of actress Ruth Chatterton.

Around eleven o’clock everyone starts to come out lot of old people too came out I guess from rooms at hotel to see ocean shine. Many had never been to California. I had been here before. Long time ago. After Washington, after Oregon. I like California. They had food fish bread with their salads. Bright sunshine some said it was too cold. Windy. Maybe just breezy. She went back to get wool sweater. It was late June. I sat through it all. I knew I would be picked up to leave again. Some came from Boston even Maine taking train.

Tomorrow is big day.

They’re all here to see John. Most of them. Deborah, too. I don’t know what they all say maybe that’s because I just don’t care well that’s not right I do care. I am glad I am here. Why I am here I do not know. It was Janice’s idea.