A Cautionary Tale

Jean O’Hare, 1944 “Honolulu Harlot”

I’m off to New Orleans in a few days, and in honor of the trip I wanted to write a story about a particular location in New Orleans.  There’s a song about this particular location, and like most things in New Orleans, it’s steeped in mystery.  There is no known author, and many artists have recorded different versions of the song from the 1920’s to today. If you believe Wiki (it has to be true if it’s on the internet, right?) miners were singing the song in the late 1800’s, but The Animals recorded the most popular version in 1964. I saw two singers perform it this week on The Voice. It felt like more than coincidence (I don’t believe in it anyway), so I knew it deserved a blog post.

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A Cautionary Tale

Pulling the collar of his coat up against the wind, Ethan shifts his weight to the other leg. It hasn’t been the same since the accident. The doctors say it’s as good as it’s going to get, but most days he spends nursing it with whiskey just to get through. The nights are better, easier.  The casinos give you free drinks if you play there, and if you walk around sometimes or play the slots a little slower it doesn’t take as much money to stay.

“My day is coming.” Ethan mutters under his breath. He’s been on a streak lately, and not the winning kind.  But this time Ethan has a plan. Easing himself down to sit on his suitcase he reaches inside his coat and pulls out the bottle.

“That’ll help with the cold.” A bright eyed man to his right says.

“It helps with pretty much everything.” Ethan says and lifts the bottle in salute. “Where are you headed?”

“Down to New Orleans, sir. I’m headed to meet my ship.” His eyes sparkle now, but that’ll change soon, Ethan thinks. This war has dulled the sparkle in a lot of young men, a lot of women too he supposes, and this one will be no different. “Have you served, sir?” Bright Eyes asks.

Ethan takes another sip of whiskey and returns the bottle to its home inside his coat. “No.” He says looking at his hands. “My ma wanted me to. It was her dream for me to get out and see the world, ‘specially after pa ran off. She even sewed me new jeans. She was a tailor, my ma, and a damn good one. Had to work way too hard to feed me and my brother.”

“But, the Navy pays, sir. And it’s a reliable paycheck.” Bright eyes looks a little sad and confused. Clearly the recruiter did a great job plugging the perks of Navy life, it probably helped that this one seems a little dim. Ethan thinks briefly he might be able to talk this boy into betting his train money on a sure thing, but sighs and continues on.

“You’re already enlisted. That’s good. I’d say not to do what I done, but you seem smarter than me. I was on my way to enlist when they found me.”

“Who found you, sir?”
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“Sin and Misery.” Ethan says to the boy. “I thought I could do it, you know, earn some money and help support ma and John Junior, but turns out I take more after pa than I thought.” Ethan shifts his weight on the suitcase as he remembers.

“I think it used to be a house. It was a big building that had a rising sun carved right over the door.” Ethan gestures with his hands, smoothing out the picture in his mind. “Its signs were bright and said I would win, and the girls…  Whoo weeee the girls! They had curled hair and clothes that all but put their breasts in your hands! I thought it couldn’t hurt, you know, stop in for a minute, win some money and just visit with the pretty girls.” Ethan smiles at the memory.

The look of sadness on Bright Eyes’ shrinks into mild disgust.

Leaning over Ethan whispers, “The secret is they let you win a little, to keep you there, but they never let you win a lot.”

Ethan sits back up and clears his throat, stretching his leg out and wincing a little. “The girls are schooled in how to console a man, and I spent what little money I had left on a night with one of them. Not the prettiest one, I couldn’t afford her, but my girl was pretty enough. In the morning I couldn’t bear to go home and fess up to what I’d done. It woulda killed ma, and I couldn’t even tell John Junior not to do it, ‘cause I liked it so much. I knew the next time I had any money I’d be right back there.”

The train whistle blows off in the distance, signaling the time for passengers to stand up and gather their things. Ethan obliges the train whistle but looks over at the war-bound boy. “Ma’s gone now, and rumor has it John Junior is struggling in high school, so I’m heading back. Back to Nawlins and back to the beginning. And boy do I got a good feelin’ about it! This time I’m smarter, wiser, and been around a bit, you know? I know I can do it. This time I’ll win!”

*****

Well? Did you get it?  “House of the Rising Sun” of course! (here’s link to the performance that inspired this post)

No new message for you, my reader, this week.  Just the usual ones. I’m so excited to go to New Orleans I can’t hardly stand myself. I’ve never been, but always wanted to.  I have a Favorite Nephew to watch the house, boys, and dogs.  And thanks to some really great friends I’ll be at the Seahawk’s game IN NEW ORLEANS!!! Watch for me. I will… get… on… TV!!!

Go ‘HAWKS!

My thoughts are my own, but my pictures are generally found on Pinterest (you can find anything there!). If you like what I write, please share with your friends or someone you think would like it! I’d love it if you follow me on Facebook (Melissa Gale), Instagram (write2unpack), or Twitter (@write2unpack). If you have any topics you think I should talk about, reach out to me at write2unpack@gmail.com. Oh, hey, and if you sign up here to follow me you’ll never miss a post!