Fool was the topic for April

FOOL Nelson 3/10/23

The girl reached across the snackbar table and touched the boy’s hand. “How are you coming along on the short paper for our history class? Dr. White is hard on students who do a sloppy paper. It has to be just so-so and relevant to the period we are studying.”

The boy only nodded.

The girl waited five seconds. “Well, what about it? Have you even started?”

The boy nodded again.

The girl waited ten seconds. “I don’t believe it. You haven’t even started.”

The boy spoke for the first time. “I got it. It’s all in my head. All I’ve got to do is write it down and get you to type it.”

“You dumb fool. It has to be typed, then re-read and edited. I have to type it again and if there are still errors and typos, it has to be edited again and I have to type again.” She waited a few seconds for that to sink in. “Don’t forget I have to do a paper also.”

He opened his notebook to a clean sheet of paper. He wrote Huey Long, the Kingfish. “I’m starting off with Huey Long, then bring in his brother Earl Long. At the end, I’m bringing in Blaze Starr.”

The girl leaned over the table. “I’m scared to ask, but who or what is Blaze Starr?”

He looked around the crowded room. He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “She was big.” He paused for a second. “Blaze Starr was a stripper at the Two O’clock Club on East Baltimore Street.” He grinned at the girl. “It’s in Baltimore.”

She slumped back in her chair. “You are a dumb fool to write about a stripper to hand in to Dr. White. He’s been born again three times. Goes to church four times a week and preaches some weekends at churches all over the Shore.”

“Blaze Starr fits right in with the period we are studying. She was big. A poor girl trying to get ahead after growing up during the Great Depression and working as a stripper beginning in the 50’s.”

“I still think you are a fool to write about a stripper.”

“Blaze was no ordinary stripper. She was an artist. She and Gypsy Rose Lee were the queens of the burlesque. They were more popular than most movie stars.”

The girl nodded slowly. “OK. Maybe she was working during the Depression. I doubt if she would be classified as a role model for young girls.” She pointed at the nearly blank sheet of paper. “What is she famous for? Did she sing? Tell off color jokes. Slither and dance around a brass pole.”

The boy leaned back and grinned widely. “She was big. Real big.”

Nelson10464 Azalea Rd
March 2023