[Smokey Part I]
[Update]
Well, I thought that I was sitting pretty here, surely ole Bing would soon look into the side pocket or ole Ben would inform him of my presence and I would be saved. As we progressed to the 4th hole I heard Ben say to Bing, "Say Bing, um, you know there is something I was supposed to tell you but darn it if I can't remember what it was." "That's alright Benny old boy, you'll think of it sometime," Bing replied. Hearing this I decided to take some action and I tried to send some smoke signals from the bag but the wind was blowing just enought to blow my smoke away before they could see it. Needless to say, I was very concerned as we finished up the 18th hold and I heard the Boss say that he had to hurry off to catch a train to St. Louis. As Bing headed off to his awaiting car he asked Ben if anything had come to the surface yet? Ben said that if he thought of it he would drop Bign a line. As the Boss drove off I thought to myself that this must be a bad dream, how could my pal Ben Hogan forget all about me? As we arrived back at the hotel my luck turned as we ran into good ole John Scott Trotter who was just leaving for Hollywood. As soon as Ben saw JST he remembered about poor little me as he sat the clubs down and rooted in the pockets until he pulled me out. Ben recounted the days events to JST and John Scott agreed to transport me to California and get me back to Bing at the first chance.
I had ran into John Scott Trotter so much during my journey that we were becoming great friends. We ended up taking a plane back to Hollywood so we could arrive in time for the radio show. John Scott used the time to go over some of the arrangements for the upcoming show and I sat quietly in his pocket, safe in the knowledge that I would soon be returned to Bing. Everything was going smoothly until the plane started to tremble....
....We we're all worried for a few minutes as the small plane shook and I began to think that I may never see the Boss again! Soon the plane stabilized and the pilot announced that he was going to land at the nearest airport which, as luck would have it, was the small dirt airport in Elko, Nevada. It was night when we landed but I had been in to town from our ranch north of town before so I knew where we were. JST decided to take his bags and we walked into town. Once there, he was able to call out to the ranch and one of the hands came down to get us. When we arrived everyone was headed to bed but Bing's son, Gary, who had just come up for the summer, came out to greet us as JST got a bite to eat. John Scott told Gary that he had to leave early in the morning to catch the westbound California Zephr passenger train at Elko and that he had something for him. JST reached in his pocket and pulled me out and told Gary my story and that he should keep me until he saw Bing next. The next morning I heard JST get up early and leave as I sat on Gary's dresser wondering what trouble I would into here at the ranch...
Gary assured John that he would return me safely to Bing but as night fell in Elko, Nevada, I began to have my doubts. Gary and I ended up in an old barn that was a good ways away from the ranch house. Before I knew it, Gary was loading me up with tobacco! Right before he could light me, his two yournger brothers walked in. Startled, Gary tossed me in a clump of hay that was beside him. The boys told Gary that his father, my boss, wanted to talk with him. As I watched the three of them walk away, I knew this was going to be a long, hot night...
...As I lay there in the hay I thought that my only hope was that if in the morning a ranch hand might find me before they dumped more hay down here and cover me up. A bit later I heard the barn door open and someone coming towards me. It was Gary and held a lantern close to the ground trying to find me. Picking me up he reached in his pocket and pulled out a match, struck it, and lit me up. After puffing on me a bit, we heard the barn door open and Gary quickly blew out the lantern and ran for the backdoor. Sneaking around the back of the house, Gary dumped the remaining tobacco out of me and stuffed me in his pocket. Coming around the side, he saw his dad and they talked a bit, Bing wanted to know if he saw any hands around, he smelled pipe smoke in the barn but didn't see anyone. Gary reported that he hadn't seen anything and went into the house. At this point I could tell that Gary had no intention of giving me back any time soon.
I ended up in Gary's bedroom which was a far improvement from the hay. I kept thinking that Bing would walk in any minute and see me there but the house was quiet. A good time later I heard a great commotion; it seemed everyone was returning for lunch. Gary made his way into his room but soon I heard Bing calling for him. Bing met Gary outside the door and I could just barely make out the conversation. "Gary, I just got a phone call from John Scott Trotter. He said that he had left something for me with you." I could hear Gary stuttering something...
Updated Feb. 16, 1999
I'm not real sure what he told Bing but Gary came back in the room and flicked the light off and jumped into bed in a huff. The next morning Gary got up, threw his clothes on and stuffed me into his pocket. As he came out of his room I heard Bing tell him that he had to head back to Hollywood for the radio show the next day so he would be gone by the time Gary got back from the days work out on the range. When Bing left the room, Gary snuck into Bing's room and pulled me out of his pocket
and unsnapped a side pouch, he stuck me inside and snapped it shut. I thought to myself what a break, there is no way Bing won't find me now, when he gets back home he'll open the pouch and there I'll be. A bit later someone come into the room and picked up the bags, must be Bing! I could feel the bags being sat on a seat in a car. Shortly later a door slammed shut and the car drove off down the road. Bing talked a bit to the hand who was driving about the Pirates being in the cellar again this year and about work around the ranch. Arriving in Elko, I could tell by the sounds that we were at the railroad station and once again the bags were picked up and goodbyes were exchanged between Bing and the hand. Luckily I was in the small bag so I could ride in the sleeper with my boss while the other bag was put in one of the baggage cars. From what I could hear, Bing seemed to stay to himself on the trip. and only talked to fans when we went to get a bite to eat. It wasn't long before the train pulled into the LA station and as Bing got off I could hear Dixie's voice calling him to come in her direction. Once again I was in the backseat of a car and after a few miles I finally was back at Holmby Hills...
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