Mesmerized by the Music: Bud's Journey with the Band

1. Chapter 17-19

2. Ch.17 • Whilethebandpreparestorehearse, Budworkswiththemop, pretendingthatitistheunderwaterboatinthebookheerroneouslyremembersasTwentyThousandLeaksUndertheSea. TheboyknowsthatHerman E. Callowayistryingto "work [him] like a dog," butBudisusedtohardlabor. Theoldman'seffortsarefallingfarshortinwearinghimdown.  • Bud'sattentionissuddenlydivertedbysomeoneshoutingout, "One, two, onetwothree!" TheThugbeginsbrushinghisdrumsticksonthecymbals, making a sound "like a softrain...commencingtofall." DirtyDeedjoinsin, makingthepianomatchthe "rainpats" theThugiscreating. ThecombinedsoundislikewhatNiagaraFallsmustsoundlike...bigbrightdropsofwatersplashingupandover, overandup.

3. SteadyEddiestartssnappinghisfingers, thenputshissaxtohislipsandmakesittalk. HisinstrumentmakesthemostbeautifulsoundBudhaseverheard; thenotesswirlandfloatoverandabovetherestofthe "stormofmusic."  Budissomesmerizedbytheband'smusicthathedoesnotevenhearMissThomas, Mr. Jimmy, andHerman E. Callowaycomeupbehindhim. ThevocalistandMr. JimmycomplimentBudonthecleaningheisdoing. Mr. Callowayletsout a gruntasthethreeheaduptothestage. Budatfirstisinclinedtoacknowledgethem, butendsupsayingnothing, becauseitsomehowseemsthattalking[wouldbe] wrongwhatwithallthesewonderfulsounds...comingfromthepeopleonthestage.

4. Mr. Jimmypicksuphistrumpetandjoinsintheimpromptusessionwiththeothermusicians. MissThomassitson a stool, closeshereyes, andbobsherheadtothebeat, whileMr. Callowaytakeshisgiantfiddle, puttingonehandnearitstopandusinghisotherhandtopullatthestrings. Alloftheinstrumentsblendtogether, andBudcannottellwhichishisfavorite. • ThenMissThomasbeginstosing, andtheboywonderswhyHerman E. Callowaytakescentralbillingintheband'smanynames. ItseemscleartoBudthatthemusicrevolvesaroundthetalentedwomanvocalist. MissThomasissogoodthatshe [doesn't] evenhavetosingrealwords, mostlyshe [is] sayingthingslike "Ladadedadedada, hawhee a ho, hawhee a ho, hawhee a day...." 

5. Alltheotherinstrumentstrytobreakintotheconversation—DirtyDeedonthepiano, Mr. Jimmyonthetrumpet, andDoo-DooBugonthetrombone. Mr. CallowayonthegiantfiddleandtheThugonthedrumspoundout a steadybeat, "likesomeone'sheartturnedwayuploud." Intheend, though, itisMissThomas'svoiceandSteady'ssaxophonedoing "thetalkingthatyoureally [want] tolistento.“ • After a long, excitingspellofheavenlygive-and-take, thevocalistsingsout a fewlinesinreal "American" words, andthemusicstartstofade, likethesoundofrainandthunder "gettingfartherandfartheraway." Finally, thereis "deadsilence," whichisbrokenonlywhenBuddropshismopandstartsclappingasloudashepossiblycan.

6. Chapter 18 • Bud has been living with the band for just about a week, but already he is going on his third road trip with them. This time, they are headed for a small town called Mecosta, an hour and a half north of Grand Rapids. Herman Calloway and Mr. Jimmy are riding in one car with the instruments, while Bud is in the other car with the rest of the musicians. For this gig, Miss Thomas has stayed behind at Grand Calloway Station. • On the ride up, the band members engage in one of their favorite pastimes—"teasing each other and talking about Herman E. Calloway behind his back." The focus of their good-natured gibes on this trip is Dirty Deed, who is the only white member of the band. Bud learns that Mr. Calloway "always keep[s] one white guy in the band." Negroes are not allowed to own real estate in many places during this time, so the band leader puts his properties in Dirty Deed's name. In addition, many white people would not hire the group if they knew they were a Negro band, so Dirty Deed often makes the initial arrangements. Invariably, once people hear the musicians play, people are so impressed with the musicians' skill that the color of their skin is no longer an issue.

7. The performance goes well, and Bud gets to sleep onstage that night to guard the instruments. In the morning, Mr. Calloway wants to spend some time with an acquaintance before departing, so Mr. Jimmy instructs the boy to assist Calloway and to ride home with him later. Bud is not looking forward to spending "a whole hour and a half trapped in a car" with the ill-tempered band leader. Sure enough, the experience starts off inauspiciously when, before getting in the car, Herman E. Calloway chooses a nondescript rock on the ground with his shoe and orders the boy to pick it up for him. Overcome with curiosity, Bud asks, with unintended bluntness, "What in Sam Hill are you going to do with a doggone rock?" The old man just utters tersely, as he puts the key in the ignition of the car, "Bad habit." • A short time later, Mr. Calloway leans over and opens the glove box of the car, showing Bud a collection of rocks, each with a city and date written on it. Intrigued, Bud tells the band leader that he has rocks "with writing and numbers on them too." Mr. Calloway responds absently and without interest, and the boy thinks he does not believe him. Climbing into the back seat, he takes two of his rocks from his sax case and hides them in his hands for the remainder of the trip home.

8. When they arrive at Grand Calloway Station, Bud shows Mr. Calloway the stones, but to his consternation, the old man examines them, then angrily accuses him of stealing them from the house. Witnessing the confrontation, Mr. Jimmy tactfully intervenes. Squatting down so that he can look the child in the eye, he quietly asks, "Son, where'd you find these? Just tell the truth." Bud swears that he did not steal the rocks, but that he got them from his Momma. Both men seem astonished by this assertion. Mr. Jimmy asks the boy what his mother's name was, and when Bud replies, "Angela Janet Caldwell," Mr. Calloway's pipe drops out of his mouth and he stumbles blindly away toward the house.

9. Bud is certain then that the band leader is the one who has been lying, and he exclaims triumphantly, "I knew it! I knew he was my father!" Mr. Jimmy, however, corrects him, stating firmly that Mr. Calloway is not his father. Angela Janet is the old man's daughter's name, which would mean that Herman E. Calloway is most probably Bud's grandfather.

10. Chapter 19 • After learning Bud's mother's name, Herman E. Calloway locks himself in his room. Mr. Jimmy and Miss Thomas continue to question Bud in the kitchen, asking him how long ago his mother passed away, and what she looked like. Bud tells them that she died peacefully at home after a short illness four years ago, when he was six. He tries to describe her physical characteristics, but falls short in his attempt. Instead, he runs upstairs to get the photograph of her that he keeps in his sax case. • Whenhegetstohisroom, BudissurprisedtofindMr. Callowaysittingthereatthedressingtable, holdinghisfaceinhishands, sobbing. TheboygoesquietlyovertotheplacenearthebedwherehekeepsallofhisimportantpossessionsandtakestheenvelopewithhisMomma'spictureinit. HermanCallowaydoesnotnotice. AsBudpassesbythemanonthewaybackoutoftheroom, hereflectsthatbabiescryallthetime, butthatwhenanadultismovedtotears: yougot a whole 'notherstory...youknowyou'resquareinthemiddleofoneofthoseboilingtragedies.

11. Even though he realizes that the old man is crying "'cause he found out the two of [them] are kin," Bud cannot help but feel sorry for him. He walks over and puts his hand on Mr. Calloway's back. The distraught figure flinches, then looks at him and mumbles incoherently, calling him "Buddy," to which the child responds, not unkindly, "It's Bud, sir, not Buddy.“ • When Mr. Calloway covers his face and "[breaks] down all over again," Bud reaches out to pat his shoulder, then leaves the room. He runs back downstairs where Mr. Jimmy and Miss Thomas are waiting. Bud puts his Momma's picture in the center of the table. Both adults examine the photograph closely, then Mr. Jimmy says, "Uh, uh, uh, that definitely is Angela Janet Calloway."

12. Automatically, Budcorrectshim, declaring, "hername'sCaldwell, notCalloway." • Anamazingthoughtoccurstohimthen, andheexcitedlyexclaims: Thatmeansthat'snotsomelittledeadgirl'sroomI'msleepingin, that'smyMomma'sroom!Withpainfulrealization, Butaskspoignantly: HowcomeHerman E. Callowaynevercalledonmeandmymother? • Allhe'd'vehadtodowascallonusonetimeand I knowshewouldn'thavebeensosad.MissThomasexplainsearnestlythatMr. Callowaydidn'tknowanythingabouthim. • Bud'smotherhadrunoffbeforehewasborn, andnooneknewwhereshehadgone. HermanCallowayhadbeenveryhardonhisdaughterwhenshewasgrowingup, reasoning:  • Thisis a hardworld, especiallyfor a Negrowoman, there's a hundredmillionfolksoutthere...whoarejustdyingtobeharderonherthan I evercouldbe. She'sgottobeready.

13. He had loved his daughter very, very much. He was determined that she was going to be the first in the family to get through college and have a profession. In his zeal, however, he never gave her a chance to decide for herself. Finally, Angela rebelled and ran off with one of the band's musicians. • Miss Thomas fetches a portrait of Bud's Momma, taken when she was sixteen years old. She gives it to the boy and asks him to be patient with his grandfather, as the hurt of his daughter's death is still "brand-new" for him. She explains that when Angela Janet was little, she had asked her father to bring her a rock from one of the places the band performed. Since that day, Herman Calloway has taken stones from every place the band visited; he inscribed them with the names of the towns and the dates. The old man stored them all in boxes, saving them for her.

14. Miss Thomas leaves the room then to tend to Herman Calloway with Mr. Jimmy. Bud is alone in the kitchen when the rest of the band members come in boisterously, unaware of what has just transpired. Steady Eddie ceremoniously gives Bud a battered cardboard suitcase, which contains a gift the men have joined together to buy from the pawnshop. Inside is a small saxophone that Steady Eddie has patched up as best he can. It is up to Bud now to "shine her up," because "a man should polish his own horn." When he is done, Eddie will give him his first lesson. • Bud thanks his bandmates profusely, then excuses himself and goes upstairs, carrying his Momma's pictures and his new horn. He hears Miss Thomas and Mr. Calloway talking softly in her room, but he does not stop to eavesdrop. When he is back in the room that his Momma used to sleep in when she was a little girl, he remakes the bed with his old blanket because he will be staying for a while. From his sax case he removes the old flyers announcing Calloway's performances and all but one of the inscribed stones. He takes them to his grandfather's room, leaving them on his dressing table. Bud tacks the picture he has been carrying of his Momma on the wall in her room, and he puts the one rock he has kept back in his sax case. He no longer needs to have all the mementos of his mother with him all the time; the single stone will suffice.

15. Bud knows that Momma lives inside him, and that there isn't "anyone or anything that could take away from that or add to [her memory] either." He picks up his sax, puffs up his cheeks, and blows as hard as he can. He then looks over at his mother's portrait that Miss Thomas has given him. From the frame, Momma seems to smile at him, and Bud smiles back. The future looks bright. Closing his eyes, he begins practicing on his horn.