by M. Mitchell Marmel
Rosie Baumgartner shares some songs and history from
May Day 1937, 1938, & 1930.
(Some may find the artistic studies to be Mature for tasteful nudity)
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Break Away
Part 1by M. Mitchell Marmel Rosie, Toni are characters by M. Mitchell Marmel Doctor Meffit, Cicely Lopp, & Franklin Stagg are characters created by E.O. Costello "Ain't Misbehavin' " © Warner/Chappell Music Lyrics by Andy Razaf -- Music by Thomas "Fats" Waller and Harry Brooks "Side by Side" © Shapiro Bernstein & Co. Inc. Music and Lyrics by Harry Woods Art by Seth Triggs With thanks to Richard Hooker May 2, 1937 Meeting Island nights can be dark. Often, you can't see your hand in front of your face. The New Haven ambassador never saw the hand that broke his nose, split his lip... or the knee that made him terribly, TERRIBLY uncomfortable for three days to come. Jacob- Doc Meffit- God bless 'im, patched up my skinned knuckles without asking any questions. This earned him a great big hug and a smooch. He didn't seem to mind one bit. And the corsage I carried at Willow's wedding covered the bandages real good. *****
May 1, 1938 For...well, obvious reasons, everyone involved decided that having May Day celebrations over at Doc Meffit's place was...well, a Bad Idea. So, we had a nice little shindig over in the little private garden back of Luchow's. Me, Franneleh, Doc and Clss. It was nice, really. Four close friends, after a nice lunch, lounging around in the grass. I giggled. "Lunch in the grass." Franneleh raised one eyebrow from his comfortable spot on my tummy, which, sticking out some and being otherwise well padded, made for a nice pillow. "Beg pardon?" I scritched behind his ears. "You know. That painting by, whatsisname, Eddie something." Doc, sitting at the table, chuckled. "Edouard Manedd. I recall seeing the picture in Paris during the War." He raised an eyebrow. "Though I seem to recall the ladies in question were...well..." He blushed charmingly. I made a mock move towards one strap of my frock. "Oh, I can fix that." Franneleh snorted amusedly as he reached up to stop my paw. "Exhibitionist." Ciss pouted. "Inspector, you're a spoilsport. I bet Rosie does a great striptease." I chuckled. "Hell, yeah. Made a good living at it for years." "Yes, beloved," Franneleh drawled lazily, "but I don't think you ever reduced yourself to what a generous Maker provided you with, and nothing more." I looked nostalgic. "Well...there was this one time..." *****
April 30, 1930 Me and Toni had decided that April 30th was gonna be our last performance. See, in burley-Q, thirty is kindasorta pushin' it. We were still on top, and we wanted to go out like that. So, the Wednesday evening show would be it, and we let everyone know. Minksky's was packed for our last number. The stage was dark as we came out in ties, tails, top hats and our usual little showgirl outfits. Bare legs, though. We had somethin' special in mind... One spotlight hit Toni, stage left, as she moved to center stage. No one to talk with, All by myself, No one to walk with, But I'm happy on the shelf Ain't misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you The other spotlight hit me, stage right, as I moved in. I know for certain, The one I love, I through with flirtin', It's just you I'm thinkin' of. Ain't misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you We met up in the middle, started doing our usual bit, working the crowd a little. We hadda be kinda careful with our moves, for reasons which I shall make clear a little later... Like Jack Horner in the corner Don't go no where, What do I care, Your kisses are worth waitin' for Be-lieve me A little can-can number. Again, we hadda be careful. I don't stay out late, Don't care to go, I'm home about eight, Just me and my radio Ain't misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for You! Big applause as the lighting changed a little, gave somethin' of a sunrise look to the curtains behind us. I started in on our signature tune. See that sun in the morning, Peeking over the hill? Toni answered. I'll bet you're sure it always has and sure it always will. I smiled at my pal. That's how I feel about someone, How somebody feels about me. Together: We're sure we like each other That's the way we'll always be. *****
"I thought the lyric was 'love each other'." "Cisseleh, the Double Lotus this wasn't." "Too bad." The mels tried to suppress their snickers. They nearly succeeded. I cleared my throat. "Anyway, Toni and I launched into the chorus..." *****
We linked arms and started high stepping. Oh, we ain't got a barrel of money, Maybe we're ragged and funny But we'll travel along Singing a song Side by side. Me: Don't know what's comin' tomorrow Toni: Maybe it's trouble and sorrow Together: But we'll travel the road Sharing our load Side by side. *****
At this point, I noticed Ciss was singing along. Gently, I dumped Franneleh to the grass, got up and showed her a coupla the moves Tone and I useta do. The guys didn't seem to mind a bit. *****
Anyhow, Toni and I went through the whole song, all the while, doing our hootchy-coo moves. Finally, we linked arms and started moving back to the curtain. Don't know what's comin' tomorrow We threw our canes into the audience. Maybe it's trouble and sorrow Our hats followed. But we'll travel the road Then the suit jackets. Sharing our load Then the ties. Side by side. By this point we were backed up to the hidden slits in the curtain. All we had on at this point was our skimpy showgirl outfits. Side by side. We felt the tap on our backs which meant the lines were attached to the loops on the back of our outfits. Side by side. Time for the big finish! SIDE BY SIDE! Thwip! The loops were pulled, the breakaway threads broke, and there Toni and I were, on stage, doin' a 'TA-DA!' pose in nothing but what Mother Nature had given us. For one full second. Then, total blackout. We brought the house down.  *****
Doc mopped his brow. (Well, it was a warm afternoon.) "Now THAT, I would have liked to see." He chuckled. "I remember that making the papers, but I never connected you with Rosie Palmer." I grinned. "Well, 'Baumgartner' wouldn't fit on a marquee." A bit of a fade. "Plus, my folks...well..." "Didn't quite understand your chosen profession?" Franneleh asked, gently. I sighed. "That was putting it mildly..." *****
May 1, 1930 "I HAVE NO DAUGHTER!" "Pop, whatcha talkin about?" I said, reasonable-like. "There's me, and Millie, and Bernice..." "Don't contradict, young lady!" Pop said firmly. "You have brought shame to the Baumgartner name!" "I know, Pop," I shot back wearily. "That's why I use 'Palmer' on stage..." "Pah! 'Rosie Palmer'. What kind of name is this?" "Descriptive?" I glared at Schloim, my wiseass little brother. "You're not helping." He just waggled an eyebrow and smiled innocently. "Don't change the subject," Pop snapped. "You and that shiksa friend of yours, naked on stage-" "For one whole second-" "Coulda been an hour, it's still indecent." "Nooo," Schloim said reflectively, "an hour is a decent amount of time..." We both glared at him. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Pop demanded. Schloimy shook his head. "Nope. My social calendar is wide open." "PAH!" Pop turned back to me. "Roseleh, liebling, I'm serious, here. Ya gotta get out of this business you're in." I quirked an eyebrow. "I agree." Pop continued on. "Because if you don't, it's only a matter of time before--you what?" I smirked. "I agree. Time to retire from burlesque." I shrugged. "After all, last night was my final performance...which," I winked, "explains the special finale..." *****
Toni snickered a little as I walked down the stoop. "Rough?" I snorted. "What do YOU think?" "Eh," Toni shrugged. "Least YOUR Papa din't threatena have ya excommunicated." I sighed. "True." "Still, your Papa made up fer it in volume." I snickered. "Also true." "And needer of 'em is so pissed off dey don't cash da checks we give 'em." "When you're right, Antonia," I drawled, "you're right." We walked along in companionable silence for a bit. A growling noise in the street made me look up and grin. "Must be spring. They got the sides up on the Third Avenue cars." Toni snorted. "Well, whadda we waitin' for? Central Park awaits." *****
I looked thoughtful. "Central Park was still nice then. See, it was, what, six-seven months since the Crash, but the Depression hadn't really kicked in yet. So you didn't have folks sleeping in the park and all." "Yet," Cisseleh said wryly. Franneleh got a faraway look in his eye for a moment. I figured it'd be a better idea for him to come back to the here and now, so I lightly squeezed his leg to get his attention. "Anyhow," I continued, "Tone and I were sitting by the pond, dipping our toes in the water..." *****
"Ya gonna miss it?" "What, shaking my keister in front of yelling drunks?" I snorted, then shrugged and grinned ruefully. "Yeah, a little." "Eh." Toni shrugged. "We made our decision, an' it's da right one." She waved her hand around the park. "Alla dis...We din't get hurt too bad in October." I grinned sadly. "Yeah, thanks to Jay Goatsby--may he rest in peace--getting us in with Chase ten years back. Our savings are pretty safe." "Ting is," Toni said, "not everbuddy's as good off. An' I don' care what ol' Herbie is sayin', I ain't seein' a chicken in ev'ry pot or a car in every garridge." I nodded slowly, looking across the pond at some workfurs putting up stands for some sort of May First something-or-other. "So..." Toni grinned. "So, like da man sez, 'Go west 'fore the crap hitza fan, young lady!'" "Absolutely!" I said, grinning and pulling my tootsies out of the pond. "The Weimeraner Brothers await! To sunny Cal-i-for-nigh-ay, Miss Pantera! And don't spare the horses!" A laugh from Toni. "Still don't believe dey're gonna hook yez up wit' some stallion named Tom Hand." She threw her head back theatrically. "Thomas Hand an' Rosie Palmer. DAT'S gonna look REAL good onna mar-kee atta talkies." I shrugged. "So they hand out free eyeglasses when the audience goes blind. No problem." I had to wait while Toni picked herself off the ground, groaning. "Ow. I hoit sumpin' laffin'." "Plenty of time to heal up on the Limited," I said, helping Toni to her feet. "Now, c'mon. We just have enough time for one last walk through midtown before we catch the train." Toni gave a brisk nod and linked elbows with me. "Oh, we ain't got a barrel of money..." I grinned. "Maybe we're ragged and funny..." We two-stepped out of Central Park, singing our signature tune. But we'll travel along Singing a song Side by side. to be continued |