William Saroyan’s ‘Young man on the flying trapeze’ may be but a metaphor for Dr. Fred’s ‘The pursuit of happiness in his narrative)“Civilization and its discontents”.
II
The catatonic ward of the Brentwood VA neuropsychiatric hospital. The cream cheese bandit is taken out of his ego trip.…..the UCLA student attendant ‘s recognition..
A recapitulation of the interior shocks in the Cream cheese bandit’s psyche…. fifty years of role playing, bullying, emasculating the weak,. The Cream Cheese bandit vulnerability,to their loss of direction..meandering along, beneath the Palm trees and semi tropical weather..
III
The catatonic ward of shuffling bodies of a post war reality check…the cacophony of athe choir boy oif anattedant amidst those post traumatic “wounded” veterans.
The “coach” and the choir boy of an attendant, the latter embracing the Dr. Freud catharsis “Civilization and itsdiscontents”.
IV
The two humans stared at each other, the attendant from UCLA,putting in his time on a scholarly part time basis, while the older “cat” treaded in step, his motion relatively in unison with theattendant, the catatonic ward oblivious to the standoff between the younger sleuth, searching for the older patient’sunconscious. The youthful sleuth circling his prey!, his mind open..
“What happened? Why are you in this ward? Catatonics!. What did you do on the outside?” asked the freshie attendant off the UCLA campus,. In its Westwood Village ambiance.
V .
The older man into his role as a patient, stood quietly, his eyes settling on the attendant’s own. “Lissen to me,” he said. “I was minding my own business at the Heavenly Hills tennis club. Needing a game for some sweats we ran into the actor Burt Lancaster. How would I know he was engaged with his old time amigo Nick from the Bronx. Their yesterdays on the Ringling Brothers circuit…..Saroyan’s Young man on the flying trapeze playing out. “
“The actor into his role whatever….” Dorothy Thompson’s husband artist …Sin…..”
“Ethan From?” asked the bewildered attendant of a catatonic inquisition..
Naah,” said the catatonic. Living out his tennis encounter with Bronx born Burt Lancaster at the Beverley Hills tennis club. “He got an Oscar for his role, realizing his zealous high priest of the cerebral…. Elmer Gantry, But Lancaster identifying with Gantry and his paramour ,played by Jean Simmons, the director’s wife.
The Bronx born Burt who earned the Oscar for his Elmer Gantry identification had become what Shirley Booth had predicted in :Come back little Sheba’. . that Sinclair Lewis would characterize the rise and fall of (Bronx born Burt) Elmer Gantry.
“But the impasse at the tennis court with the actor. Didn’t you know? Aware he was playing tennis with his kimosabi Nick? How could you invade their privacy? Al those yesterdays with the trapeze. Up and down the East coast in their jalopy. They were like Siamese twins”.. said the clean shaven UCLA
attendant, fresh from Social Psychology ….Professor Fearing rudimentary La Brea tar pits….Denny the
Dinosaur’s Ally Oop……. The Mercury theater’s Orson WellesJohn Houseman’s ”Invasion of New Jersey by the ‘ET’ from Mars”.
VIII
“But the UCLA psych cast as a catatonic attendant, stared into the eyes of the once tennis player. “I was dumb founded by the actor’’s brand. I dared the impossible by invading his realm of reality. What did I know tha0yours truly would interrupt my ego trip and cause an invasion of his privacy. Call out the Heavenly Hills gendarmes and they would commit me to your catatonic ward.”
“The moral of the story is keep your catatonic and ego trip to yourself, Mister.”
Aril 19, 2016. The VA’s Catatonic Ward, Brentwood, California
