John Master's mayberry choir director and friends / part 2

John  Masters Mayberry choir director and friends / part 2

fiction
Edward w Pritchard

It's hard to keep anything from the desk clerk at the only hotel in a one horse town like Maybeery, North Carolina. Sometimes old John Masters, the desk clerk would give me the wink when I would sneak Lou-anne Poouvie up into room 3 there at the Maybeery hotel to ostensibly practice our singing for the Mayberry choir. Lou-anne couldn't carry a tune but oh, that body and that amazing Southern accent. I sing a bit myself, I am Gomer Pyle USMC.

John and I used to drive around a lot looking for chicks in Maybeery back in the late 50's. That was challenging. I always kept up John's car for free for him and he would give me a discount on the day rate there at the hotel; charge me for one instead of two on a single bed rate and things like that. I used to tell my girls to be quiet up there in the second floor hotel room so old John couldn't hear us but sometimes we got a bit carried away. Like the time with Thelma Lou's cousin from out of town. Wow that Thelma Lou, I tried with her but she was stuck on Barney, the deputy. Barney never appreciated Thelma Lou.

John sings and knows a lot about music. This isn't common knowledge but John fixed me up once with one the fun girls, Skippy was her first name, I forget the last. Come to think of it I never heard Thelma Lou's last name either. I guess we just called women by their first names in those days, to keep it casual and informal.

John and I often sang together and he had a powerful voice for a small man. Small of frame only but powerful of soul was John Masters Mayberry choir director. He was well thought of as a musical director in the counties surrounding Maybeery and him, me and my cousin Goober had some wild times with the party girls down in the back country of North Carolina before I moved to California when I was in the Marine Corps. Me and John would sing as we drove around and Goober he would just comment a lot with a " Yo" now and then. Goober always had that strange expression on his face when he said " yo". Now Goober, there was a guy who never had a way with the ladies.

Sometimes I would drink with Raif Hollister and then we would head out to Morelli's fine dining restaurant. You can take a bottle into Morelli's if you want, and I got that legal advice from Deputy Fife  so it's on the up and up. Anyway that Raif he had a wonderful voice. Raif didn't look like much but he always cleaned up well.

I gotta go, it was nice talking to you folks from Ohio but I got cars and old trucks to fix and long convoluted stories to tell to the gang here in Maybeery about old Hootie. Sorry about the civil war and such.