Welcome to A View of the Town, the adventures of Dr. Willis Fletcher in a small coastal town in Maine. Offering tidbits of local color and the lay of the land, we now return to Dr. Fletcher and the love story of Rosco and Swanky Jane.
This episode is brought to you by... Water. It runs but never wears shoes. It pools but never wears swim trunks. Water. It's wet.
And now on with the love story of Rosco and Swanky Jane...
As you may recall from previous episodes, I mentioned Louisville Sam, a spinner of tall tales who, by the way, lived in a two-room house just a little ways north of the docks. You could often see him sitting outside, drinking a strong brew of coffee black as night, and watching the fishing boats go out and come in with their catch of the day. Louisville Sam found odd jobs to do around town to pay the rent. And to anyone who would listen, he'd tell of many of his adventures which took him around the world.
Now one story I remember involved a sly gentleman named Rosco, a self-proclaimed gambler from Atlanta, and his gal Swanky Jane with the amaryllis tattoo who sang and entertained on the Jennie Beth, a riverboat that traveled down the Ohio from Cincinnati to Louisville.
As I recall the story, back around 1892, one evening while the river boat was docked, Louisville Sam and Rosco were playing a game of blackjack with a fellow from New York City. I'm not sure how this trio came about, but this New York City poker player was a true dandy. Dressed like one with his silk shirt and fancy red ascot. Smelled like one with his scent of bay rum. And he also had his shifty eye on Swanky Jane. And everyone knew her heart belonged to Rosco. And anyone who tried to tango with her knew better.
After Rosco had just triumphed at a hand of blackjack, Swanky Jane came over to visit after performing and savoring the applause. This unsuspecting (and uncaring) city slicker complimented her tattoo, asked what kind it was, and proceeded to woo her while rolling his smoldering cigar between his teeth. However, Swanky Jane didn't want anything to do with him. And Rosco wasn't too pleased with his level of advances either and let his jealous streak get the most of him.
Next thing they all knew, Rosco had punched that fellow from New York City, sending him flying across the floor. The city fellow didn't just lie there, he proceeded to take aim at Rosco, right into Rosco's fist that is. Only this time that New York Yankee fell into a table of four hands. From there, a full blow bar room brawl of two blossomed to full swing. That New York dandy got right back up, not knowing when to walk away.
Most in the room were familiar with Rosco's fighting style. Little did that New York gent know, but Rosco had studied a fighting technique know as judo, as a young man living in San Francisco, from a judo master. Rosco took several steps back, stood perfectly erect, gently bowed, and flew foot first square in that gent's chest. The fellow flew backwards and slid against the wall.
Swanky Jane never moved from where she perched on a nearby table. The cigar that fellow had been smoking rolled right to her foot. She picked it up, started to smoke it, and laughed. She winked her eye at Rosco who simply grinned. He knew that night she'd be paying him a visit. What a pair.
I've many other storied about that pair and from Louisville Sam, but I'll save some for later. That Louisville Sam was a walking book of wonderment and mystery.
Join us again next time, when Dr. Fletcher tells us about the night that Amaryllis Stemm payed Misty Cove a visit that they would never forget.
This episode was brought to you by... Water. It rolls in. It rolls out. But it never rolls up and never rolls down. Water. It just goes with the flow.
CSM
This episode is brought to you by... Water. It runs but never wears shoes. It pools but never wears swim trunks. Water. It's wet.
And now on with the love story of Rosco and Swanky Jane...
As you may recall from previous episodes, I mentioned Louisville Sam, a spinner of tall tales who, by the way, lived in a two-room house just a little ways north of the docks. You could often see him sitting outside, drinking a strong brew of coffee black as night, and watching the fishing boats go out and come in with their catch of the day. Louisville Sam found odd jobs to do around town to pay the rent. And to anyone who would listen, he'd tell of many of his adventures which took him around the world.
Now one story I remember involved a sly gentleman named Rosco, a self-proclaimed gambler from Atlanta, and his gal Swanky Jane with the amaryllis tattoo who sang and entertained on the Jennie Beth, a riverboat that traveled down the Ohio from Cincinnati to Louisville.
As I recall the story, back around 1892, one evening while the river boat was docked, Louisville Sam and Rosco were playing a game of blackjack with a fellow from New York City. I'm not sure how this trio came about, but this New York City poker player was a true dandy. Dressed like one with his silk shirt and fancy red ascot. Smelled like one with his scent of bay rum. And he also had his shifty eye on Swanky Jane. And everyone knew her heart belonged to Rosco. And anyone who tried to tango with her knew better.
After Rosco had just triumphed at a hand of blackjack, Swanky Jane came over to visit after performing and savoring the applause. This unsuspecting (and uncaring) city slicker complimented her tattoo, asked what kind it was, and proceeded to woo her while rolling his smoldering cigar between his teeth. However, Swanky Jane didn't want anything to do with him. And Rosco wasn't too pleased with his level of advances either and let his jealous streak get the most of him.
Next thing they all knew, Rosco had punched that fellow from New York City, sending him flying across the floor. The city fellow didn't just lie there, he proceeded to take aim at Rosco, right into Rosco's fist that is. Only this time that New York Yankee fell into a table of four hands. From there, a full blow bar room brawl of two blossomed to full swing. That New York dandy got right back up, not knowing when to walk away.
Most in the room were familiar with Rosco's fighting style. Little did that New York gent know, but Rosco had studied a fighting technique know as judo, as a young man living in San Francisco, from a judo master. Rosco took several steps back, stood perfectly erect, gently bowed, and flew foot first square in that gent's chest. The fellow flew backwards and slid against the wall.
Swanky Jane never moved from where she perched on a nearby table. The cigar that fellow had been smoking rolled right to her foot. She picked it up, started to smoke it, and laughed. She winked her eye at Rosco who simply grinned. He knew that night she'd be paying him a visit. What a pair.
I've many other storied about that pair and from Louisville Sam, but I'll save some for later. That Louisville Sam was a walking book of wonderment and mystery.
Join us again next time, when Dr. Fletcher tells us about the night that Amaryllis Stemm payed Misty Cove a visit that they would never forget.
This episode was brought to you by... Water. It rolls in. It rolls out. But it never rolls up and never rolls down. Water. It just goes with the flow.
CSM
