Hollywood Today/Jim Morrison Dream

Hollywood Today!
Hollywood Today! was on, it’s one of those shows that thrives on celebrity gossip. It was part of my campaign to keep myself informed of what was going on in Hollywood. Merri Caldwell, a cotton candy blonde plastic confection, a television projection for viewer’s fantasies was the host. I lay in my bed listening to her report.
"Where is Jimmy Stark?" She said, "Once the star of the late 60's TV show 'Family Muse', and known as 'America's little brother.' We all grew up with him. Jimmy's mother noticed his talent early and got him cast in TV commercials." They cut to a very black and white TV commercial, with an almost infant child that, in hindsight, is recognizably little Jimmy Stark. "Then came Family Muse, the late 60's sitcom in which he played the precocious son of a mother trying to make it in the music industry." They showed a clip from the show featuring Jimmy which is now considered a television classic, "after 'Family Muse' his career stalled, hitting the wall a lot of child stars do, not being taken seriously in adult roles. In his late teens, Jimmy got married," they showed still photos of Jimmy and a young girl in a wedding dress, running down the steps of a church through a gauntlet of friends throwing rice. The pictures juxtaposed to create a jerky stop motion sequence ending with a picture of Jimmy, his wife and two children, "but they divorced after five years." They cut back to Merri in the studio, "in his twenties it looked like he was making the transition from child star to actor, starring in several movies, including an Academy Award nomination for ‘Tender Fury‘." They, of course, showed clips from the movie, followed by a still photo of Jimmy and his wife going down the red carpet into the Academy Awards ceremony, "he was also known as Hollywood's enfant terrible, making headlines for a series of police arrests and drug problems." There was a flash of white light that faded to a newspaper photo of Jimmy being lead away in handcuffs by cops on either side of him. A headline read: Former Child Star Arrested. "But he has long since disappeared from movies, TV, personal appearances, the police blotters, and even the tabloids." Then came the big finish to their story, "Jimmy Stark had fame, money, a glamorous career. Why did an actor with such a bright future toss it all away with such ruthless abandon? Well, we here at Hollywood Today! want to know too. Going on the adage, to find out where you are, you should examine where you've been. In future reports we will try to answer those questions."
I fell asleep.

Dream
I was at a party, the room was crowded with people. A stranger I knew asked, "hey, want to go to a concert?" Then I was walking the familiar hallways of the school, the light coolly reflected off the waxed marble floors. I heard the sound of faraway music echoing in the halls. I was alone. I followed the sound through the hallways of the labyrinth school. It became louder and louder as I approached the auditorium, I recognized the music, it was The Doors at their peak playing a scorching rendition of Light My Fire, played only as they could have early in their career. It was loud and Morrison's voice was a growl, then the music stopped. I was walking backstage, there were velvet curtains, backdrops from plays, tied off ropes running up to sandbags and wooden catwalks. Suddenly, there was Jim Morrison. Lean in his leather clad glory wearing a white shirt that accentuated the shiny black leather of his pants. He was sitting at a table having a beer. He pushed out the empty chair across from him with a tap of his boot.
"Have a seat man. Want a beer?" Before I could answer he pulled out an open beer from somewhere. "Replenish those precious bodily fluids," he said. "So, I understand you're going to be me."
"I, I don't think I can do it. I can't sing. I can't dance. All I have is this stupid idea."
"It's as easy as falling down, man. Go ahead, fall down and get back up. Make it look like a part of the act. I fell down a lot."
"You think I can do it?"
"Sure, consider this my blessing and just remember, it's all a dream." Then the bearded poetic Jim Morrison was sitting back in the chair smiling benevolently at me. "Well, I gotta be in Kalamazoo by two AM, hahaha." Then he was gone and so was the beer.

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Chapter 23: The Van