grandpa

WHAT
WAS
LEFT
OF
GRANDPA
CHARLES BOBUCK

1

WHAT
WAS
LEFT
OF
GRANDPA
A CHARLES BOBUCK
CONTRAPTION
2

NOW I LAY
Not much was left.
I had never seen a pair of headphones
until I was about 6. My parents didn’t
even own a record player. However my
Grandpa had played saxophone in a jazz
band when young and had never lost his
love of all things audio.
It was he who plopped headphones over
my ears and said, “Listen to this!” as he
dropped the needle on a 78 of Stan
Kenton playing Concerto to End All
Concertos.
NOW I LAY
3

BOND
JAMES BOND
Not much was left.
In the bottom of a wardrobe was a
small box. Some washed out photos of
people I did not recognize. A letter
from someone I did not know.
Water had gotten on the letter and the
ink had bled.It was a love letter. What
else is worth saving? Perhaps there
could have been a different Grandma.
My mother would not exist, nor would I.
In the bottom was an old James Bond
badge. I gave it to him when only a
small child. I thought it was a picture of
him.
He wore it when I visited, then I
stopped visiting.
BOND, JAMES BOND
4

CHEVROLET
Not much was left.
Grandpa always drove a Chevrolet.
He not only drone one but was all but
an evangelist. He would be openly
critical to anyone who drove a Ford.
If you drove a more expensive car he
wouldn’t say anything, even if it was
made by Ford. Grandpa knew his
place in the world. He was a
Chevrolet.
CHEVROLET
5

THE CURSE
OF BEAUTY
Not much was left.
He had died jaundiced in the bed
where he had implanted the seed
that became my mother.
A puddle with some bones sticking
out. A pair of wire-rimmed glasses.
He told me beauty doesn’t exist and
those who believe it does are
cursed.
I was six and I believed everything
was beautiful.
THE CURSE OF
BEAUTY
6

A FEW FEET
FROM THE
CAGES
Not much was left.
One of the favorite stories that
Grandpa Charles would tell me was
the time he was at a dinner party and
was sitting very close to Nicolas
Cage and his wife.
He seemed to feel that he gained
celebrity status from that almost
friendship.
But then, I still talk about the time I
attended the Grammy Awards and
shared a table with Donna Summer
at the after party. I had a bit of a
crush on the singer at the time so of
A FEW FEET FROM
THE CAGES
7

DRUNKEN
DREK
Not much was left.
Grandpa Charles liked his wine. I saw
him a bit inebriated a few times as a
child but never as much as his
drinking buddy, Derek. Grandpa
called him Drek.
Once when about 13 or 14, I was at
a family gathering and Drek was
hitting it hard all afternoon. He was
advising me in the ways of the world
when he suddenly stopped talking,
and stared deeply into my eyes. He
quietly inquired, “Charles,” he
paused, “Do you think I’m a drunk?”
I blushed but said nothing at all.
He whispered, “I wish I was your age.
We would go to California and fuck
movie stars.”
DRUNKEN DREK
8

MY TONGUE
IS SLEEPING
My Grandma complained that
Grandpa Charles never kissed her
anymore.
Grandpa would tell Grandma that his
tongue was asleep and he didn’t
want to wake it.
Grandma laughed and said that
Grandpa used to be a great kisser.
I had no idea what she was talking
about.
MY TONGUE IS
SLEEPING
9

I AIN’T GOT
NO TIME
Clocks. Grandpa not only collected
clocks but he took them apart and
put them back together. His little
work shop was full of clock parts as
well as perfectly functioning ones.
None of the clocks were set to the
same time. He told me it was to
confuse the Grim Reaper.
Grandma told me it was because “it
is always 5 o’clock somewhere.” I
looked confused. She sighed and
said, “Honey, your Grandpa like to
have a bit to drink now and then, and
he thinks it is civil to wait until it is 5
o;clock.
As an adult I learned the truth. He
took clocks apart so he could rebuild
them using different size gears. The
clocks could not keep time. It was
his odd anarchist conceptual art.
I AIN’T GOT NO TIME
10

ISRAEL
Israel Bissell was Grandpa’s hero.
While Paul Revere is revered as a
great patriot, Israel Bissell left at the
same time as buddy Paul, but rode
345 miles to warn of the British
invasion. Grandpa resented Paul
Revere getting so much attention.
Israel did get a poem, though. Marie
Rockwood wrote one, Ride, Israel
Ride.
ISRAEL
11

MR. WHITE
What was left of Grandpa
Not much was left. He had died
jaundiced in the bed where he had
implanted the seed that became my
mother.
My inheritance was his iPod. He
called it Mr. White.
It doesn’t work. Probably hasn’t in
years. No one noticed because he
kept the headphones jammed
deeply into his ears.
I guess he just wanted to be left
alone.
That worked
MR. WHITE
12

DEATH BY
JAZZ
He played me Jimmie Lunceford.
He played me the Dorsey Brothers.
He played me Stan Kenton.
He told me big bands will be back.
I told him rock and roll will never die.
I was no smarter than him.
DEATH BY JAZZ
13

BLACK TIE
AND A
STRAIGHT
JACKET
He said that to me. Black tie and a
straight jacket. He told me that was
life. I didn’t know what he meant so I
asked my mother.
She told me that he meant that life
was neat and clean. That jackets
should not have wrinkles in them and
shoe laces must be tightly tied so we
don’t trip and fall.
I didn’t believe her because Grandpa
Charles never tied his shoes.
BLACK TIE AND A
STRAIGHT JACKET
14

THE FINAL
CONFLICT
Grandpa Charles wasn’t always easy
to get along with. I knew he liked me
as a child, I was less certain he liked
me once I grew up.
When I was young he had control of
my fantasies, he was magical,
talented, intelligent, all the things I
wanted to be when I grew up.
I was named for him. Charles.
The idea that I was gay did not sit
well with him, though he was always
civil.
I lost respect for him over that issue
and stopped visiting.
Cancer took him. I had already
mourned losing him many years
earlier so dying was just a thing that
happened. The friction won.
THE FINAL
CONFLICT
15

All Grandpas die. Their pistils become worn from friction
1. Now I Lay
WHAT WAS LEFT OF GRANDPA
2. Bond, James Bond
A Charles Bobuck Contraption
3. Chevrolet
With Guest:
4. The Curse of Beauty
N. Cook - Guitar
5. A Few Feet From the Cages
Published by Pale Pachyderm
6. Drunken Drek
Publishing (BMI)
7. My Tongue is Sleeping
© 2015, The Cryptic Corporation
8. I Ain’t Got No Time
All Rights Reserved
9. Israel
10. Mr. White
11. Death by Jazz
12. Black Tie and Straightjacket
A CD of the music of
What Was Left of Grandpa
is available.
www.Klanggalerie.com (Austria)
www.MVDshop.com (USA)
c
13. The Final Conflict