Free Shake Down Dead by Diane Morlan

of the internet . . .”
Only about ten minutes left of his speech.
    I looked back at my phone and read the
rest of the article. Six weeks after the grand opening, on November
2, 1929, Foshay’s corporation went into receivership due to the
Great Depression. The check Foshay had written to Sousa bounced and
Sousa prohibited the playing of the march so long as Foshay's debt
to him remained outstanding.
    In 1988, a group of Minnesota investors
repaid Foshay's debt to Sousa's estate, and the march was permitted
to be played in public again.
    Charlie must have loved that story to
adopt it for his campaign music. Then I remembered why I knew the
song. Charlie had played a rocking version of it for the intro song
at his rock concerts. The song played while the band was being
introduced and took their places on stage. Then they would go into
their biggest hit, “White Heat” followed by “City Lights.” Just
thinking about that brought back some great memories.
    I jumped when the audience started to
applaud. The Washington Post March began and the candidate raised
his arms, Rocky style while the audience applauded. Charlie was
trying to appeal to the under sixty population. The younger people
would like the internet free proposal and the forty-somethings
would go for the no new taxes and issues concerning lowering the
debt. I guess he figured those two groups would give him the
majority he needed to win.
    I weaved through the crowd moving to
the back of the room. People were either leaving or heading for the
refreshments. I smiled and nodded to the people filling plates
making sure the food and wine kept flowing.
    Mindless work usually allows me to
daydream. I started thinking about the time Megan and Bernie and I
went to see Captain Jack and the Walleyes at this very civic
center, when the band first became famous. Charlie always said he
felt close to those who had helped him get started and he would
never forget his southwestern Minnesota fans. Maybe he would make
an okay Governor after all. Or not.
    I guess it was hard for me to take an
‘80s rocker seriously. Megan believed in him, but her track record
with men was shaky at best.
    I was busy refilling bowls and platters
for the next twenty minutes. I kept looking around for Megan. She
had said she would help me. I finally found a teenage volunteer who
was willing to bring food from the kitchen for me when the plates
began running low.

    12
    Megan finally tore herself away from
the dignitaries and stopped by my tables. “I found some volunteers
to help you pack up.” She tossed her key ring to me. “I’ll catch a
ride with Charlie and some friends. Use my car as long as you need
it.” And she was gone. As usual, she had skipped out on the
clean-up. At least this time she left me her car.
    Megan never could prioritize. The most
important thing for Megan was the one that looked to be the most
fun and cleaning up was not fun. She was kind-hearted and generous
and she really meant it when she said that I could keep her car as
long as I needed it.
    Far be it from me to turn down the use
of her beautiful car. Checking the odometer, I saw that it only had
nine hundred miles on it. I didn’t think I’d ever driven a car that
new. Edwin the Louse, always bought second hand cars. He said that
cars lost a third of their value when they were driven off the lot.
That’s probably true. However, driving a new car might just make up
for that.
    I made the drive back to Hermann in
record time, for me. My first stop was my warehouse. I thought
about getting a bigger sign every time I drove up to the front
door. “Primo Gusto Coffee Roasters” was about 2’ x 3’. I liked the
idea of a large sign but it wouldn’t make any difference in the
long run. I didn’t sell coffee out of this building; I used it to
roast and package my coffee.
    I dropped off the leftover cookies and
serving dishes and set them aside for the next rally I was
catering. I greeted my two part-time employees,