Uncle Sal the Artist (Episode 19)

Giacomo knocked on the front door but received no answer. Uncle Sal's Dodge Dart was parked in the driveway. He had to be home. He tried the doorbell and waited a couple minutes. Still no answer. He peeked in the window and tried the doorknob. The door opened but Uncle Sal was not parked on the couch.

"Uncle Sal?" He called as he walked to the kitchen. Maybe Uncle Sal was making a cup of tea. He did not like to have his tea interrupted. Uncle Sal wasn't in the kitchen, and he wasn't in the back yard. "Uncle Sal?"

He heard some stirring in the basement and made his way down the stairs. He saw the back of Uncle Sal's mauve leisure suit. Uncle Sal's right arm moved in careful strokes on the canvas in front of him.

"Um, Uncle Sal."The pastel flew from Uncle Sal's hand and landed on the other side of the room. Uncle Sal put his hand to his chest and said, "Great googily-moogily, Giacomo! Ya darn near scared the stuffing out of me. Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not nice to sneak up on people? Leapin' lizards! I almost gave her a mustache just now," he said, pointing to the canvas. "Why didn't you ring the doorbell or something."

"I did try the doorbell. Several times. And I didn't realize I was sneaking. I think you were just so involved in your work that you didn't hear me."

Giacomo looked at the canvas. On it was a picture of a smiling young woman with bleached hair wearing ripped blue jeans, as well as a headband and concert T-shirt with the name Motley Crue. She didn't look like someone Uncle Sal would know, but then Uncle Sal knew lots of folks that didn't look like they would fit at his pinochle games.

"What exactly are you working on?"

Uncle Sal removed a rag from the back pocket of his pants and wiped some of the color from his fingertips as he went to pick up the wayward pewter pastel. "I think it's pretty obvious what I'm doing. I'm chalking a Crue freak."

This episode featured:
Bucky Hoa as Giacomo
Ernest Duke as Uncle Sal
and
Jellybean Merengue as the pewter pastel.

Tune in next week when Uncle Sal says, "Outta my way, butthead!"

[11 December 2007]