|
|
Chapter 15: Normal
The schedule was tight, Hanson was due in New York for rehearsal on Tuesday morning. The bus left Los Angeles Saturday afternoon a little past noon. Jason and Walker would share the driving duties, trading off and driving continuously through the night. The bus was well equipped with most of the amenities so they would only have to stop for gas, some meals and occasionally to let the kids run and stretch.
The bus was equipped with a television and VCR for movies. There was a smaller television for video games and enough toys and books to keep everyone busy or at least occupied during the long hours of travel. The family watched several movies the first afternoon out. When the younger children were put to bed, the older boys switched to quieter pursuits such as reading and video games. Gradually, the boys drifted off to their bunks and settled in for the night as the slight murmur of the moving bus lured them to sleep.
Jason took over the driving duty at five in the morning and Walker went into the back of the bus to get some sleep. They were seventy miles outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. An hour later as dawn was breaking Jason was beginning to see cars parked on the side of the road and young people waving signs at the bus. The closer he drove towards the city limits the more signs he spotted. Jason buzzed the back of the bus through the intercom.
"What is it?" a groggy Walker answered.
"You’d better come look at this," Jason suggested.
Walker jumped out of bed with concern, wondering what kind of travel problems they were encountering. He raced the front of the bus and Jason pointed out the parked cars and the signs. The signs were clearly marked with slogans "We Love Hanson." "Go Taylor!" "Ass of an Idiot".
"Daddy is it time to get up?" Avery ask having followed her father to the front of the bus.
Walker picked up his daughter just as the phone rang. He picked up the cell phone and listened for a moment and put his daughter back down. "Sweetheart, go tell Momma to get up and wake up everyone. Now!"
"Jason, turn on the radio to FM 106.5."
"What’s going on?" Diana ask coming forward to the front of the bus.
"What’s up Dad?" Ike ask with a groggy Taylor and Zac right behind him.
Walker turned the radio volume up loud. "This is WGAZ of Albuquerque and one of our fans has just spotted the bus just outside the city limits. Come on Hanson fans. Get out there. Show your support. Show Hanson that we love their new sound and we support them all the way to Number 1. Honk those horns!’
Car horns blasted as the bus drove by them. People of all ages were standing by the roadside waving signs at the bus.
"Wow!" Zac exclaimed.
"You guys had better get dressed unless you want to wave at the fans in your boxers!" Jason exclaimed.
The boys headed towards the back of the bus and began pulling on clothes standing in the hallway.
"Dad, what is going on?" Ike ask.
"Apparently, fan support." Walker answered. "Christopher just called. He said not three hours after Tay told off jerk reporter was, he filed a suite against Hanson. It hit the wire service and the radio DJ’s have been going nuts all night. Its like a ‘call to arms’ only they’re asking fans to show their support by making signs and honking horns as we go by. I don’t know how they identified the bus or found out our route."
"Our fans can find out anything," Zac declared.
"But most important, the DJ’s are playing the new singles. All of them!" Walker explained.
The boys took quick turns in the small bathroom trying to clean up and make themselves presentable. Then, they ran back out to the living space on the bus and raised the blinds.
The closer the bus got to the city the more cars were parked on the side of the road. The boys waved and the excited fans jumped and screamed and waved and honked the car horns.
The DJ on the radio station seemed to be very aware of their progress on the interstate that bypassed the city. He talked to call-in audience members and got their opinions of the altercation between Taylor and the reporter. The tide of sentiment was on Taylor side, defending his right to speak up and tell the reporter off. They discussed the new music singles and how happy they were that radio was giving them a lot of play.
A half hour out of the city there were fewer cars and signs but they were still there occasionally and the fans were just as excited by the waves from their favorite group. They gradually went out of range of the radio station frequency, but soon picked another station and another DJ who was radical promoting their ‘cause’ and the new Hanson music.
As the bus continued its path eastbound through the New Mexico and then Texas countryside there was evidence of continued radio support.
The cell phones were kept busy. Christopher was averaging at least one call per hour to inform Walker of the media blitz that was transpiring while they were heading eastbound. He was also acting as a relay between radio stations and the group. When they got within range of some of the radio stations Hanson would call in and give a quick on-air interviews.
The response was the same every time they called. The DJ’s were courteous and positive and promising to give the singles a lot of air play. And, they all made mention of the B. Walters interview and complimented the boys on their bravery and heroism.
The boys continued to wave and smile and stay awake and aware in order to give something back to the fans that were showing their support in such a public manner. Walker tried to get some sleep and Diana took over handling the phones for a while. As much as the boys were enjoying the commotion, after several hours they settled back and tried to concentrate on reading or watching a movie.
There is only so much that can be done on a tour bus. They ate, studied, played video games, watched movies, waved to fans and conducted interviews. That was the routine of the next three days. Every large town, or city seemed to be participating in the campaign of support. After the second day, they listened to the radio only when Jason or Walker would turn up the volume because the stations were running features about their music or about the ‘interview’. The trip was exhausting to everyone. The little kids were quarreling with one another constantly and wearing out Diana and Walkers patience. Ike and Zac had had several run-ins and were ignoring each other the best they could within the confines of the bus..
It was a relief when the bus finally pulled into the parking lot of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. They would be in New York for a full week. Time for everyone to chill out. It was 3 a.m. when they trouped through the hotel lobby followed by a mountain of luggage. They left the luggage in a huge pile in the living room and went to bed.
At 10:00 a.m. Christopher was pounding on the door awakening everyone. He had brought several bags of bagels and donuts which is what probably kept him alive. Zac snatched the bag of donuts and dove into it before his mother took it away from him and ordered him into the shower.
"God aren’t we in good moods?" Christopher said sarcastically.
"Actually, we just tired," Walker said apologetically. "It was a long haul across country."
"I tried to tell you," Christopher said. "Can you believe what is going on?"
"It’s a little surreal." Ike said. "How much of this was a result of you orchestrating it?"
"Absolutely none of it." Christopher denied. "And that’s that makes so great! I’ve had calls from every television show in New York. They all want interviews. MTV is going up the wall, they want you bad!"
"That’s funny, I thought they’d have been happier if we didn’t come back." Taylor mumbled.
"Not funny," Walker growled with a warning in his voice.
"But truthful," Taylor said sidestepping his Dad and reaching for the bag of donuts.
"Whatever," Christopher injected. "But now is the time to hit the publicity circuit as hard as we can. Music stores opened about an hour ago, sales are going through the roof."
Although their schedules were already set up, but they decided that they could probably fit a few more interviews in as long as the same rules applied. The interviews were to be only about music. They would not discuss the crash. End of subject.
Hanson had rented a rehearsal studio for the afternoon hours to practice before reporting to the Jay Leno show. They would not be working with backup musicians so they need to get the kinks out of the music before they hit the stage. Walker escorted the boys to the studio and then went off to a corner office to read contracts and paperwork.
Isaac had his own guitar, but Taylor and Zac were playing rented instruments. Their instruments had been sent ahead to the Tonight Show studio. The rehearsal did not go well. Taylor was having intermittent electric problems with the keyboard. One moment he would have sound the next it would be dead. The symbols on the drum set would not stay together. A bolt kept coming loose on the upper symbol and it would come crashing down at the wrong time.
They tried to practice for over an hour, never completing one song all the way through. After several false starts Taylor’s keyboard was suddenly dead. He crawled underneath the keyboard to check the plug. Ike was leaning over and pressing the keys for him. Exasperated Zac slammed his sticks down on the symbols and with a crash the symbol came totally off the stand. Zac stepped around the drums and snatched up the symbol.
"This stuff is sh*t!"
Ike jumped, Taylor winced and Zac yipped as Walker Hanson’s hand made full contact with his young sons’ backside, hard.
Zac spun around and looked up at his father guiltily. "Oops, sorry,"
"You know better than that," Walker exclaimed with a frown. "Go."
Zac knew what his father meant. "But Dad.." he wailed.
"Do you want the alternative?" his father ask sternly.
Zac shook his head and with belligerent look at father, and his lower lip trembling, stomped off to the bathroom to wash his mouth out with soap.
Walker shook his head in aggravation. "I’m going out for some sandwiches, I’ll be back as soon as I can."
Both of his sons nodded in agreement and kept working on the keyboard.
Taylor looked up at Ike and grinned. "I told you so," he said.
Ike looked confused for a second and then he smiled as he remembered their conversation in the cavern. "Well you were right, it wasn’t the last time."
Zac came back in to the room, glared at his smiling brothers and began pounding out a very angry and tuneless jumble of beats.
They stopped for lunch when Walker returned and then resumed practice. As far as Walker was concerned the incident was over, but Zac was in a sulking mood. They resolved the electrical problem in the keyboard but try as they would, they could not get through one song completely. Either, Zac would mess of the beat, Taylor would hit a wrong note, or Ike would mangle a riff. Every time they had to stop, whoever made the mistake had to listen to complaints from the other two. As the practice session continued, they got angrier with each false start.
Then finally they had almost made it through a song, when the symbol came loose and clattered down the pole.
"Zac, can’t you keep that thing in place?" Ike demanded.
"It’s not my fault," Zac yelled.
"Do you think we would get through one song today?" Taylor demanded.
And, then a free-for-all started. Each brother was shouting at the other one, and when any of them defended themselves the other two would jump on the denial as fuel for insults. They were so outraged that they didn’t even hear their father return to the room.
"Enough!" Walker shouted. "Pack it up, we’re going back to the hotel."
"But , we need to practice," Ike complained.
"You’re not practicing. You’re arguing and that’s all you done all day." Walker exclaimed. "What’s gotten in you guys?"
They were all glaring at each other angrily.
"Its not my fault!" Zac mumbled, but it was loud enough for the other two to hear and the verbal affront began again with accusations and insults flying.
"Pack it up. Now!" Walker said quiet voice that stopped all three boys in mid insult. They knew that voice. It was the parental tone that was a verbal warning of retribution if they didn’t obey. They obeyed and got their gear packed up quickly and followed their father back to the van, in silence.
When they got back to the hotel suite, they flung their gear down and glaring and muttering, "Dork!, Butthead!, Braceface!" separated and went in different directions to cool off. Walker kissed his wife and helped himself a tall iced tea, and poured her one. Then they clicked the glasses and had a long drink and smiled.
"I take it, they’re at each other throats?" Diana said.
"Big time," Walker groaned.
"They’ll be all right by tonight won’t they?" Christopher worried. "Shouldn’t you do something?"
Walker laughed. "I did. I threatened to send them to military school.
"But, if they’re fighting!"
"Relax Christopher," Walker exclaimed. "They just got into an argument. If they got into a fight there would be bruises and black eyes. They’re brothers, brothers argue. Its normal."
"If you’re sure," Christopher worried. "Look, I’ve got to go back to the office, are you sure everything will be all right?"
The Hanson parents walked the worried manager to the door unconcerned. "It will be all right," Walker promised.
* * * *
Several hours later when Christopher knocked on the hotel room door, Taylor answered it with an eggroll in his mouth.
"We’re almost ready," he said smiling. "Want some Chinese? There’s plenty."
"Try the General Tso chicken," Ike suggested. "Man, that’s good!"
Christopher looked at the family sitting and standing around a kitchen bar area. Everyone seemed to have had their good moods restored. He looked at Walker who just smiled and gave him the thumbs up sign.
"You guys are okay with each other?" he ask of Taylor and Ike.
Ike looked up surprised. "Sure, why?"
"Because this afternoon you were fighting!" Christopher pressed.
‘Oh, that," Taylor said looking through a carry-out box for shrimp. "That’s over, we just beat up Zac."
"Not!" Zac exclaimed crawling out from under the bar with a stack of napkins he had dropped.
Christopher shook his head and smiled at them. "Everyone ready for Leno?"
"I like Jay!" Mackie exclaimed.
"We know," everyone chimed at the same time.
"Good, because he’s good for Hanson." Christopher said. "Anyone want to know the preliminary sales reports?"
All eyes were on him.
Christopher took a deep breath. "It looks like number 1, number 2, and number 3 spots, right out of the box!
"Wow!" Zac shouted, and jumped on Ike’s back.
Ike flipped his younger brother off onto the floor and gave Taylor a hi-five.
The Tonight Show sent a limousine for transportation to the studio. The boys had performed and interviewed on the show before so they knew the routine. Usually Jay came around to their dressing room before the show, but as his assistant explained, he was tied up in meetings. The boys completed a sound check, and then went back to the green room to wait. There was only one guest scheduled before their performance and then they were given a triple slot or the rest of the program.
As Jay Leno stepped on the stage the screaming began. He tried to do a monologue and finally gave it up with a laugh and announced the first guest. He tried to calm the audience and brought out a well known young actress that was promoting her latest film. He spoke to her for a few minutes and even ask her if she knew about Hanson. She said she did and the audience screamed out of control. Then he went to commercial break and when he came Ike, Taylor and Zac were in position. As the lights came on the audience erupted in screams and the boys began to play. They played the pop single that they had just released and soon the audience was grooving to the sound and the screams lessened to the point where people could actually hear the song. Then Jay motioned them over to the couch area and the boys left their instruments to screams and joined him on center stage. At first he shook their hands, but then he shrugged and looked sheepish but said he just "had to hug them" and he did so, before letting them sit down.
When the screams subsided the boys were all smiling.
"I didn’t embarrass you, by hugging you did I?" Jay ask.
Taylor and Zac shook their heads. "Because, I just had to," Jay exclaimed. "I didn’t get to see you before the show started, and I just had to ‘hug you’ to know you were all right. Does that make sense?"
"Actually, we get hugged a lot since we’ve been back," Zac said.
"And, of course you don’t mind, if it’s a Pamela Anderson, or a Jenny McCarthy," Ike added with a smile.
"Neither would I," Jay quipped and the audience laughed. "Now I know the ground rules, you won’t talk about the accident, but I got to tell you. I cried when you went missing and I cried like a baby when I found out you were okay. Its an amazing story."
"Its over, and we’d like to put it behind us and move on," Ike replied.
"Enough said." Jay exclaimed. "How was the trip out here?"
"Amazing!" the boys said in unison.
"Like something out of a movie or something." Ike explained. "And of course, we want to thank the fans and the DJ’s."
"Taylor, you had a Birthday recently. Fifteen. And, you weren’t home for your birthday so I thought you needed to celebrate." An attendant rolled out a cart with a cake, the candles lit.
Taylor blew out the candles and thanked him.
"And, I got you a birthday poster!" Jay exclaimed and pointed to a screen behind them. The audience screamed wildly as the picture poster of Taylor filled the screen twenty feet high.
Taylor turned red and buried his head in his hands while Jay and his brothers were laughing at him. Finally, when the commotion settled he turned to the comedian. "I can’t believe you put that up."
"It’s a great picture! Sexy!" Jay said laughing.
Taylor blushed again. "I didn’t pose for that thing!" he protested.
"You didn’t?" Jay ask. "It’s the best selling poster of this week!"
"I didn’t pose for it and its not an authorized picture," Taylor exclaimed emphatically. "I know where the picture was taken but I don’t know who took it or how they managed to get it to posters. But, there is court order to stop it."
"You’re serious," Jay said and picture disappeared.
"Very serious," Taylor insisted. "That picture was taken at like 5 a.m., I was just sitting there talking to Ike. Its an invasion of privacy!"
"I didn’t know," Jay said seriously and then out of the side of his mouth he said to the camera. "Girls, buy it fast before its too late!"
The audience screamed again. "So tell me what you’ve been doing?" he ask.
This led to a discussion of their new releases and Jay announced their single rock song as the new Number #1 single in the country. They talked about their decision to release three singles at the same time. It was something no other performers had ever done.
"We did this, just to say ‘Hey we’re back’. Then we go back into a studio and really get to work on a new album," Zac explained.
"So you haven’t done anything but work since you got back," Jay exclaimed. "What about girls?"
"You ask that every time we’re here," Taylor exclaimed. "Come on guys. NO GIRL FRIENDS," they said together, and the audience screamed.
"Well I have a girl for you!’ Jay exclaimed. He looked over his shoulder. "Where is that girl I got for Hanson?"
Ike, Taylor and Zac were looking around a little skeptical thinking it was another joke to be played on them.
"There she is," Jay exclaimed.
Their eyes followed his pointing finger, and all three boys were out of their seats and running across the stage to meet his guest. Taylor got to Katie first, and swung her up and into his arms and hugged and kissed her. Then he turned her over to Ike who hugged and kissed her, spinning her around and passing her onto to Zac who also hugged her.
Jay was telling them to come back to the couch so Ike took Katie from Zac and carried her back. She was sitting in his lap and Jay was trying to lean across the desk to talk to her so he lifted her up and put on the top of the desk.
"And what is your name young lady?" Jay ask the little girl.
"Kimberly," she said smiling. "But they call me Katie," she said pointing to the boys sitting on the couch.
"Well, Kimberly-Katie you are a beautiful young lady." Jay said. "That’s a very pretty outfit you have on."
The little girl pointed down at her pink overalls. "My ma-ma got it for me," she said primly.
"You have a very nice ma-ma. And, that’s a very pretty locket." Jay said touching a heart shaped locket.
Katie picked up the locket in her chubby little hands and opened it and showed it to Jay. "This is my Mommy and Daddy. They went to heaven." she said pointing to a picture on one side of the locket. "And this is Ike, and Tay and Zac here," she said pointing to the other side. "See, they gived me this picture so I wouldn’t forgetted they loved me."
Jay looked away for a moment.
"You’ve turned into a little chatter-box," Ike said to the little girl.
"Kimberly-Katie," Jay said bring the conversation back to him. "Tell me about love. These guys don’t have girlfriends so they can’t know. How do you know someone loves you?"
"That’s easy," the little girl exclaimed.
"So tell me," Jan insisted.
"You know someone loves you when they take care of you, and keep bad animals from hurting you, and they let you eat first." the little girl said. "Ike and Tay always letted me and Antonio and Zac eat first. Cause they loved us."
Jay lost his composure temporarily. He covered his eyes with one hand and the house band began to pound out a tune. Ike scooped Katie off the desk and set her in Taylor’s lap.
"I’m sorry," Jay said after a moment. "I know I promised, but this is very difficult. I just gotta say you guys are amazing. You are so real, nothing fake, no pretense. If anyone needs a role model, you are perfect."
"Tell Dad that, he said he was going to ship us off to military school today!" Zac said laughing.
"Military School," Jay said picking up on the laughter track again. "But you’d have to get hair cuts!"
Taylor crossed his two pointer fingers and held them out in the direction of Jay to ward off such evil thoughts.
The audience laughed and screamed at the idea and the show was back on track with a much lighter tone. The boys traded Katie back and forth throughout the show, each of them playing with her quietly while they continued to pay attention to the interchanges.
At the end Jay held up covers to the new singles and suggested that everyone should try a "Hanson experience" and the show was over.
It took hours to get away from the studio. The Hansons thanked the Richardsons for letting Katie visit the boys and promised to visit them in Florida. Jay joined the family in the dressing room and played with Mackie for a little while, and held and admired Zoe. He took pictures drawn by Avery and Jessica and thanked them and promised that he would hang them in his office. Diana and Walker thanked him for the cards and telephone calls they had received after the plane had gone down. He offered the use of his beach home in Maui, Hawaii to them anytime they wanted to get away.
The next morning the family enjoyed a huge breakfast, delivered by room service as a gift from the Tonight Show. Everyone was pigging out. Since Ike, Taylor and Zac were all underweight, their mom wasn’t objecting even when they stuffed themselves with junk food.
Life was real good for Hanson. The interviews and magazine articles were reviewed with unbelievably good press. The singles were on the top of the charts, the critics being kind. They had a full week of interviews ahead of them, and MTV was begging them to return for an interview.
Christopher showed up just as the last of breakfast was cleared away. He talked to Walker and Diana privately for a few minutes and then Walker called his sons to join the meeting. The bodies of the non-survivors of the plane crash had been removed from the crash site and memorial services were being planned The insurance company wanted to settle as soon as possible. Christopher handed them each a check for an excessive amount of money. It was their part of a class action suit, filed by the family members of the crash, and settled out of court. The boys signed the necessary papers and Christopher put the checks back in his briefcase to deposit in their bank account.
"Easy come, easy go." Zac complained.
‘Dad, that’s found money," Ike complained. "Shouldn’t be we able to do something really special with it?"
"That’s an idea, what do you have in mind?"
"A Dodge 4x4 RAM truck." Ike said.
Walker was shaking his head. "Ike we’ve been through this..."
"With extra suspension. The suspension is real important." Taylor interrupted.
"And a camper top," Zac added catching on. "Not a live-in one, just a small one to carry stuff in."
"And, make out the deed to Harold Cromley." Ike said.
"Address, Shepherd Junction, Idaho." Taylor finished with a drawl. "And send a Piano, a small one because they don’t have much room. Annie said she always wanted a piano."
"I think we can do that," Walker said with a smile. "In fact, I think that a real good idea. Christopher, can you take care of that."
"I can take care of it," Christopher promised with a smile.
Diana walked their agent to the door.
Walker opened his briefcase. "I do have something you can keep."
"What?" Zac demanded leaning over the desk.
"Back allowances." Walker said holding up three envelopes and leaning over towards his son and whispered. "And if you’ll forget that Ike and Tay lost their allowances to you for poker losses, I’ll forget to tell mom you were gambling."
"Sounds fair to me." Zac said grinning and took his envelop and ran off to the kitchen.
Ike and Taylor took their envelopes and stuffed them into their pockets.
Walker turned and started to walk down the hallway towards the bedrooms and his sons followed him.
"You know Dad, I really should be driving more," Ike said. "If I had a car I’d be able to practice more."
"No," Walker said over his shoulder.
"And Dad, I’m fifteen now! I need to learn how to drive." Taylor exclaimed.
‘Double no," Walker said trying to ignore the fact that he was being followed.
"But Dad,"
"But Dad, just think,"
"No!"
"Come on Dad, just ‘cause I put a little dent in the van one time, I’m not that bad a driver..."
"I didn’t wreak anything, how come I can’t learn to drive..."
Diana stood in the doorway and listened to banter of the two teenagers badgering their father. Then she listened to her younger children arguing over the television remote in loud voices. She walked into the kitchen and found Zac with his head buried in the ‘room service’ refrigerator.
"Zac get out of there. That stuff is ridiculously expensive!" she ordered.
"But Mom I’m hungry!" Zac wailed.
Diana smiled and shut her eyes to give a moment of thanks. Her family was finally returning to normal. Hanson family normal.
The End.
Please send in your comments to alh2mail@yahoo.com
Back to ALH2
Read
Snip Its
(Kim's Second Story)