Martoons

Cast of characters

Thomas

Fred

Max

Mr E

Coffee Lady

*

Turns out they only had to walk a block before Max found his singing room and led them down some stairs.

They could already hear the music and customary off-key singing coming up from below.

There was a lot of hustle and bustle in the lobby with a thick crowd of patrons waiting for a vacant room.

Max beamed as he spotted his owner friend behind the counter and quickly cut through the mini mob.

* Will the group have to wait long? *

After exchanging a robust handshake and brief discussion, Max turned and hailed Mr E, Fred, Thomas and Coffee Lady.

Fred felt guilty about cutting through the line, but Thomas – quickly grabbing Coffee Lady’s hand – didn’t seem to have a problem with it.

“Come on, man,” and he pulled Fred with him.

The owner led them down the hallway to a large room. Fred liked the Korean singing rooms better than the big, open ones in Canada.

The Korean style is a private room exclusively for you and your group.

Tonight’s deluxe room had a night-clubbish aura to it – a disco ball hanging from the ceiling; comfy lime-green couches along three of its pastel pink walls; and at the front was a giant TV screen flashing song lyrics.

The music blasted out of very good speakers; volume was pre-set and almost deafening.

The TV scenes were mesmerizing – either idyllic beach and sea panoramas, or buxom foreign women (never Koreans) undulating around with teensy weensy bikinis and water splashing seemingly non-stop on selected anatomical areas.

Drip …drip … drip… Fred found himself inadvertently gawking.

“Ayeesh!” Coffee Lady muttered in disgust at the bevy of half-naked, surgically-enhanced beauties.

Max and E insisted that Thomas and Fred sing first. The Golden God Thomas picked up the remote control and keyed in a song number.

As he sang, an unfortunate truth became clear to everyone present:

He couldn’t hold a tune if his life depended on it; yet the others mustered polite applause anyway.

Fred then sang an easy, older Korean song called ‘Pusan Seagull’, which got him a standing ovation.

“Encore!” cried the Koreans.

“Any requests?” Fred asked.

“My Way,” E yelled out.

Fred reluctantly agreed, but to spice the tune up Thomas pre-selected the koko drumbeat, thus transforming the classic crooner ballad into a disco piece.

And it worked.

Max and E were dancing with each other, while Thomas corralled Coffee Lady for a slow dance.

She still seemed a bit stiff in her boss’s presence but Max was oblivious.

When it was done, Thomas sat down with her on the comfy couch and had his arm all over her as gooey as ever, but she looked rigid as ever.

The timer on the TV monitor indicated 2 minutes left in their hour.

* Will Coffee Lady loosen up and become more comfortable? *

Coffee Lady broke free of Thomas’ embrace and stood up. “Cha! One mo song!”  

It was E’s turn.

“This song is one that all soldiers know, called “The Private’s Letter.” A slower, reflective song with acoustic guitar and harmonica filled the room.

I step outside the house to leave

To my parents I deeply bow

I’ve been enlisted in the army

The train is coming now

A blade of grass, my best friend’s face

Nothing looks the same

I’m leaving a piece of my heart behind

To start my life again

Buddy, send me a letter so we don’t forget

All the happiness we found

Your hands feel warm as I say goodbye

Did you hear the whistle sound?

Max picked up the other microphone and joined in.

The station vanishes behind me now

As I look back from in the train

As the whistle starts to fade away

I’m starting my dreams again

When I see my crew-cut in the mirror

It makes me laugh at first

But as the reflection lingers on

The cold feeling within gets worse

A bugle sounds and I look for home

From up on top of a mountain

I sign this letter and seal it up

And start my dreams again.

*

Tomorrow: Thomas can’t seem to follow Korean decorum.