Copyright C E Ayr
Leather bomber jacket and cowboy boots was a good look back then. Not so much now though.
He signs his prescription with a flourish.
“People paid good money for that signature,” he says.
The pharmacist smiles weakly; every month the same.
Outside Janis hobbles alongside, tight pedal-pushers and towering grey bouffant, as they follow the music towards the park where they’ll tut, shake their heads and roll their eyes.
Maybe he’ll play a little air-guitar, a riff or two from way back… show them how it’s done.
Or maybe they’ll just go home and wait for Eddie to call them.
Not sure we’ve got either the age or geographic demographic amongst the Friday Fictioneers to get this one, and the nostalgia outweighs the musical content, I guess. But it is what it is – and Eddie is the late great Eddie Cochran. Thanks to Rochelle for all her work.
castelsarrasin 
I loved the picture of Janis (and the name, of course)
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Thanks, Neil.
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I particularly liked the air-guitar reference.
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Thanks for reading, Tanille.
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It’s always sad when old times and respectability don’t last.
Times change. People become older. But, memories remain…
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So true, Anita.
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I have a friend, Eddie, back in Scotland who does pub entertainment under the title Just Like Eddie.
Nostalgia, it seems, is a thriving industry.
And good story with, as always, a sprinkling of sharp-sighted gems.
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Thanks, CE. Sounds like a great name for an act.
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Good post! Just a bit puzzled why you didn’t include the video itself inline rather than as just a link to it — these youngsters need to be edumacated!
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Hmm… that’s odd, I expected the video to show… these new-fangled computer thingies confuzzle me all the time…
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The answer to your first comment lies within the second. 🙂 Thanks for reading.
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I liked the image of the ageing rock star. They’ll always have the music.
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If not the hair. Thanks for reading.
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Dear Sandra,
“People paid good money for that signature.” So much story in that one line. Poignant and touching as I look back on more years than I have ahead. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I know what you mean. I never noticed turning the half-way point either. Not that I ever knew exactly where the half way point was, but I had an expectation.
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Eddie induces a mysterious note here. Why does he not call them?
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Dead. But I guess he’s going to call them some time soon. Even upstairs, they still need their fans with them.
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😀😀
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Love this, not least because I have friends who were in the music business yonks ago who have never really been able to let it go. Rock on! I say. 🙂
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Yes, it must be hard trying to let go, though I think some of the music today might have just eased them out a little. 🙂
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I don’t know the names but I got the picture. Sad!
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Many thanks for reading.
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Eddie was the rocker. His hair shouted “C’mon, everybody!” Great story.
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Loved it! 🙂 Thanks for reading.
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I’m with the Queen on this one — that line of “people paid good money for that signature” is priceless. I’m listening to the song you posted while I write this. I’m not familiar with the song, but I CERTAINLY DO know of Eddie Cochrane. Big influence on the British groups. I enjoyed his music.
Five out of five Hofner basses (mainly because I know Paul McCartney was a big fan of his). You actually helped start my day and it’s only 8:50 am here. 😀
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I don’t think Just Like Eddie was a big hit anywhere other than the UK. How tinny it sounds! Thanks for reading, Kent.
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It actually sounds like Cole Porter’s My Heart Belongs to Daddy. “While teeing off a game of golf, I make my way for the caddy …” At least lyrically, anyway.
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I could just see them enjoying the music whilte pretending to disapprove. Prescription had me wondering – methadone?
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Zantac, I think. Thanks for reading Liz.
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Lovely descriptions, especially of Janis. You convey a type of authenticity about the life chosen by this couple.
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Many thanks for reading Penny.
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What’s worse, to have it all and watch it fade away or never have it at all? Probably the former, but it has to be hard to see it go.
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I think you’re right. It’s a rare person who doesn’t see it fade away. Thanks for reading.
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This was great, Sandra. How awful it must be for these ageing rock stars – especially those who are still stuck in the “back then” in dress and manner. Wonderfully done.
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I was in a restaurant recently when I saw a man in his seventies, all in black, boots, jeans, wild grey hair in his ponytail. He sashayed down between the tables towards the toilets and then went in the Ladies. 🙂 Kind of spoilt the moment a tad. Thanks for reading, Dale.
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Hahaha!! No kidding! (Maybe he went to join a rocket chick waiting in a stall 😉.) Trying to keep the romance of it all…🤣
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Absolutely brilliant and right up my alley! Thank you!!!
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My pleasure, Keith.
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I clicked on the link and closed my eyes, letting time take me back to a time when “rock ‘n’ roll” my parents despised was oh, so innocent compared to today’s version. Thanks for the trip, Sandra 🙂
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Yes I remember being in tears when I was watching Cliff Richard (the UK’s Elvis) singing at the London Palladium and my Dad making sarcastic comments about him. Probably a lot like me today on the rare occasion I catch a live act. 🙂 Thanks for reading, Linda.
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Very sad commentary of musicians who are still stuck in the past.
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But probably enjoying it. Thanks for reading.
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Moving with the times, is not for Janis it seems. Your story took me back in time
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Whatever floats their boat, I guess. 🙂 Thanks for reading.
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The pharmacist smiles weakly; every month the same. I can feel his pain. When I worked at a dental office for more years than I should have, certain patients would come in with the same lines, every, every time. Me: smile and say, “Please have a seat.” You took many of us back in time. Thank you.
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🙂 I know exactly what you mean. The grin becomes more and more fixed… Thanks for reading Alicia.
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sometimes it’s good for a rocker to die young. he’ll never grow old.
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That’s one way of looking at it. 🙂 Thanks for reading.
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“Leather bomber jacket and cowboy boots” never goes out of style 🙂 When I read “Eddie” I first assumed you were talking about “Eddie the Head” (Iron Maiden’s mascot), but hey, still music related!
Quite a sad tale of a rocker remembering his long-gone heyday.
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Another Eddie, another century it seems. 🙂 Thanks for reading.
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There is something about music that defines who we are.
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I think you’re right. Thanks for reading.
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It must be hard to be so admired and then to become forgotten. But it comes with the territory. Hope he has enough memories to get him through.
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I hope so too. Thanks for reading.
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Sometimes letting go or moving on is hard to do. …
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Indeed it is. Thanks for reading.
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🙂
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This made me smile.
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I’m glad about that Dawn. Thanks for reading.
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Eddie Cochran is not, strangely because I say that I love all music, someone I know. I did look at Janis and think Joplin, but maybe that’s not what you intended. However, I loved the piece. I loved the interaction with the pharmacist who goes through this monthly. Great character study!
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I couldn’t think of a late fifties/early sixties name and when I googled it the names all sounded very staid. And then I realised a very young Janis Joplin was around at that time… 🙂 Thanks for reading.
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This was great, Sandra. I particularly liked the idea of them tutting at the quality of what was before them and their wish to show ’em how it’s done.
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Brilliant one, Sandra.
I like the build up. This one’s wonderfully told.
“People paid good money for that signature.”
Ah! yes. That’s the deal-maker. 🙂
https://natashamusing.com/2020/05/a-star-is-born-fridayfictioneers-fridayfotofiction/
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I like the way you conjure up the faded glory of this couple – her towering grey bouffant, his pharmacist’s weak smile. A mixture of pathos and pretension. Well done.
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“Every month the same” says so much with so little. Great stuff.
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