Above the clouds, everything is just… still.

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I love the mountains.  I love getting in the car and driving somewhere and exploring.  The photo above was my first trip to Mount Evans Colorado, 14,264 ft.  It was a rainy, cold day devoid of sunlight but full of clouds above us, beneath us and even with us.  I couldn’t stop taking photos.

Many times, I just stopped, started walking and listening to nothing.  It’s eerie and exhilarating all at the same time.  I mean, it’s nothing – no sound, just clouds slowly moving.  In some cases, they weren’t slow at all and they swallowed us whole, which is a whole other post and experience when you’re on a narrow two lane road with no railings and sheer drops.

At the top of Mount Evans is the remnants of an old visitor’s center that exploded years ago, and the Meyer-Womble Observatory (the worlds second or third highest depending on which WikiPedia entry you read), but really it’s the journey up the mountain that is the adventure, not getting to the top.  There’s so much to see, so much to explore.

I will definitely be returning to Mount Evans.

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Like Tales of the Gold Monkey.

If you’ve watched television in the 80′s, 90′s or even in the last decade – you should know the name Donald Bellisario.  Let me run through the list for you:

• Magnum PI
• Airwolf
• Quantum Leap
• JAG
• NCIS

All of those shows were massively successful, but there was one little show that I still remembered and missed sorely, so imagine my absolute delight when I came across the DVD set on a random excursion through BestBuy: Tales of the Gold Monkey.

Tales of the Gold Monkey followed the adventures of a former Flying Tiger named Jake Cutter who is working and flying in a French controlled area of the South Pacific in 1938.  He is joined by his best friend and mechanic, Corky, and his one eyed dog Jack.  He lives on the island of Bora Gora in the Monkey Bar, an establishment owned by Bon Chance Louie, the local French Magistrate.  Additional characters include Sarah Stickney White, an ‘all American girl’ who sings at the bar but actually works as a spy for the U.S. Government, Reverend Willie Tenboom, on the islands to spread the word of God to the locals (mostly to the local ladies), but is actually a German spy and a (white looking) Japanese princess named Koji who is surrounded by Samurai and who actually runs a criminal empire throughout the islands and who is helping the German spy, Tenboom, with his missions.

Aired in 1983, Tales of the Gold Monkey was obviously an attempt to capitalize on the success and popularity of a little movie you have heard of – it had Harrison Ford playing this adventure seeking archaeologist… Yep, I’m talking about Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Tales definitely had that sort of feel to it, albeit on a television budget.

I’m a little confused by the history and timing; Jake Cutter is supposed to be an ex-Flying Tiger, but it’s set in 1938.  According to the history I’ve read, Claire L. Chennault, the retired United States Army Air Corps tasked with creating the Tigers to help the Chinese resistance against the Japanese, had barely begun.  So the timing seems odd to me.  Still, I guess you’re not supposed to look too closely at these things and just enjoy them, which I did both as a kid, and recently as I picked up the complete series on DVD…

Let’s take a look at the Pilot Episode.

Pilot Episode

The South Pacific, 1938.  Meet Jake Cutter (Stephen Collins – Star Trek: The Motion Picture, 7th Heaven), ex-Flying Tiger now making his way doing cargo and passenger runs using his sea plane, Cutter’s Goose.  He’s a cigar chomping, beer drinking, poker playing hero.  When we first meet him, he has a potentially winning hand in a poker game, but doesn’t have the money to call the bet, so he asks one of his best friends, Jack, for a loan.  Jack is a one-eyed Jack Russel Terrier whose fake eye is actually made of opal and star sapphire and as a result, is worth more than enough to cover the bet.  He barks once for Yes and twice for No and gives Jack the okay to bet his eye, which he does.

Then he loses the hand and the eye and Jack is furious.  Jack also changes his mind and now barks once for No and twice for Yes, then he decides to intercede on a man who is getting grabby with a lady (Sarah Stickney White played by Caitlin O’Heaney) who is waiting on the dock, forcing Jake to get involved as well.  They end up offering Sarah a ride to Bora Gora.  On the way there, one of the engines goes out and they are forced to dump their cargo over some unexplored islands just so they can limp home.

Back on Bora Gora, Jake discovers that someone actually sabotaged his plane but he doesn’t know why but he suspects someone wanted Sarah dead, especially when they receive word that the man from the dock, her manager, is dead.

Meanwhile, Reverend Tenboom visits Princess Koji to make a deal; the fuhrer, interested in items linked to the occult, wants help in retrieving the legendary Gold Monkey; a statue rumored to have been cast in the South Pacific and capable of withstanding the heat from a volcano without melting.  The Germans want the secret of how the Monkey was made and the metallurgy involved so they can use it to build super rockets and they are willing to pay the Princess an exorbitant amount of money to ensure delivery of the Monkey to their agents, which she agrees to do.

The cargo Jack had to ditch belonged to Bon Chance Louie, who is willing to pay to get it back.  Though the islands where they ditched the cargo are volcanic this time of year, Jake agrees to try and find the cargo with Corky and Jack.  Sarah cons her way onto the flight too.

Now you have Jack, Corky, Jake and Sarah on the island along with Nazi’s, Samurai, a Japanese Princess and, of course, giant monkey’s…

Thoughts

Over all, this was a fantastic episode! Nearly 2 hours long, it had a great plot, lots of adventure, excellent acting and decent special effects for the era.  My one exception would be the giant monkeys themselves; although done well enough, we’re not talking Planet of the Apes quality here.

I think the show has held up better than a lot of others from the 80′s, including one listed above – Airwolf (which I absolutely loved – I even watched the USA network version!!!).  It doesn’t have that over the top feeling that a lot of shows had.  The pilot was well written and acted, which is probably why it still holds up today.  There’s a couple of twists, decent ones, and it’s fun to recognize actors from other Bellisario shows in this one.

Also, I like the fact that there’s a character, a wheelchair bound bartender, named Gushie.  If you’re a fan of Quantum Leap, you’ll recognize the name – Gooshie was one of the members of the Quantum Leap project and often the person Al talked to while trying to help Sam and figure out what was going on with Ziggy.  We only saw Gooshie a couple of times but he was always ‘around’ (and possibly stole Tina from Al), now here’s another Gushie, which makes me wonder where the name comes from and what the association is for Bellisario.  Kinda reminds me of Dylan Hunt, a name that Gene Roddenberry used and reused a couple times…

The boxed set

The boxed set is nicely put together.  You have six discs containing all 21 episodes of the show (including the 2 hour pilot) in a single plastic case, a new ‘making of’ documentary with interviews with the cast and producers, audio commentaries on some episodes and a booklet with photos, cast lists and episode synopsis.  Really nice.  You can pick it up for around $40 at your local brick and mortar or for $30 online.

I’m gonna run through some more episodes of Tales of the Gold Monkey in the coming weeks because I really do enjoy this show and want to share.  It’s a blast from the past and you should check it out if you have the opportunity.

Opening Credits:

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…it’s all about names.

Anywho, this story flowed quickly and easily. Two people have read the majority of it, but no one but me has read the complete story – yet.  I intend to share it with a few friends to get feedback – if you’d like to be on that list, let me know.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a bit with everyone here today, so here it is – the opening for ‘Cahill’s Homecoming’, a new short story by me, Patrick Hester.

Cahill’s Homecoming (Excerpt)
by Patrick Hester

© 2010 Patrick Hester
All Rights Reserved

Cord Cahill’s eyes widened when the image of the solar system he was navigating through was replaced by his sister’s face. Katie looked older than he remembered her; dark auburn hair, pulled back from her narrow face by a pair of faded blue ribbons, had lightened in the ten years since he’d seen her last, there were a few lines around her dark eyes and thin lips and her cheeks had sunk in and hollowed. He knew as well as anyone that life on the frontier was hard and took its toll, still, it surprised him to see how much his little sister had aged.

“Cord,” she said. Her voice sounded weary. “If you’re seeing this message, it means that I have died. I’m sorry to be so abrupt about it, but you were never one to linger over the difficult things.” His breath caught in his throat. Dead. Their mother had always said Katie would outlive them all. Cord always assumed that would be the case. “I had a feeling this day might come sooner rather than late, so I took the precaution of making this video for you. With Uncle Bobby gone, and you and Matt off world, I put all of momma and poppa’s things in storage with Mister Bogg and paid for near on two years just in case you can’t get here anytime soon. Or you can have him ship them wherever you might be. Choice is yours, of course. As the oldest, I expect you’ll see to Matt once in awhile and make sure he isn’t getting himself into too much trouble. I always understood why you had to leave, Cord. I don’t blame you one bit. I love you.”

The image faded. Cord stared out into empty space feeling cold.

Another image filled his screen, this one of a young man with Katie’s eyes, nose and mouth but lighter hair and a wicked smile currently turned up in a snarl. Matt’s face was wider, fuller than Katie’s had ever been and he had the broad shoulders to go with it.

“Cord, I just-”

“I know,” Cord cut his little brother off. “I got one too.”

“What are we going to do about it?”

Cord did not look his brother in the eye. “About what?”

“She knew she was going to die!” Matt said hotly. “She knew! She prepared!”

“You think something happened to her,” Cord said softly.

“Damn right, I do. And I want to know what we’re going to do about it?!”

Cord squeezed his eyes closed, rested his head against the bulkhead of his ship. It was a good little snubnose ship; X-30 with the modified skip drive, twin cannons on the fore and aft plus torpedo tubes port and starboard and rocket launchers nestled up against the tail fins. He could easily outmaneuver the Republic PD13’s which were comparable in size, but also take on anything twice his size without breaking a sweat. He’d done that more times than he cared to remember. He was tired of it, to tell the truth. Tired of constantly looking over his shoulder because he took the wrong contract or pissed off the wrong warlord. He’d been considering settling somewhere.

Now this happens.

“I suggest we start with that piece of work she married,” Matt grinned that wicked grin that meant they were about to get into trouble, then his image flickered and he seemed to be concentrating on something else.

“Trouble, little brother?” Cord asked.

“Nothing I can’t handle. Republic ships trying to expand, absorb a planet that wants to stay free. Hired me out to discourage the Republic from sticking around. The Republic ships aren’t taking the hint. I can be home in…” he looked away. “Five days. Maybe six.”

Cord checked his nav system. “I can be there in four.”

“Don’t start the fun without me,” Matt said before his image vanished.

“No,” Cord sighed. “Wouldn’t want to do that.” He stared out at the empty space again, then shook his head. “Mother? I need a plot for Home. Warmup the skip drive.”

“Of course,” said a female voice. He’d set the AI for the computer to female because it felt right to him, and there was no one who could ever tell him what to do except for his mother, so giving it that name felt right too. “Calculating. Twenty-two jumps to reach Alpha Pyranti. Checking on local warrants.”

“Thank you,” he said, surprised. He’d completely forgotten to request that.

“No local warrants for ‘Cord Cahill’.”

“Good to know,” he said. “Make the first jump as soon as the skip drive is ready. Cycle up a sleep mode for me. While I’m out, look into any news coming from Home. Specifically search for any unexplained deaths. I also want to know who’s in charge and who wants to be. Download to my chip so I can dream it.”

“Understood,” said mother. “Sweet dreams.”

Cord rested his head against the back of his chair, sleep coming on quickly as the chemicals entered his blood stream via the various tubes running from the ships systems to his flight suit. The last thing he saw before his dreams began was the explosion of light coalescing at the tip of his ship, about to pull it into the first jump.

* * *

Tobias Jorgensen sliced a thin piece off his filet, taking a moment to drag it through the blood and juices on his plate before sliding it into his mouth and closing his eyes to chew. It was cooked perfectly, and by perfectly, that meant rare on the inside, seared on the outside.

“We have a problem,” said a deep voice. Sighing, Tobias opened his eyes. Prescott Quincannon was a well built man. His shoulders were wide, arms and legs thick to match his neck and his face had a hodge-podge of scars that he never cared to explain. He wore dark boots, brown pants and shirt with a dark vest and jacket over it. Two gun belts crisscrossed his waist and he usually had a few knives hidden on his person along with a grenade or two. In his hands he carried two things; his narrow brimmed brown hat and a holocube. From head to toe he was covered in the red dust that was so thick in this area.

Tobias took a moment to slice another thin piece of filet, chewing it slowly, before nodding to the other man to sit down. Prescott set the holocube down between them on the table and touched the side to activate it. The image of an older man appeared, perhaps fifty years old given how the dark hair at the top of his head steadily became more and more silver as it came down the sides and blended into the sideburns that framed his full face. A single scar ran lengthwise across his forehead, disappearing into his hairline. No, he thought, you could still see it running through his hair. How a man could survive a cut that ran across his skull that way was a mystery to him, even with the exceptional doctors around these days.

The man in the image wore simple enough clothes except for the gray and black vest and the long, gray coat; both marked him as a gun for hire, a member of the Gray Council.

“Hit the spaceport about an hour ago,” said Prescott. “Obviously someone talked. They’ve hired this guy to run interference for them.”

Tobias laughed, waving the holocube off and returning to his steak. The image faded. “You are too excitable, Mister Quincannon. Far too excitable.”

“Excitable? A hired gun shows up now and you think I’m excitable?”

“Cord Cahill,” said Tobias as he sliced his filet. “His name is Cord Cahill. No one hired him. As a matter of fact, he and I went to school together. This is his home.”

Prescott leaned back in his chair looking comical in his surprise. “Then why is he here now?”

“Because his sister died,” Tobias replied over a mouth full of steak. His steak, from his cattle, raised on his land. Life was good.

“Sister?” asked Prescott. Tobias grunted. “So, he isn’t here for us?”

Tobias laughed. “Oh, now, I didn’t say that, Mister Quincannon. Just that no one hired him.” He wiped his mouth with the napkin, folded it and set it atop the plate, his appetite waning. “You see, his sister was Katie Rose.”

Prescott’s face soured. He knew Katie Rose all too well. “The League-”

Tobias cut the air with his knife. “This is not a League world, not yet. You cannot expect their protection here.”

“You hired us.”

“I did. That’s why we’ll have to prepare for his arrival. Spread the word around town. I don’t want anyone talking to him, that way, he’ll have to come to me for his answers.”

“And then we kill him?” Prescott grinned.

“No. When you’re done, I want you to head out to the ranch and stay there while I speak with my old friend Cord. If he cannot see reason… Katie Rose stood in the path of progress. Cord is a business man, far removed of the young man who left us so very long ago. He’ll understand.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then I suppose there will be one more incident between the League and the Gray Council.”

~end~

That’s it for now – just a taste.  Let me know what you think…

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Though this image isn’t of mushrooms, it’s no less striking to me:

Click the image to enlarge

The first thought that came to mind when I saw this was ‘Faerie Ring’.  Notice how all around it, things are quite flat yet this area is grown up.  Dunno what it is or why it’s growing this way, but it reminds me of a Faerie Ring so I took a couple photos to share.

This shot was taken on a trail near Crystal Reservoir, Colorado.

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