He Was Turbot

At one time, this town was named Mulletville (mull-AY-ville). That was when we had the Marshmallow factory. But, that closed down.

Then, times got strange. People left. The ones that stayed behind don't remember everything so clearly. Many of them say that Mulletville became the most Fun town on Earth. Others aren't so sure.

All I know is that the Fun vanished overnight leaving ruined buildings and a community abandoning their homes in droves. Whatever we were called, it was no longer a desirable place to be. Of course, some of the older folks stayed. This was their home. They weren't going anywhere. But, most folks took off. Left the houses to decay. The wilderness to take over.

It is said that one day a decent sized trailer appeared in the large field near Old Hagar's. A trailer that seemed rather rusty and damaged on the outside but, through some miracle of decorating (smoke and mirrors?), was much more spacious inside than you would ever imagine. This was Jack Turbot's trailer.

Most falls called him Jack. A few people called him Frank. One gentleman told me his real name was Joseph. There are no sort of records in his trailer so we don't know. I'll call him Jack.

He parked his trailer in the field and started to live. He put up the yellow and white striped awning. He set out a propane grill. He set out a deck chair. He ate and drank and endlessly scribbled things into a series of notebooks. He seemed to have no worries.

One day, Mrs. Endicott parked her trailer near his. Her husband had passed three months previous. She was traveling. She became Jack's friend. Together they lived in the field.

Over the next five years, more and more trailers set themselves down in the field. At first, scattershot-random. Only Jack and Mrs. Endicott's trailer remained still. Families came. Everyone shared with everyone else. They worked on writing, drawing, sculpting, singing... All sorts of endeavors.

They were not a town. They were not anything. Just a place where these people could go to do what they needed to do.

With families came the questions of money. People searched for jobs. But, the factory had been closed for several years. Jack Turbot had no jobs for people. In fact, they say that several of the current Grey's employees became rather angry with him. They had believed that this was some sort of planned community where they could raise children. Jack Turbot never advertised himself.

He became disillusioned. He insisted that everyone would be fine. But, people wanted their security. He insisted that it was not an issue. But, it became one. That's when Mr. Grey arrived.

Grey renovated a house and lived there for a time. Grey stepped forward with the jobs everyone needed. Beef! Help him prepare it! Some inhabitants resisted. Jack told Grey that he should go elsewhere.

It was Grey who named the town Turbot to appease Jack. The appeasement stopped when Grey saw how desperate the people had become. There was no need to appease this strange man with the ugly trailer. Grey had a house and money. And, he reopened that factory. Gave everyone jobs.

When the election came for the Town's first First Selectman, Mrs. Endicott nominated Jack Turbot. Grey won by a landslide. Within a month of the election, the rows were created, people's homes were assigned spots and the field became a Trailer Park.

People still worked on their projects. But, they were now hobbies. Other things became more important.

A few people still believed in Jack. But, his heart had gone out of it.

One night

He told Mrs. Endicott to watch over his trailer. He asked her to keep it where it was and to let no one else go inside. He put on an old flannel, old jeans and a pair of white shoes. With a deep breath, he crossed the Rural Route and headed throughout the woods to Sodus Bay.

They say the last anyone ever saw of him was as he walked into the bay. He vanished into the water. Never to be seen again.

Mrs. Endicott keeps control of the trailer. It is the Turbot Memorial Trailer. Everyone knows whose trailer it is but no one can agree on his first name. Or even what he looked like.

No one in town says it...

Five old men at the circular diner will though.

There is a legend that when things get so bad that people won't know why they get out of bed. Why they want to live. Why they want to work five stories underground making beef jerky. Why anything matters. When things get that bad, Jack Turbot will rise from the waters and save us all. With one wave of his arm, he will make everything all right.

Every night I watch the waves.