Part 9 - An Old Man

(The story so far - A refugee from the year 2015 - me - is listening at the door of the infamous BUCKET O'BLOOD Saloon, on the set of "Bonanza", in alternate-universe year 1972, to what SOUNDS like the voices of Michael Landon, Dan Blocker and Mitch Vogel - but how can that be? In this time stream, Michael Landon is - supposedly - dead, and Pernell Roberts was just arrested for his murder! Whassup??)

"Y'know, Michael," said Dan Blocker, my all-time hearthrob. "This seemed like a funny idea at first, but - is it really fair to do this t'poor Lorne? I mean, he's an old man, and --"

"Oh shucks," Michael interrupted (well, he didn't really say 'shucks' but hey, this is a family blog!), "you weren't worried about Lorne's age when we were driving down that hill and you pretended the brakes were out!" **

Dan chuckled at the memory. "Yeah ... yeah, that was funny, all right. Lorne an' Nancy were white as sheets by the time we got t'the bottom!"

Michael emitted that eerily familiar giggle again, and I couldn't help shivering. I'd never heard him laugh in person - and I shouldn't be hearing him now!

At least, that's what the ugly redhead had told me.

And since he was in there, with Michael and Dan, it finally dawned on me that "Jamie" was in on the whole gag, if that's what it was. (It probably wouldn't have taken me so long to figure that out if I'd been able to get some decent coffee. Or even some Tazo Tea.)

I decided to go for broke.

How many other opportunities would I have, in ANY time stream, to talk, face to face, with Dan Blocker and Michael Landon?? (The novelty of meeting Mitch Vogel had long since passed.)

So - I straightened up, took a deep breath, and pushed my way through the swinging doors of the BUCKET O' BLOOD Saloon!

Only to be confronted with yet ANOTHER mind-boggling surprise - there was a FOURTH person, sitting at the table with Dan, Mitch and Michael - and it was none other than -

(TO BE CONTINUED!!)

( ** When Michael Landon was honored on DEAN MARTIN'S CELEBRITY ROAST in the 1970s, Lorne Greene said that on Michael's first day on the set of BONANZA, he looked at the Ponderosa and said, "One day all this will be mine." Then, quipped Greene, "he loosened the brakes on my car!")