and he tells me what I need to know."
"You pay him, huh?"
"Way more than he earns making people feel secure." Robert watched Dennis step out to the balcony and remembered he wanted to play a CD for him. He heard Dennis say Billy Darwin was down there. Talking to the hotel electrician.
"What's he doing? I told him I'd set the spots tonight."
Robert was up now shuffling through his stack of CDs, telling Dennis, "I arrive, check in, I give the cashier ten thousand in cash, so they know I'm here."
"You said you don't gamble."
"I put on a show, play some baccarat like JamesBond. I'm using the cashier as a bank for my tip money I don't have to carry around. Understand? I get the suite comped, I get tickets to the shows in the TomTomRoom, and I get to meet Mr. Billy Darwin , shake his hand. Mr. Billy Darwin is cool. He looks you in the eye and you know he's reading you. Mr. Billy Darwin can tell in five seconds if you for real or you by ciditty. You know what I'm saying?"
Dennis turned from the balcony. "I don't have any idea."
"From that Shemekia Copeland song `Miss Hy Ciditty'? Means a person puts on airs, fakes it." He found the CD he wanted and replaced JohnLeeHooker with it.
Dennis said, "So how'd you come out with Darwin ?"
But the CD came on, a dirge beat, and Robert said, "Listen, see if you can name who this is."
Dennis heard a baritone male voice half singing half speaking the words:
I got a bone for you.
I got a bone for you.
I got a little bone for you.
I got a bone for you 'cause I'm a doggy And I'm naked almost all the time.
"The harmonica could be Little Walter," Dennis said, "but I don't know."
"Little Walter, shit. Man, that's MarvinPontiac and his hit song `I'm a Doggy.' "
"I never heard of him."
"Shame on you. Marvin's my man. MarvinPontiac, part of him came out of Muddy Waters. Another part was stolen from him by IggyPop. You know Iggy?"
"Yeah, I see what you mean. Iggy's `I Want to Be Your Dog' must've come from ... yeah, `I'm a Doggy.'
MarvinPontiac's voice saying, singing:
I'm a doggy.
I stink when I'm wet 'cause I'm a doggy.
"Some of his music," Robert said, "he calls Afro-Judaic blues. Marvin always wore white robes and a turban like ErykahBadu's before she went baldheaded. Had his own ways. Lived by himself.... Listen to this. A producer begged him to cut a record? MarvinPontiac said yeah, all right, he'd do it-if the producer would cut his grass."
"His lawn?"
"Yeah, his grass, his lawn, the man did it to get Marvin in the studio. That's what you listening to, The Legendary Marvin Pontiac Greatest Hits.
`Pancakes' is on there. `Bring Me Rocks' is on there. It's the one has the line `My penis has a face and it likes to bark at Germans.' That's funny 'cause MarvinPontiac's face was never photographed. There shots of him taken from far away, you see him in his white robes and the turban? But there's not any up close."
"He still around?"
"Died in '77 in Detroit. Got run over by a bus and they picked his bones, Iggy and some others, DavidBowie. But listen, you better get ready, do your dive. You know what one you gonna do?"
"Not till I'm up on the perch. This afternoon's a warm-up."
"Look over the house. Big crowd, give 'em the triple somersault with some twists and shit. Small crowd-"
"Flying reverse pike. I gotta go," Dennis said, "meet the CIB guy."
Robert said, "Wait," and edged toward the balcony. "Remember I was telling you about the famous crossroads?"
He saw Dennis shake his head.
"Last night in the car, driving you to Tunica." Robert paused but didn't get a reaction. "I'm telling you about the great RobertJohnson the bluesman and the cop cars go flying past?"
"Yeah, I remember."
Robert pointed out at the sky. "That way thirty miles down the road, where Highway 49 crosses Old 61."
"Yeah?"
"That's the famous crossroads. Where the great RobertJohnson sold his soul to the devil. You understand what I'm saying to you?"
No, he didn't.
He didn't understand half of what
"You pay him, huh?"
"Way more than he earns making people feel secure." Robert watched Dennis step out to the balcony and remembered he wanted to play a CD for him. He heard Dennis say Billy Darwin was down there. Talking to the hotel electrician.
"What's he doing? I told him I'd set the spots tonight."
Robert was up now shuffling through his stack of CDs, telling Dennis, "I arrive, check in, I give the cashier ten thousand in cash, so they know I'm here."
"You said you don't gamble."
"I put on a show, play some baccarat like JamesBond. I'm using the cashier as a bank for my tip money I don't have to carry around. Understand? I get the suite comped, I get tickets to the shows in the TomTomRoom, and I get to meet Mr. Billy Darwin , shake his hand. Mr. Billy Darwin is cool. He looks you in the eye and you know he's reading you. Mr. Billy Darwin can tell in five seconds if you for real or you by ciditty. You know what I'm saying?"
Dennis turned from the balcony. "I don't have any idea."
"From that Shemekia Copeland song `Miss Hy Ciditty'? Means a person puts on airs, fakes it." He found the CD he wanted and replaced JohnLeeHooker with it.
Dennis said, "So how'd you come out with Darwin ?"
But the CD came on, a dirge beat, and Robert said, "Listen, see if you can name who this is."
Dennis heard a baritone male voice half singing half speaking the words:
I got a bone for you.
I got a bone for you.
I got a little bone for you.
I got a bone for you 'cause I'm a doggy And I'm naked almost all the time.
"The harmonica could be Little Walter," Dennis said, "but I don't know."
"Little Walter, shit. Man, that's MarvinPontiac and his hit song `I'm a Doggy.' "
"I never heard of him."
"Shame on you. Marvin's my man. MarvinPontiac, part of him came out of Muddy Waters. Another part was stolen from him by IggyPop. You know Iggy?"
"Yeah, I see what you mean. Iggy's `I Want to Be Your Dog' must've come from ... yeah, `I'm a Doggy.'
MarvinPontiac's voice saying, singing:
I'm a doggy.
I stink when I'm wet 'cause I'm a doggy.
"Some of his music," Robert said, "he calls Afro-Judaic blues. Marvin always wore white robes and a turban like ErykahBadu's before she went baldheaded. Had his own ways. Lived by himself.... Listen to this. A producer begged him to cut a record? MarvinPontiac said yeah, all right, he'd do it-if the producer would cut his grass."
"His lawn?"
"Yeah, his grass, his lawn, the man did it to get Marvin in the studio. That's what you listening to, The Legendary Marvin Pontiac Greatest Hits.
`Pancakes' is on there. `Bring Me Rocks' is on there. It's the one has the line `My penis has a face and it likes to bark at Germans.' That's funny 'cause MarvinPontiac's face was never photographed. There shots of him taken from far away, you see him in his white robes and the turban? But there's not any up close."
"He still around?"
"Died in '77 in Detroit. Got run over by a bus and they picked his bones, Iggy and some others, DavidBowie. But listen, you better get ready, do your dive. You know what one you gonna do?"
"Not till I'm up on the perch. This afternoon's a warm-up."
"Look over the house. Big crowd, give 'em the triple somersault with some twists and shit. Small crowd-"
"Flying reverse pike. I gotta go," Dennis said, "meet the CIB guy."
Robert said, "Wait," and edged toward the balcony. "Remember I was telling you about the famous crossroads?"
He saw Dennis shake his head.
"Last night in the car, driving you to Tunica." Robert paused but didn't get a reaction. "I'm telling you about the great RobertJohnson the bluesman and the cop cars go flying past?"
"Yeah, I remember."
Robert pointed out at the sky. "That way thirty miles down the road, where Highway 49 crosses Old 61."
"Yeah?"
"That's the famous crossroads. Where the great RobertJohnson sold his soul to the devil. You understand what I'm saying to you?"
No, he didn't.
He didn't understand half of what
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