The note was written in a scrawl

Chapter 26) Bangin' Gypsy and the fishing tournament
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Bangin' Gypsy's band practiced with Junkyard Cleveland from Tupelo, and sometimes with Topeka Brown's hillbilly band a few miles outside Trinity at an old barn on the edge of the river. She sang gospel at church services, but with Topeka, she sang gospel or country depending if the audience was black or white.
That bunch up on stage were a bawdy combination of spirit and flesh, dancing around and grinning like cheesecake. They could fever a sweat out of the crowd like no other band.
Below the barn was a favorite fishing spot, and the men fishing at the river would sing along especially when Junkyard, Topeka and Bangin' played their hit song, oopa oopa.
It went like this;
♪ ♫ sleepin' days and nights, wish I had you back,
gave ya all I had, you stole my heart away,
can't git you off my mind, you're with me all the time,
and now I'm sad and blue, lovin' only you,
gimme 'nother chance, to winnn your romance,
we won't look back again, I love you to the end.
oopa oopa looooo, oopa oopa looooo,
oopa oopa looooo, oopa oopa looooo,
or something like that, followed by whistling, with a fiddle and banjo playing notes.
You can give a quick listen to a cheapened hillbilly version sung by the author of this book by clicking the following link: oopa-oopa-looo

The music carried across the river, and the fishermen, unseen, from secret fishing spots behind stumps and piles of logs. sang, sleepin' days and nights, oopa oopa looooo, oopa oopa looooo, oopa oopa looooo.
Then somebody yelled out, hey one just jumped in my boat, followed by laughter.
It scared the fish away but they weren't biting anyway.
The oopa oopa looooo days were special.

In the effort to promote Trinity to important people, Latchy Gray got some folks wound-up from the state capital to sponsor a fish tournament in the field next to the barn because she owned the land. It was the prettiest spot and the bank wasn't too steep.

The tournament people went down to the river and told the Negro fisherman to go somewhere else that weekend so white people could eat Blacktown's dinner.
It was the best fishing spot and many of those men relied on the fish.

As it happened Bangin' gypsy was at the barn that same weekend for practice with some new members.
There were no black men to keep good harmony, just a bunch of beer-drinking moneyboys in the field next door who couldn't scratch the fuzz off a peach. Pretty soon, there were a bunch of angry white people who hated Negro music and Latchy was ready to have it shut off until the band started playing Dixie.
Well hell that started bringing the white people over the fence.
Fish weren't biting anyway with all that racket.
And right away the fence was torn down so the women and children could get through.
It was a beautiful rendition and no time at all, Bangin' moved the band outside and had them all laughing and singing along with requests.

The music was great, the fishing was bad, and the black men went home hungry.
The day was a great success for White people.

Latchy saw the chance and made a deal with the owner of the barn to have traditional bands and a fish tournament every year, ignoring the fact that black people created the opportunity.

In the back of his mind, River Boy was listening to the melody of the river and thinking about Maggie.
That night he talked to Grandpa.
Grandpa said, if you love her then it's real.
River Boy surprised himself and said yes I do.
He would go to Trinity and find his love next day.

Maggie was on the front porch thinking about River Boy. The football game was two days away and she didn't have anyone to go with.
The girls asked her to go, but she wanted to go with a boyfriend.
Tad was with the little sophomore girl that ran out of the soda shop, and she had lots of friends and was going to be a varsity cheerleader next year.
Maggie couldn't go with River Boy.
People would say she lost Tad for a Blacktown boy who fished on the river.
And where would they sit? In the white section or the black?
That night she talked to her mother. Her mother heard the uncertainty in Maggie's voice but bit her tongue and said, if you love him, then it's right.

Thomas Churchail III had been thinking about this special girl he met at the Abbeyville summer party.
The way they walked together and how she felt. She was funny and strong.
He knew was her name was Maggie and she lived in Trinity.
His college girlfriend was not who he thought. And since he met Maggie, he couldn't get her off his mind.
That night he talked to his mother. She said, if you love her then go find her.
Churchail III surprised himself and said yes I do.
He would go to Trinity and find his love next day.

Thomas Churchail left Saturday morning and drove his new sedan from Abbeyville to Trinity, arriving around eleven. He was wearing a nice suit coat and stopped at the town square, and asked the lunch clerk if he knew where a girl named Maggie lived. That sparked wide debate among several patrons at the counter, who concluded it must be Maggie Winston up on North Peachtree in the yellow house on the left. Are you going to the football game together? Churchail, not realizing the game was that afternoon, said I hope, also thinking he was too late and Maggie certainly had a date by then.

River Boy set out for Trinity. It was Saturday a bit after ten, a beautiful autumn day with a breeze. The trees were starting to turn color, and nights were getting chilly. The Homecoming football game was scheduled for 2 that afternoon so he wore his nice coat. It had some dirt on the sleeve but fine by some comparisons.
He and Grandpa had repaired the shack, with a new window and salvage door. Many projects were unfinished, but they were okay, and the fishing was good.

He kept running into delays. He snagged his pants on the fence. A loose bull in the field caused another detour. Then a farmer yelled out, and asked him to take $3 to the auctioneer who sold him a mule collar. That sidetracked the direct line to Maggie's house and he walked to Bethel Wilkenson's house to deliver the money.
As he was going up the street, a new car drove by with a large blond fellow he remembered seeing at Churchail's house in Abbeyville.
At the same time, Susan Wilkenson Bethel Wilkenson's daughter just got out of the bath, heard the cat fighting and jumped into a pair of panties and t-shirt before running outside to rescue Moby the cat. Leaning over and exposing a few assets more than usual and not wearing much on the bottom half either, she didn't see River Boy coming, but he saw her. Both realizing at the same moment that the other was alive, her recognizing that he had a genuine look of love on his face, and him seeing a beautiful girl he should have known before.
Not knowing which way to turn at that moment, and her smiling and suddenly realizing her lack of attire, he handed her the $3 as she tried to make a retreat, hiding behind a squirming cat while he stumbled for some way to linger, yet needing to move on to what he hoped was his true love waiting for him one street over.
After managing to follow Susan up to her front door, before she dropped the cat and made a revealing dash to get behind the door and peer out, he decided she needed a bit of time to dress.
After extricating himself from that excitement, the focus returned and he resumed his walk to Maggie's.

Five minutes earlier, just as River Boy met half-naked Susan in front of her house, Thomas Churchail parked his new car in front of Maggie Winston's house and knocked on the door. Ruth Winston answered the door and called Maggie downstairs saying there was a young man that wanted to see her. The tone in her mother voice said it wasn't River Boy.
A jolt of wonder opened her senses when she heard her mother answer the door and talk to somebody. She tried to remember where she heard the man's voice before. Her bedroom was on the backside of the house so she couldn't peer out a window and see who might have arrived. It was exciting. Maybe she should make him wait? She quickly pulled out her nicest dress, maybe a bit too summery for the season, but there was no time to wait.
Thomas and her mother kept talking. Maggie heard them move into the parlor, which was unusual. She never took Tad into the parlor when he came over. Who was this? Her composure about to wreck the entrance, she came down the stairs, greeted by her mother at the landing, who led her into the parlor, and said Maggie, this is Thomas Churchail.
Thomas stood up and said, hi Maggie, hope I'm not delaying a prior engagement. It was such a surprise to see him again, she blurted out, oh no, I remember you. It's good to see you.
She wanted to tell her mom it was that wonderful man from the Abbeyville party who was in agriculture school and pointed out fireflies when they walked across the field.
Maggie's mother exited to the kitchen in haste while Maggie tried to contain her smile.
Thomas, sensing that his visit was having the desired effect, and wanting to relieve the uncertainty, said, do you want to sit on the front porch?
Maggie said, yes. It was a thousand times yes.
Two minutes later, Maggie yelled in the door, Thomas and I are going to take a drive, okay? Oh sure her mother said, hurrying to the door in time to watch her daughter helped into the new car by a man holding the door for her.

River Boy saw the same thing. Crushed, jealous, and feeling empty, he turned away wishing he could disappear as the car drove by, but Maggie wasn't looking at him.
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