EP575: Red Kelly Owns the Moon

[eytanz]

EP575: Red Kelly Owns the Moon

AUTHOR: Shaenon K. Garrity
NARRATOR: Cheyenne Wright
HOST: Alasdair Stuart

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Nobody remembered how Red Kelly got his hands on the moon. He picked up a lot of things back then. You had to, working at the Westinghouse on a brazier’s pay. Red played cards, ran numbers around town, and, every other year, warmed hands for the Democratic machine in Pittsburgh. It wasn’t unknown for him to come home with an acquisition of mysterious provenance. Once he got the Kellys an entire patio table and chairs, with an umbrella and that. The umbrella was printed with the name of a restaurant whose owner had bet a bundle down at Duquesne Gardens.

So it wasn’t surprising Red had the deed to the moon. It didn’t even come up until, well, must have been 1968 of course, when the two men in the tailored suits showed up at the Kellys’ doorstep in North Versailles. You don’t forget a thing like that, the whole neighborhood watching through their lace curtains. Red was still at work, so Blanche Kelly sat the men down in the living room, introduced them to the girls, and set up boilermakers. They were from the military, it turned out, which was a good opening since Blanche had been a WAC. She cut a deck of cards.

At 4:30, Blanche pocketed her winnings, got in the car, and drove to the bottom of the hill to pick Red up from the bus stop. She left the girls to keep an eye on the men.

Listen to this week’s Escape Pod!

[Jethro's belt]

It could have happened.
A fine tale is was, and I especially liked the book-ends of ambiguity; both the deed's provenance and the results of the game of chance even though we all know who won the moon.

[Zelda]

This story was a ton of fun. I enjoyed it very much.

[gumboeditor]

*SPOILER-ISH?*

I felt simultaneously angry and compassionate with the granddaughter when she lost the deed. I know I've misplaced things and that horrible feeling when you realize it. But, I've never owned anything as important as the deed to the moon. I loved the combination of straightforward and whimsical storytelling. Great reading, too.

[acpracht]

*SPOILER-ISH?*

I felt simultaneously angry and compassionate with the granddaughter when she lost the deed. I know I've misplaced things and that horrible feeling when you realize it. But, I've never owned anything as important as the deed to the moon. I loved the combination of straightforward and whimsical storytelling. Great reading, too.

But the thing was... it wasn't important at all as the deed to the moon. It was important as something her grandfather had given her and given her specific instruction to not lose.

It was disappointing her grandfather that she cried about... not the paper.

Also, no anger for the guy that stole it?

-Adam

[gumboeditor]

But the thing was... it wasn't important at all as the deed to the moon. It was important as something her grandfather had given her and given her specific instruction to not lose.

It was disappointing her grandfather that she cried about... not the paper.

Also, no anger for the guy that stole it?

-Adam

Yes...that's put much more articulately than I put it. It was the deed to the moon, but it could have been an old button. As you say, it's the fact that it's from her grandfather that's important. When my grandfather passed I asked for a specific item and my mom questioned whether I wanted something more valuable. No, the thing I wanted made me think of him and visiting him. That can't be replaced.

I had some anger at the guy who stole it...I suppose we could hope that the person would return it upon finding it. But it wasn't as though he broke into her place or stole it from her bag, she left it behind, didn't she? I was more frustrated at her carelessness. But this is from a dad with two young kids who have a knack for 'losing' valuable things--legos, stuffed animals, pens, etc. I mean, if she went through the effort of constantly having it on her person in order to keep it safe, how could she be so careless to just leave it behind?

Temper my thoughts with the fact that I've only listened to the story once, listened to it a while ago, and it's likely that I've forgotten something and/or misheard something.

[acpracht]

But the thing was... it wasn't important at all as the deed to the moon. It was important as something her grandfather had given her and given her specific instruction to not lose.

It was disappointing her grandfather that she cried about... not the paper.

Also, no anger for the guy that stole it?

-Adam

Yes...that's put much more articulately than I put it. It was the deed to the moon, but it could have been an old button. As you say, it's the fact that it's from her grandfather that's important. When my grandfather passed I asked for a specific item and my mom questioned whether I wanted something more valuable. No, the thing I wanted made me think of him and visiting him. That can't be replaced.

I had some anger at the guy who stole it...I suppose we could hope that the person would return it upon finding it. But it wasn't as though he broke into her place or stole it from her bag, she left it behind, didn't she? I was more frustrated at her carelessness. But this is from a dad with two young kids who have a knack for 'losing' valuable things--legos, stuffed animals, pens, etc. I mean, if she went through the effort of constantly having it on her person in order to keep it safe, how could she be so careless to just leave it behind?

Temper my thoughts with the fact that I've only listened to the story once, listened to it a while ago, and it's likely that I've forgotten something and/or misheard something.

Just a quick note that you've got me remembering that all I wanted from my grandfather was his stamp collection.

The guy had sheet upon sheet of uncirculated, mint condition stamps, most from the WWII-era.

I'm certain I mentioned - many times - that I would like these passed down to me.

When he was moved into a nursing home, however, all of them - ALL of them - got sold off - many of them for less than the original face value.

Fortunately, he had the foresight to give me a few albums of his own before he started to lose his memory.

I miss him.

-Adam

[Ichneumon]

I really enjoyed this story and the narration. The kid was kind of a mess, but I think she pulled it together and Red would have been proud of her in the end.

[Varsha]

This story is so absurd, it just may be true, like chances 1 in a million.
I really enjoyed this one!

Narration was good.

[CryptoMe]

I was all set not to like this story. I mean the entire premise was just so absurd. But the story slowly grew on me, and in the end I can admit I did enjoy the story.