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enjoy this writing from CEE in the free 2013 PDF file chapbook: Royal Dano’s Death Scene ‘tis of Thee (click on the front cover image or the title text to download the free PDF file)				You can also order this as a 2013 6" x 9" perfect-bound paperback ISBN# book! Click on the cover spread for the book Royal Dano’s Death Scene ‘tis of Thee

STARS

CEE

As with its brethren, this volume is part of a tetralogy of chaps spelling out (in
somewhat better detail) the guts of this barebones CEE poem:

The Quartering of The Universe Into Active and Passive Principles
Booze
Beasts of Burden
Heraldry*
Death
The 4 Basic Food Groups of Existence

As highlighted, you’ve picked up the HERALDRY tome. If you in fact require
assistance imbibing or learning to hate same, if you have a broken heart or are
jonesing to rubberneck those of others, if the idea of what’s beyond the veil is a
turnon for you and Sylvia Plath ain’t bustin’ it, you’ve made a mistake. This
slender book of verse, is but a “taps” for Amerika. It’s a quiet kind of death knell,
not to be confused with actual Death. As Vonnegut tells us, at some point the
story is over, but Life itself goes on. That’s our huddled mass, today. Story’s over,
nonfriends. We inhabit an Epilogue.
I chose the title carefully; I wasn’t trying to be the king of subreferences.
When I was a boy, I read The Red Badge of Courage. Standard. A lot of boys read
it, in those days. I kinda liked it. Caught the sense of alienation. The “apartness”,
if you will. The feeling of solitude, within the swell of humanity. I absorbed all
that so well, Stephen Crane’s main thesis—that of overcoming fear, particularly
the fear of death (in order to fit in, maybe? I dunno...), went 747, over my head. I
thought the main character was out of his gourd for returning to his unit, but was
relieved he didn’t get clapped in irons, for having been away.
In the book, a character known as “the tattered man”, who is shellshocked
suffers from combat fatigue is afflicted with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, goes
quietly jabberwocky, and babbles himself to death. When they got around to
making the movie, (during the Korean War? Good Move!) the scene turned test
audiences off to the point hordes got up and left the theater. MGM, which hated
making the picture anyway, told director John Huston to bend over and grab his
ankles, and today, you cannot find the Death Scene of the Tattered Man in the
1951 film. Anywhere. At All. Actor Royal Dano, who played the role, possessed
of an even better voice and visage for pathos, than for the Night Gallery-brand of
evil with which most identify him, was cheated out of the “bust out” scene of a
lifetime. Serious—you can’t find the scene. It ain’t on Oith. You can have my
house, free, if you’ll screen it for me and serve me some Milk Duds. I just know
the original cut of ...Red Badge rocked. I’m sure it kicked ass. And, I bet that was
a grand death. Truly. I bet Dano’s end, was magnificent.
Like if we here, had lost out on our own soil to Hitler, or if the H-Bombs had
come down like rain, or if Red tanks had ever rolled down Main Street. You won’t
find those scenes, either, no, not in Vistavision of our fair land. Just an Epilogue.
The falling action. Endless credits, to an 80’s guitar.
Here, in this chap, I’ll tell you about that. I have the time. I’m unwell, but am
sticking around, just for a second. Before I jet this Life, I wanna see the Key Grip.
CEE      Dresden, Germany, late evening, February 13th, 1945

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