Stories: Go On Back To Earth

Author: C3PO
Here is an example of how the memory of Vygis will come at me out of nowhere, now, still, nine years after his last day. Taking the kids to see the new exhibit at the Laurel Museum, I see this. They look and keep walking on but I am flooded with memories and thoughts of things I always meant to do, but which would barely make sense to do anymore even if I somehow found the time.
 For those of you who don't know, Vygis worked at Pal Jacks. For those of you who do know, this must bring back memories for you too, but I'm afraid they will be different from mine. Because, typically, Vygis never told me much about his job there! It wasn't until after his death that I learned that he had worked there with Joe Wall, a significant detail. I think it was Tessa who also worked there. She told me a couple of stories when we all met at The Royal Mile, like the story of the shrunken styrofoam cup. And I've read a few hints of those times in Joe's writings. Vygis only ever told me one thing about Pal Jack's, actually. But I remember it very clearly and if I tell it to all of you I know you will understand.
Vygis invented Leeches in elementary school, but he carried them through to all our college years and beyond. They were just a part of our vocabulary. Some time in the late 1980's he played for me a particular piece of music on a cassette tape and described to me in great detail the music video that played in his head whenever he heard this song. Here's the frustrating thing; I have no idea now what that song was. It was probably a Jah Wobble thing but I haven't been able to find it yet. It was very bass heavy, basically instrumental, with some spooky synths and sound effects, and in the middle it had some slowed down barely audible voices mumbling like zombies: "Go on. Go on back to Earth!" repeatedly. 
In the video for the song in Vygis' imagination, there is an opening scene of a dark rocky area under a starry sky. There are leeches sort of milling around the rocks, doing their mysterious leechy things. Then there is a bright flash and a big explosion, and when the smoke clears, we see that a restaurant has somehow crashed on this alien planet. It's Pal Jacks. The waitress, Tessa, emerges, all covered in dust and dizzy. The leeches surround her, and fading in and out of the dark they mock her with "Go on. Go on back to earth!" Then towards the end of the video she begins hunting them, sneaking up on them with a sci-fi pistol and zapping them satisfyingly with lightning bolt blasts.
Vygis said that he had a plan to someday make this video. I wanted to make it too! I could see it all in my mind's eye, and thought it would be enormous fun to figure out how to get it all on screen. Or course we never got started on this project. But here's the funniest part. When Vygis described all this to me, he never included any details about what Pal Jacks exactly was. In my imagination, I assumed that it was a diner! I mean, think about the name, it's a perfect name for a diner. And of course that would have been visually cool for the video. Many years later when I had moved to Laurel I was driving down Main Street and saw it. It was just an ordinary pizza joint; I think by that time it had even been cut in half with a grocery store on one side and basically was carry-out only. I parked and went in but to me there was no sign of the magical wonderland that Vygis had clearly been so fond of. The pizza was okay. 
Every once in a while I think about taking a stab at making that video. I still have all of the instructions in my memory. At this point I would do it just to have something with Leeches on YouTube, where it would probably be viewed by ten people tops. But I have to find that song again first. I probably couldn't get Tessa for her role. And the audience member who I would most want to see it is no longer with us.
Category:Stories
Category:People:Joe Belknap Wall
Category:Jobs:Pal Jacks