The Transition Control Center
Nollson, John
John Nollsori THE TRANSITION CONTROL CENTER Determined to elevate my station in life, I left my home in East St. Louis, Illinois, immediately after NBC announced that Ronald Reagan would be.the...
...Young man, you seem disappointed...
...Though on the brink of physical collapse, I managed to summon all of my remaining strength...
...Godfrey...
...As I drew closer to the beams, they seemed to form a vast Tin the autumn night, the T of transition...
...Lu Ann," I said, "you don't seem even a day older since last I saw you on television...
...What did you do about that...
...Godfrey said, "and I am the Transition Director...
...Louis, Illinois, immediately after NBC announced that Ronald Reagan would be.the next President of the United States...
...It was Don McNeill, inviting us to march around the breakfast table for the 35,163rd time...
...But first, Archie Bleier and the Chordettes will perform 'Mr...
...But it wasn't all the same to the American people," Godfrey said assertively...
...Whenever the door was opened, a great moan would rise from the crowd...
...I handed it to Godfrey who studied it intently...
...The intersection was marked by two great beams of blue light, enormous searchlights of the sort used to signal a world premiere...
...fine Americans all...
...Occasionally, a helicopter would arrive to evacuate one of the casualties...
...Then I lowered myself into the office...
...Then it came to me...
...Sandman.'" Godfrey applauded the performance...
...Well," said Godfrey, "I was among the first to realize that the 1980 election was a solemn referendum on the 1950s...
...He doesn't work here any more," he scowled...
...I froze him out 25 years ago, and there's no way he's gonna get back in...
...How are ya, how are ya...
...Not all of them," I said humbly, "but I know a good many.'' With that, he beckoned to Lu Ann Simms to join us...
...You look like the kind of nice kid we'd like to have around here...
...Captain Video...
...At the mere mention of Larosa's name, Godfrey's face darkened...
...Fortunately, Godfrey interrupted me to turn on the radio...
...The voice was unmistakable...
...The voice plucked a chord deep within my unconscious...
...Godfrey said as the march music filled the office, "but we've managed to work together as one man in defense of the fifties...
...Wizzard...
...Washington had the air of one of those great Chinese cities I had read about...
...Realizing that I could not fight the crowd, I abandoned my car and joined the surging throng of humanity which was pressing ahead on foot...
...One of the young ladies placed a Lipton teabag in a cup of hot water and brought it to him...
...Haleloke is still terrific," Godfrey beamed...
...Can you sing...
...Certainly, you remember Bishop Sheen's angel...
...As if a single person, it would surge forward, only to be beaten back...
...He invited a distinguished gray-haired lady, barefooted and wearing a grass skirt, to dance the hula...
...I thought this was the Reagan-Bush Transition Headquarters...
...1 he situation called for daring...
...The door opened and a group of people entered...
...And besides, what's one harmless little fib anyway...
...Bragg ranger training, I slipped away from the crowd and scaled one of the buildings across the street...
...He used to be a real competitor of mine...
...Recalling my Ft...
...With a single karate chop, I broke the grating...
...My senses throbbed with the energies of the crowd which surrounded it...
...Just fine," I replied, "but I must be in the wrong place...
...I loaded my '67 Plymouth with all my possessions, including my only blue suit, and I reached the Nation's Capital after an uneventful drive...
...I decided to spend the night on the roof and I slept in a small pup tent...
...There were cheerful singers, dancers, and musicians...
...Then I sat down on the beige sofa, waiting for whomever it was that worked in the place...
...Take tea and see...
...I fired him...
...I was kind of hoping for Lu Ann Simms and Julius Larosa," I said, "but I'll wait...
...not only were there cars and trucks and buses everywhere, there were even more rickshaws and sedan chairs as both the humble and the great moved in the same direction...
...Oh, I can carry the tune as well as the next man...
...The leader took his seat behind the desk and placed a set of earphones on his head...
...I inched my way across...
...The side of the building seemed bathed in a vast collage of color, a recently installed neon sign like one in Times Square...
...I realized that what the American people wanted was for Bishop Sheen's angel to return and wipe the slate clean...
...I helped myself to a glass of cool water from the beige carafe...
...Reaching into my duffle bag, I removed a device which fired a line across to the top of the Transition Building...
...Godfrey asked...
...I mean, you remember how one of Ozzie and Harriett's sons grew up to be a rock singer...
...I checked out my gas mask just in case the police decided to employ tear gas...
...Godfrey mumbled something about how father knows best and then he switched off the radio...
...I told them straight out: if they brought in Mort Sahl to make fun of me, I'd bring in Sam Levenson to make fun of them...
...Occasionally, clouds of smoke would belch from the O's...
...From behind his chair, he picked up a ukulele and then he began to strum...
...It was sheer instinct, I suppose, which directed me down one of the ducts because, before I knew it, my face was pressed up against the metal grating through which temperature-controlled air entered the largest office I had ever seen...
...And now I want to bring on Frank Parker and Marion Marlowe to sing...
...Yes," interrupted the deepest basso voice I had ever heard, "this is Tony Marvin welcoming you to the Transition Hour, with Arthur Godfrey and all the Little Godfreys...
...And Lipton," he answered...
...But I still don't understand how you gained control over the Transition Process...
...Mounted police were deployed in force and foot patrolmen -in full riot dress-strained at the leashes of their snarling German shepherds...
...With an acetelyne torch, I cut into the rooftop air-conditioning unit and, carefully crawling through the maze of aluminum ducts, I managed to make my way to the seventh floor...
...But, I still don't understand how you seized control of the transition process," I continued...
...Do you know any of the old songs,' young fella...
...Taken aback by the vehemence of Godfrey's denuciation of Larosa, I mumbled, "No reason for old controversies to cast a pall over happy times like Transition...
...The electomagnet at the end of the line held fast...
...Well, maybe she had aged just a tiny bit in the past 25 years or so, but not so much that you'd really notice...
...Of course," I continued noncommittally, "Bishop Sheen...
...It wasn't easy," Godfrey acknowledged...
...Howdy Doody...
...It was Arthur Godfrey...
...I even got Ozzie Nelson out of retirement...
...Besides, I've still got lots of buddies at the Strategic Air Command out in Omaha...
...Curt LeMay used to be a good pal of mine...
...I asked...
...They even threatened to bring in Mort Sahl to make fun of me...
...But Princess went off to the state university to study home economics and wouldn't have anything to do with Little Ricky...
...I realized that I had broken the ice, so I reached inside the jacket of my blue suit and brought out a copy of my resume...
...Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, yes, indeed," I said noncommittally, hoping not to give offense and jeopardize my prospects...
...It was a tastefully-furnished room, done in beige, my favorite color...
...They kept talking about Eisenhower retreads...
...I could see the building now...
...At dawn, I shed my army fatigues and put on my only blue suit...
...Lu Ann seemed pleased when Godfrey recommended that she become my singing partner...
...X didn't have long to wait...
...They tried to keep me out...
...He took a sip and, smacking his lips in approval, he turned to me as I remained seated...
...Our common destination was an office building near the corner of Seventeenth and M Streets, Northwest...
...Godfrey continued...
...Indeed, there were several fire engines and, every so often, the firemen would menacingly point their hoses at the unruly mob...
...A real tragedy there...
...And now, here he is: Arthur-just flip me over and call me flapjack-Godfrey!'' "Still sponsored by Pillsbury...
...I was the first to notice Jimmy Carter's resemblance to Howdy Doody...
...Wonderful," said Godfrey, grinning in approval...
...But this is the Transition Headquarters," Mr...
...It had all been arranged that he would marry Princess, Robert Young's daughter...
...Every so often, the guards would admit someone to the building...
...It was dark when I arrived, and the streets were clogged with traffic...
...They were led by a friendly-looking man...
...I asked...
...After all, it's not every day that a young man gets a chance to sing a duet with the girl of his dreams.o sing a duet with the girl of his dreams...
...I didn't realize you were about to begin your broadcast, Mr...
...There were thousands of men, women, and children milling about, like the crowds which come to gawk at a great fire...
...he asked...
...Reagan-Bush National Transition Headquarters," it blinked, sometimes in intricate script, sometimes in plain block letters...
Vol. 14 • January 1981 • No. 1
