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