On that day in 1979 - 13 July

The Masque club had already closed, as had the Other Masque, but there were a series of sort of private party gigs after that happened. This one, I believe, was the very last one. It was certainly the last time I ever set foot in there.

As I explained earlier, Mary and I had made a six-foot something papier maché Mau-Mau warrior for Rod's birthday (which was and is today), who we had named Mahumba. The previous day we had taken him to our workplace - Mary and I both were in this paid video production program called Focus on Video - so I could shoot some footage, and when he fell over his leg fell off. He was only newspaper and flour paste - nothing else; I had not even used chicken wire. So that eveningI had taken him to Jill Jordan's apartment near the Masque and repaired the leg with gaffer/duct tape and re-painted it. We also made up some spells to chant.

I so wish I had photos of Mahumba; I have no idea why I didn't take any except that I was so busy making the thing and I took a lot of video footage, most of which was taped over (the perils of using that medium!) and the one bit that survives is on Beta.

The latter bit of this detailed entry is incredibly embarrassing and I considered leaving it out, but there are some funny bits in it. So what the hell! By the way, it was a Friday the 13th ...

13 July 1979

Took our time and we ended up not even leaving till 7:00.

The spell worked! Mahumba's leg was now healed!!! I taped it more anyway and took the tape along too, just in case.

I'm so glad Jill had given me her key cause she didn't even turn up till after nine! She didn't even help us at all!! Mary disappeared too. We had to touch up his paint and everything, or maybe I should say I had to...

I love Mahumba so much!!! Whenever I looked at him I'd get that feeling... Maybe what people feel for something they created like their kid. I didn't want him to get destroyed!!

Jill took so long to get ready. When we finally left we carried Mahumba over our heads all the way to the Masque. It must have looked great!! My arms hurt so much!!!

We walked into the Masque and there were tons of people on the stairs. We kept yelling at them to move and I can't believe we actually got him down there. At the bottom Charlotte [Rick Wilder's girlfriend] grabbed and wrote on him and I told Craig [Stoker] to stop her and he reached out to punch her and got me instead!!

Well, we took Mahumba and set him up way in the back near the stage and took turns guarding him. Everyone kept saying he was gonna get destroyed - NO!!!!!

Every time I went to look for Rod I'd find someone else I had to show Mahumba to. But everyone wasn't as thrilled as I thought they should be... [Proud, indignant parent?]

Greg [Salva] was the first Mau-Mau to arrive. He loved Mahumba. [Yeah, and later he was the one who destroyed him when he was kicked out of the Mau-Maus!] He gave me a beer. Craig had also given me one.

When I took Beer Keg [my ex, Greg Williams] over, Rotten Egg [our rhyming slang name for Greg Salva] was still there and I stood between them watching the band. [Not sure who that was!] It was weird. Whenever I tried to get a sip of RE's beer he would try to attack me.

Finally Rod came! He and the other Mau-Maus loved Mahumba. Slim [Rick Wilder] said, "Let's destroy it onstage!!" and thank God Rod said, "No!" Rod gave me a beer too.

At first I didn't let it bug me too much, but Earl wasn't paying much attention to me. Every time I went up to him he'd wander off. But he was restless before playing and I figured I'd be with him later.

I was already SO drunk but I had a cough so I kept drinking to keep it away. And I wandered around and around and around ...

All of a sudden the police poured in! And forced everyone OUT!!! I tried to go back in and one of them hit me with a stick!! I started yelling at them that they were bastards cause they wouldn't let the Mau-Maus play; it's a wonder I didn't get arrested!!!

I was so upset! I wanted to see the Mau-Maus and I wanted to be with Earl and I couldn't find him and I didn't want the party to end. I started crying in front of everyone.

Shannon told me that Earl had gone to the Mau-Mau Manor. But I couldn't drive! I got Rod to drive my car but we couldn't leave right away. I was talking a whole bunch to Debbie while I was waiting; we were friends after all. [Not that we hadn't been, but we became very good friends after that; she was an ex of Greg Salva's who years later got back together with him and they had a kid; I don't think I ever knew her last name so I don't know what happened to her. In the early 80s she had wanted to move to England to be with Pete DeFreitas of the Bunnymen, who also died too young - weird and sad!]

Outside the Masque; talking to Chuck as I'm waiting for Rod to drive my car. This photo appears in the back of the Live at the Masque book.

Earl and me earlier that month

Found Mary ... Rod drove my car. Mary stayed in it. Earl was at Mau-Mau Manor. But he still wasn't paying attention to me! So at first I talked to Debbie and Shannon. Helped Debbie find Rik L Rik - asked her if she liked him; I thought it was weird cause of Jennie. [???] But she was just maybe gonna be in a band with him. She plays keyboards too!

Rosetta was in bed under the covers with no clothes on and Shannon was saying, "Look at that thing! Should we kill it?" She said she was just waiting for someone. I threw a shoe at her.

I got real depressed about Earl and sat on that bed in the living room like last time [??] and he came by and said something about it. Then I went in the bedroom and he was sitting on the bed with Rosetta! I got all upset but I cheered up when Craig and I were dancing to "Stranded in the Jungle" with the Mau-Mau [toy] spears.

Then we went in the other room. Oh yeah, two things happened before this. I asked Rod what was going on in there and he says, "I don't know" like he didn't like it either. And then I said later, "What's Kenny [Rod] doing in the closet with Yolanda? She's sick!" and Yolanda heard me!! I told her I was talking about the other Yolanda! [OK, we knew a chick called Yolanda, but also Rick Wilder called his then girlfriend Charlotte Yolanda; he named her that when he named me Ella and Mary Aretha and Rod Kenny and the other Rick Earl. Yes, it's confusing, I know, but there will be no pop quizzes, I promise!]

So now we went in the bedroom and now she was holding Earl's hands! I tried to wake up Shannon [who would have nodded off] and she said, "Hit them with the spear!" I couldn't control myself - I raised that spear and went WHAP!! on the bed as hard as I could! And ran out of the room. Earl didn't follow me. And I went back and did it again!!!

Then Craig was telling me to be asexual like him [he came out a few months after this]. We were sitting on the floor in the living room. And I wouldn't listen to him.

Then Earl walked by and I reached out and hit him in the leg. He asked me what I was doing and I dragged him out the door and I don't remember what I said except "I missed you!" [With the spear? I'm not sure if I made it clear, but I didn't hit anyone with the spear, just the bed!] and I held onto him and I started bawling my head off and he asked me what I was talking about and I don't know what I said then until "Leave me alone!" and I ran down the hall and sat behind a refrigerator for a long time. 

I wanted to die - I thought about jumping out a window but what if I became a cripple? Well I eventually ventured back in there. I sat on the couch and Earl came up and said, "I don't know what the big deal is - I mean we've only gone out a couple of times - it's no big thing." (???!!!!!!) (We had gone out SEVENTEEN times.)

Well, a few minutes later I decided to leave and I asked Earl if he would walk me to my car and he did. He said again something about, "I could understand if we had been together for months or something..."

I said it was just that I had been looking forward so much to seeing him and he said, "I guess I was sort of a prick tonight."

I had his arm and we wandered down the wrong street until I remembered Rod parked my car next to Earl's rented one. Then he put his arm around me and I remember hugging him and we changed the subject - talked about Mahumba.

At my car I said, "Also you haven't called me in so long," and he said he'd been so busy and it was hard for him to call but that I could call him any time. (No! I want him to call me!) [Jeez, I sound like Rory on Gilmore Girls! He had some kind of office job but I don't think I ever found out what he actually did; I certainly never phoned him at work. He lived with his parents too, who were really rude or at least his dad was - I remember I hated calling him!]

We talked about Rosetta; he kept saying they were just friends [which is good, seeing as Earl was 22!] and he asked, "What were you like when you were fourteen?" I said, "I sure wasn't a slut like her!" I told him how Shannon had told me to do everything and he said Shannon and Rosetta hate each other cause they had the same boyfriend - Greg?!!! [Salva] Oh yeah. Duh. I kept apologizing and apologizing and he said it was all right - to just forget it, and to call him.