We toured all over New York. I took him to the top of the Empire State Building, which was cool because we had just seen King Kong climb the thing. We went to the Statue of Liberty and Grand Central Station and even took a subway out to Coney Island to ride the rides and eat hot dogs.
I think my favorite day was when we went up to the Bronx. No, not to the flume. We went to a Yankees game. I couldn’t believe it, but I saw both Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio play! How cool isthat? Spader didn’t understand the game and it was hard to explain, but it didn’t matter. I was in hog heaven.
And speaking of heaven, we also played a lot of basketball.
When it comes to athletic stuff, I have to admit that Spader is better than I am in everything. He’s a little older and bigger, which helps. (At least, that’s what I tell myself.) But when it comes to basketball, well, that’s my game.
At the risk of sounding crude, I kicked his ass. We set up a hoop in an alley behind the hotel and snuck out every chance we got. Gunny found us a crusty old leather ball. The rim was all bent and rusty with no net, but it didn’t matter. I recruited some of the other bellhops, and we played two on two. We even got Dewey to play, but he was worse than Spader. Poor guy.
Our games were like minivacations away from Traveler worries. They put my mind back to a time and place when things were a whole lot easier, and the biggest concern I had was whether or not Courtney liked me as much as I liked her. (Yes, Courtney, I used to think about that a lot. I admit it.)
Though our adventures exploring First Earth were excellent, there was always the big old sword of worry hanging over our heads. The longer we went without finding out anything about Max Rose and the Nazis, the more anxious I became. May 6 was drawing closer. It was beginning to look as if nothing would happen until then.
I was wrong. On May 3, things started getting interesting again.
The day started out normally, except that the hotel was expecting a celebrity guest. Her name was Nancy Olsen, but everybody knew her as “Jinx.” She was a pilot who flew for the Coast Guard. They didn’t have many women pilots back then, and Jinx was a real hotshot. She was touring around the country doing public relations. I guess the idea was to get women interested in signing up for military service. In 1937 women didn’t normally do things like fly for the Coast Guard, so Jinx Olsen was unique.
Her tour brought her to New York, where she was going to stay at the hotel for a week while making appearances and giving speeches. There was even a big party planned for her in the ballroom on the twenty-ninth floor of the hotel. It was going to be a big doo-dah with a band and celebrities and politicians and the works. Spader and I had already been asked to be waiters for the party because there were going to be over two hundred guests, and they needed all the help they could get.
When Jinx Olsen arrived at the hotel, I could tell instantly why she was chosen to be the poster girl for the Coast Guard. She was tall and pretty and oozed confidence. Most of the women I had seen on First Earth wore dresses-but not Jinx. She had on khakis and a worn, brown leather jacket. But she didn’t look like a guy. No way. She had these dazzling green eyes and a big smile that absolutely lit up the room. When she first strode into the hotel lobby with her duffel bag over her shoulder, the first word that jumped into my head was “adventurer.”
The hotel manager, a chubby guy named Mr. Caplesmith, was right there to greet her. “Welcome, Miss Olsen,” he said. “We are so honored to have you stay with us.”
Jinx stopped short, stared the guy square in the eyes and asked, “Why?”
Mr. Caplesmith got a little flustered and said, “Well, because you’re such a famous, uh, pilot person.” He had no clue about what made Jinx Olsen tick, and Jinx Olsen knew it.
“Let’s be honest,” she said. “You’re happy to see me because Uncle Sam is paying you to put on a big old party tomorrow night, right?”
Mr. Caplesmith was embarrassed, but he knew better than to lie to her. “Well, you could say that,” he said sheepishly.
Jinx smiled and gave him a friendly punch on the arm. “No problem. Just so we all know the score. Where’s my room?”
Mr. Caplesmith tried hard not to grab his arm in pain. He looked around and saw me.
“Bell boy!” he ordered.
I ran up and stood at attention. Mr. Caplesmith liked that.
“Please take Miss Olsen up to room fifteen-fifteen.” He gave me the room key.
I reached for Jinx’s bag, but she didn’t give it up. “I can handle it, chief,” she said with a smile. “Just show me the way.”
“Yes ma’am,” I said, and made for the elevator. Jinx followed right after me. I glanced back quickly and saw Mr. Caplesmith massaging his sore arm. It was hard not to laugh. Jinx Olsen was the coolest person I had met since starting work at this hotel, aside from Gunny of course.
“You’ve got a pretty exciting job,” I said. “Making rescues with the Coast Guard and all.”
“Yeah, real exciting,” she said. It didn’t sound like she meant it.
“It’s not?” I asked.
“It would be if they actually let me do it once in a while. It’s not easy getting the call, being a woman and all.” We arrived at the elevator and Dewey started us on our way up. He even got the controls right the first time. He must have been practicing. ”That’s not fair,” I said to Jinx. “If you’ve got the chops, you should be flying the missions.”
“You know how many times I’ve told them that?” Jinx said. “But they’d rather trot me out on these public relations tours where I won’t get scratched. Heck, I’m a better flier than most of the boys in my squad, but because I’m a woman, well, I don’t get the chance.”
“Do you know Amelia Earhart?” Dewey asked.
“I’ve met her,” answered Jinx. “Nowthatgal is a flier!”
“Amelia Earhart?” I asked. “Isn’t that the woman pilot who disappeared when she was trying to fly around the world?”
Dewey and Jinx looked at me like I was from Pluto.
“You must be mistaken,” Jinx said. “She’s leaving on her round-the-world trip the end of this month.”
Oops. First Earth. I was talking about something that hadn’t happened yet. I wasn’t wrong though. I remembered seeing a TV show about Amelia Earhart. She never made it. I didn’t have the heart to tell them. On the other hand, they never would have believed me because I was talking about the future. Luckily, we had arrived on the fifteenth floor.
“We’re here,” I announced, and hurried out of the elevator before I had to talk any more about Amelia Earhart. I opened up room 1515 for Jinx and told her that if she needed anything, she should call Gunny, the bell captain, and he’d make sure one of us took care of her. She thanked me and gave me a twenty-five-cent tip. Not exactly a lot of cash, but it would pay for another Marx Brothers movie.
“You know something?” I said. “You may be having a tough time, but someday soon there will be a lot of women fliers. People are going to realize they’re just as good as the guys. Things will change. I guarantee it.”
This made Jinx smile. She came across as pretty tough, but I’ll bet that was because she had to survive in a macho man’s job. But in that brief moment, her guard came down, and I saw beyond the bold front to the real person.
“What’s your name, chief?” she asked.
“Bobby Pendragon.”
“I’m Jinx, Bobby. Thanks for the kind words. I’ll remember them.” She winked at me and we shook hands.
I liked Jinx Olsen. Her confidence and cockiness reminded me a lot of Spader. I hoped she was going to get the chance to prove herself someday.
The party in her honor was the following night, and it was a real fancy deal. The ballroom on the twenty-ninth floor was all decked out with red, white, and blue decorations. There must have been a thousand colorful balloons floating up on the ceiling. The men wore tuxedos and the women were in long, formal gowns. I recognized some old-time movie stars, but didn’t know their names. There was one guy I definitely recognized though-it was Lou Gehrig. Even out of his Yankees uniform, I knew who he was.
There was a big orchestra playing for people to dance. The musicians all wore white jackets and looked like they had stepped out of an Abbott and Costello movie. I even recognized some of the music they were playing. Like I always said, if you want to learn about classical music, watch old Bugs Bunny cartoons. If you want to learn about
