The Big Hole

This is a preview of a chapter from my pending book.

by Ferdie Delery

It just dawned on me. Voila! I never knew! A big part of my psyche (ever since I was 21 years old) has been a deep, inner sense inside me of being a cast out. Why? Now I know. I don’t need “no” therapist. I can blame it on two music albums that I guess even my brothers and sisters remember. Which I will explain here.

For Christmas break from school in Baton Rouge in 1971 at LSU, I packed up my things and drove back to New Orleans to my mom and dad’s house. I walked into the house to the den with my bags and a big smile, sending my dad into a state of conniption. He and I have never, ever been the same loving father-son combo again. I quit LSU and Baton Rouge. Of course, I already had my B.A. from The U. of New Orleans. For Christmas break, I had cleared my LSU dorm out, moved the f*** out and was back in the arms of my loving parents. Good God Almighty! My dad surely thought that he had gotten rid of me. No! Ferdie’s back!

I will explain more, but let’s fast forward for now to after the holidays when no one but me and my mom were left in the house alone during the day. My dad was at work and my brothers and sisters were at school. The major malfunction was that I brought back home with me from Baton Rouge two popular albums at that time. They were MERCY, MERCY ME by Marvin Gaye and the sound track of the movie SHAFT by Isaac Hayes starring Richard Roundtree. I loved the albums and played them unmercifully every day from morning until my dad got back home from work.

The relentless music drove my mom to distraction. One day, I got home from out and my dad had broken up my record player and albums; he turned into the monster of Frankenstein. By the next day, I had scoured the newspapers and found myself a lovely little apartment for $65.00 per month. Remember the times I was in back then with reference to the rent amount. Anyway, my psychic health and well-being have never been the same since. That despicable “son-of-a-gun”!

(To be continued). Of course, I will write more of this chapter later. Thank you!