.jpg)
Now, he’s Charlie Wing, author of “Spoons’ Spoons,” a biography of
Theodore Edouard “Spoons” Michaud of Brewer, a colorful character Wing met
while working at his latest post-retirement job: a parking valet at St.
Joseph’s Hospital in Bangor.
Wing met Michaud, who is now 88, about five years ago when he came to
the Bangor hospital for medical treatment. “We started chatting, and he told me
some incredible stories. To be truthful, I thought he was full of b.s. at
first. But as it turned out, they were the truth,” Wing recalled.
After suggesting to Michaud that someone
should write a book about his colorful escapades, Wing was told, “Why don’t you
do it?” So after two years, “Spoons” is now in print.
Wing,
who turned 70 this year, will celebrate the occasion with a book signing on
Saturday, June 23 at the Hartland Public Library from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Michael Alpert, director of University of Maine Press, described Wing as
a “serious author devoted to his subject. His honesty, intelligence, and
enthusiasm were impressive.”
Alpert said that since he is a taxpayer-funded publisher, he was more
than willing to give Wing some free assistance. “Charlie chose a hardcover book
with a dust jacket. (But) Charlie does not have a background in graphic design,
so the printer called me to ask for further help. I was happy to design the
dust jacket, which I did after work hours,” Alpert said.
The intriguing title of the book came from Michaud’s expertise in
playing musical spoons, a talent he learned literally by accident. While playing
football in his grammar school days, he was pushed to the ground, his arm went
through a hole in the fence and he cut his wrist on an old broken soda bottle.
While recuperating, the doctor who treated Michaud recommended that he play
with a pair of spoons to strengthen his wrist and make it heal faster.
Once he realized he could generate a musical rhythm with the spoons, he
kept developing the skill and soon became a local celebrity of sorts. “He
played with country music artists Freddy Fender, Porter Wagoner when they came
to Maine, and even with the Platters when they performed at the Sea Dog
Restaurant in Bangor,” Wing said. “I asked him if playing with the Platters –
one of the hottest groups of the 1960s – was the highlight of his career. He
told me ‘Hell, no! Back in 1941 when I was stationed at Parris Island, I
actually got to play with the Harry James band.’ And I don’t doubt it.”
Michaud’s career in the Marine Corps was
short-lived, however, as he was disciplined for returning to his base several
days late after visiting his hospitalized father in Maine. “He was discharged
early, but that was primarily because he lied about his age and enlisted when
he was 17,” Wing said.
So at age 18, Michaud was back in Maine and started working at a variety
of jobs: making salads at a hotel restaurant in Presque Isle, hauling pulpwood
from Milford to Howland and working in the bleach room at Penobscot Chemical
Fiber Company in Old Town.
He learned to play golf and made numerous friends with the airline pilots
and stewardesses who played on the Bangor-area links during their stopovers in
Maine. “Spoon is the only man I’ve ever known personally who recorded a
hole-in-one three times,” Wing said. “The last time was in 1998 at Island Green
in Holden when he was 75.”
Michaud, now divorced, gave up golf but still enjoys socializing and
having lunch with his son and daughter-in-law on occasion. He lives in an
apartment above Cap Morrill’s Restaurant in Brewer, where Wing said is “close
to everything he needs. There’s a grocery store across the street, a bus stop
nearby and a pub downstairs where he can enjoy an O’Doul’s (non-alcoholic beer)
and chat with friends.”
And just in case there’s music in the pub, Michaud always brings his
spoons.
(“Spoons’ Spoons” is on sale at several
retail outlets in the Sebasticook Valley region including Bud’s Shop ‘N Save in
Newport, Dexter and Pittsfield; Bear’s One Stop in Newport; Sunrise Bakery and
Restaurant in St. Albans; and Palmyra Variety.)
No comments:
Post a Comment