Virgie Bell's View: Because of You

I suppose it was during my freshman and sophomore year that instead of riding the bus, I went to school with my brother Mickey. I can't help but repeat myself over and over again that this was a guy that was absolutely the most handsome male anyone ever dreamed of. Hollywood had nothing on him. In fact, all of them had to be fixed up with make up and the all of the glamour products. Not him. He just had to be himself.

I don't remember what kind of grades he made in school. That just now occurred to me that I never knew about any of my siblings grades. Mickey, Bennie, and my beloved-baby sister, Linda. That being the case then, I would assume that everyone did alright. I am sure there would have been a discussion and I would have heard it.

In those days there was that which was called the ‘It’ factor. Mickey was an It guy in spades. He worked in the fields driving a tractor after school. Once, during a West Texas sandstorm, he stayed home and drove the tractor. The work on the farm was a part of our lives. It was for all of us. I usually helped Mother back at the house, and that was a full time job. In the summer we chopped weeds in the cotton field. We were pretty big farmers in those times. We farmed my granddad's land. Papa (my grandfather) was a big land owner and as I recall that is what my aunt and uncle did.

At any rate, Mickey always had little bit of a crop for himself, maybe ten acres or so. He also drove a really nice car. You cannot imagine how beautiful his black Pontiac Convertible was. I feel certain that it was the only convertible in the surrounding area. He was the It guy with the It car. I can't remember all of the songs from those days but the car radio was a constant thing and in fact, all radios were also It. We had listened to the radio all through World War II. I grew up listening to that squeaky door that proceeded “Innersanctum Mystery" and others which I can't recall right now. I lived the lives of "Young Dr. Malone, Stella Dellas, and Young Widow Brown". My mother and all our mother’s tuned in.

Bennie was younger than me, but he was so much older than Linda, so for several years he was the baby in the family. The sound I remember most concerning Bennie was the putt-putt and zoom-zoom he made to himself as he rolled a toy car or tractor across the floor. But none in our family could ever shine in our family as did Mickey Boy. You can't do much shining in that kind of shadow. The strange thing is, no one ever resented him. Everyone adored him. When Linda came along nine years after me, Bennie had been the baby for so long that it was hard to break that mold. He was so darned cute. He was my biggest playmate, more so than Mickey.

When we lived in California, Mickey had a paper route. He borrowed my cousin’s bike to run that paper route. Billie, my cousin, is a girl-Billie, so no doubt the bike was built for a girl. That wouldn't have made any difference to him. When you have enough of that old mysterious It...you can do anything. I wonder what he was like when he was born. There had to be something even back then. Some distinguishing trait or characteristic. Mickey had a dark olive complexion, with dark brown eyes and coal black hair. Both of my parents were very good looking and he inherited their beauty, the distinct characteristics each had to offer, and became heir to the powerful amalgamation.

There is one thing that I am privy to, and I may be the only one. Mickey could sing. You could hear him above the roar of the tractor singing his heart out. But in the confines of the car, on our way to school, we sang together. He would turn on the radio and we would ham it up together. Musicals back then were the rage of Hollywood and we grew up in the world of music. If it was a cowboy show, the cowboy sang, and also all his pals sang as well as the heroine. It was during the days of Betty Gable. She was It. She was The Pin-Up girl everywhere during the war. She had million dollar legs. They were insured for that amount by her studio. There was Rita Hayworth, drop dead gorgeous.

These movie stars were not like the ones we have now. They kept the glamour and the allure alive at all times. They had this special glow. Today you can see pictures of the current celebrities and they are shabby and unkempt. Not them. Oh no. They were glamour personified. The song by Teresa Brewer that was titled "The Wheel of Fortune" was at the top of the charts back then. I can't remember who sang "Mona Lisa". It was a man and probably it was Tony Bennett or old leather lungs himself, Mr. Franke Laine. The lyrics to many songs were beautiful back then, however one did have staying power. That song was "Because of You'. It is among good record collections to this day. I would like to say here that even though my collection sets high on a shelf, each record is also is a work of art. Plastic disks, etc. can be tossed around just any old way. Not so with the Old 78's. They were handled with loving care, and held strictly by the edges. They had special cleaners and record cloths.

What I miss most in my life with the loss of my hearing is the music that had been such a great and joyous part of my life, with the sound bouncing out of multiple speakers. I will even go further and say the old 78's had a better sound. Deeper, fuller, richer. It was as if the very air itself gave off the magic of the love bestowed earlier as one removed the heavy black album from its sometimes stained manila jacket; the attention to care rendered earlier poured forth its own recompense.


When we moved from the Los Angeles area to a small little country community, the world was alive to the sound of victory in the air. A springier step, a brighter smile. Just a victory in the hearts of our people. And here was old handsome and me in a convertible singing along with that radio as the world still held all the possibilities. Just over the rainbow was that pot of gold. Naturally, he was a football star, and I was a cheerleader. I have held these memories so close to me. The loss of Mickey is something that I will endure the rest of my life. The tears are falling even now, but I am determined to leave this little tribute for my family. The story of my special love for a special brother and very best friend. The words to the song were in my head and in my heart last night. These that I so often find myself singing to the silence of my own ears....Because of you there's a song in my heart.... Because of you our romance had it's start ...because of you the stars will shine, the moon and stars will say your mine, forever, and ever sweetheart. I only live for your love and you and your kiss … it's paradise to be with you like this … because of you my life is now worthwhile ... and I can smile because of you.... and I can see that handsome grin he gave me as he sang these words for me in a black convertible, my cherished brother, my Mickey.

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