The Bust Of Errol Flynn

Many years ago, my wife and I were visiting the small village of Grand Rapids, Ohio. It is an old town, situated on the Miami and Erie Canal, dating back to the mid 1800s. The downtown is filled with craft stores, antiques, and restaurants; a good place to spend a Sunday afternoon, browsing.

We entered a ceramic shop, as my wife enjoyed painting, and one of her hobbies was ceramics. I noticed on one shelf a series of small busts of various Hollywood stars. One caught my eye, after seeing Gable, Astaire, and Karloff, I noticed another well-known face…. Errol Flynn. Having been a Flynn fan now for several years, I just had to have one. My wife agreed to paint it for me; so away we went with my new prize.

Soon, Errol Flynn adorned my bookcase, in his Don Juan shirt, painted red, looking suave and debonair. It remained there for several years. During that time, our son Nickolas was born. After he was a bit older, his bedroom was moved upstairs. Next to his bed stood the bookcase where Errol resided. After awhile, we would notice the bust had been moved, and was facing the books. I would turn it around, then later notice it was once again turned backwards. By then Nickolas was about 3 years old. When questioned about it, he informed us that he didn’t care for that “man staring at him all night”, which solved the mystery of the moving bust for us.

Errol has since moved downstairs. He now resides in our computer room, where he oversees my typing and e-mailing, from atop another bookcase. Nickolas is 17 now, but still remembers being glared at. And every now and then, I find Errol is facing backwards. Nickolas denies it, of course.

— Bob