Hopefully a few of you have heard of the recent story of Richard Lorenc.
http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/bearded-lady-vivian-wheeler-finds-her-son-after-33-years/19631453
Lorenc was given up for adoption at the age of 7 by his father. Lorenc never knew his mother, as his father had taken him away from her shortly after his birth. It wasn't until recently that Lorenc found out that his mother was Vivian Wheeler, a semi-famous bearded lady from a traveling circus... since that moment Lorenc has met his mother and in just a few days will guest star on the Maury Povich Show when a DNA test will reveal the truch of their relationship... the world is on the edge of their seats waiting to hear the results.
But, there is another story that has yet to be told... the story of Vivian Wheeler and her jilted lover.
HOT SUMMER NIGHTS: A Carni Love Story
It was the summer of 1976 and for Richard Chambers life was as good as his life has ever been.
It was a magical time to be an American. The Country’s Bicentennial was just around the corner and soon the United States would be celebrating the 200th anniversary of Declaration of Independence. Radio stations around the country were blasting out hits from ABBA, Starland Vocal Band, and Paul McCartney and Wings. The Omen was scaring teens at every drive-in movie theater in the U.S. and everyone watching T.V. was hoping that they wouldn’t gong the The Unknown Comic. It was a free and easy time… and no one was living freer or easier than Richard Chambers.
Richard Chambers was born in 1956 in the town of Gothenburg, NE to Chuck and Lydia Chambers. Chuck farmed and worked as a part-time tractor repairman and Lydia was a homemaker. When Richard was 2 his family moved to Kearney, NE where his father took a job as a tractor salesman at the local John Deere dealership.
At the age of 5 Richards’s father was killed in a freak New Years Eve accident. Moments after the stroke of midnight the Chambers were in their front yard watching their neighbors shoot fireworks into the air when all of the sudden Chuck fell to the ground… dead. It seems a stray bullet fired from a gun in celebration of the New Year fell back to the earth entering at the crown of Chuck’s skull and exiting at the base of his neck through the spinal cord, killing him instantly. Oddly enough two other people were killed and three others wounded by the same event. A few days later a man was arrested who witnesses claim to have seen fire several drums worth of ammunition from a 1930’s era Tommy Gun while screaming “Happy New Year Mothersuckers… waHOOOOoo.” Drug and alcohol were more than likely a factor in his belligerent behavior.
Lydia was devastated; the happy and pleasant life that Richard had lived up to that moment ceased following the death of his father and would not return for some time. Lydia did the best she could, but having no transferable skills for employment or family of her own to fall back on, the life of relative comfort that she and her son had come to know quickly ended. Within the year Lydia and Richard were living out of the back of their wood sided station wagon traveling from town to town panhandling for food and gas money. It wasn’t long before Lydia turned to drugs to ease her pain, instead of buying Richard food she began to blow her money on refer and cocaine. Her new life style quickly changed her from friendly homemaker and mom to a wasted shell of a woman and sometimes prostitute.
Richards life took another dramatic change shortly after he turned 7. While wacked out on LSD at hotel in Pecos, Texas Lydia Chambers sold her son to a man named Pete Windsong for a “bag of weed and ¾ of a bottle of tequila” who in turn sold him to a gay man named John Pulaski for “services rendered.”
Now when you hear that a 7-year old boy is sold to a gay man, nothing good comes to mind, but in this case it was just the opposite. John Pulaski was no saint by any means, but he had a soft spot for kids and when he heard that his “regular Pecos guy” had “bought” a kid, well he just couldn’t take the thought of this boy being raised, beat, pimped, and abused by the type of man that Pete happened to be, so John traded one month of free services for the boy. While one month of free services sounds like a lot, it really wasn’t, given that John Pulaski fit a sort of fetish where he was typically the giver and not the receiver in the type of relationships that he formed with his clients. And, here’s why; John Pulaski was also known as “Big John” and was 7’-1” tall. Big John specialized in an underground sex fetish known as “Being Jacked by the Giant,” a twisted affair, to say the least, but obviously a nitch that few could fill. For what was sometimes several hundreds of dollars Big John would perform masturbation on his male clients. It wasn’t something he prided himself on, though he was awesome at it, but it was something that kept food on the table and clothes on his back.
Gay Giant Jacking wasn’t Big John’s only occupation and it wasn’t long before he was taking the boy to what he called his “career” job; that as a featured attraction in Thomas and Rathbone’s Big Show Under the Big Top Traveling Circus. Big John also went by “John, The Living Totem Pole, Pulaski, Mass Murderer of the Midwest.” Charles T. Rathbone, owner and proprietor of Thomas and Rathbone’s Big Show Under the Big Top Traveling Circus (Thomas had died two seasons after they started their circus due to a bad case of camel fleas that just about shut down the Big Show’s operations, but that’s a story for another time) hired Big John to be the “tallest man” attraction in his circus, but a lot of traveling circus’ had “tallest man” attractions, some with even taller men then Big John, and Rathbone wanted his “tallest man” to be different.
Long before Big John joined the circus he had tattooed the faces of 4 men onto his chest, one stacked on top of the other, from his neck to his navel. To Big John each face represented a man he had loved, but to Rathbone the resembled a totem pole so he made up a story of how each face was that of a man Big John had murdered.
The crowd ate it up. The Ringmaster would start the show by telling the audience of Big John’s exploits, then the lights would go dim, and Big John would be brought into the center ring in chains for all to see. As the Ringmasted continued with the story they would rip open his shirt revealing the tattooed heads of his victims… at the end of the show Big John would break the chains and run wild in the arena before being recaptured before he killed some fair maiden in the audience. It was masterful.
Before long Richard was just another kid running around the show with the other circus performer’s kids. Often times Big John would take a day or two to visit a client and leave Richard with one of the other performers. Richard quickly learned that, in the circus, everyone is family. And, so he lived, traveling from town to town with a traveling circus, surrounded by all manners of man and woman whom he called family. When he was old enough Richard would became part of several acts and assisted with the set up and tear down of the tents, just like everyone else. He came to love the circus life. His sad sorry existence now had purpose.
At the age of 17 Richard learned that many a small town girl would do just about anything for free tickets to a show or ride on an elephants back late at night. Although he was not an outgoingly handsome man he always managed to find some young thing to spend a few hours with in the hay trailer in almost every town. But all these relationships lacked a certain quality that Richard longed to feel; that of a woman who loved him for what he was… an abandoned child who was raised in a circus.
In 1976, Charles Rathbone wanted to broaden the scope of his circus and added a carnival to go with his show. In each town the visited they would open the carnival Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday and have two circus shows on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. In doing so Rathbone brought in several games, rides, and… freaks of nature; The Worlds Heaviest Man, A Sword Swallower, A Fire Breathing Man, The Mummified Corpse of St. Bartholomew, and of course, The Bearded Lady.
Richard Chambers first noticed the back side of Vivian Wheeler as she was speaking to Mr. Rathbone by his office trailer , noting to a friend, “dammmnnnn that is one nice looking figure!” Vivian was dressed in a long silken skirt and a colorful form fitting tube top. Vivians long black hair flowed from her head down to the top of her bare shoulders and rested there like soft clouds. Richard found her figure very desirabl,e he wondered, in that split second, what her beautiful face would look like. And, almost as if on cue, Vivian turned around and revealed a 10” jet black beard.
Where most kids would turn in horror Richard simply stared with wonderment. All Richard had known most of his life was the odd “family” of the circus and a handful of summer evenings spent in a hay trailer with women of less desirable figures than the bearded woman that stood before him. “Richard,” Rathbone said, “I’d like you to meet Vivian Wheeler, do you think you could show her around.” And, that is how it started.
Richard started by showing her where the performers got themselves ready for the show, then the trailers in which they lived, they spent most of the afternoon strolling around the encampment while Richard introduced his new friend to the other performers and staff of the show. The visited and carried on through most of the night, each exchanging life stories as well as their hopes and dreams. Some would say it was love at first sight.
The other performers in the show could see it too. It was hard to miss; Richard and Vivian were together most of the day and usually all of the night. After only a few weeks they requested a portioned off room in one of the trailers together, like many of the couples that worked in the circus received. In a few months time they were inseparable. And, that is when Richards father figure, Big John, pulled the boy to the side and had a talk with him. “Richard,” he said, “It’s not easy being in love with a circus performer, especially one that is considered a “freak” by many of the people that pay to meet Mrs. Vivian. I know this sounds harsh, but you need to understand what you are getting yourself into. You will be ridiculed for your choices… trust me I know. I once loved a little normal man, his name was Mark. At first Mark and I were inseparable but as time went on Mark began to sort of resent me… he loved me, but he got tired of all the gay giant jokes… and let me tell you, there are plenty.”
“Really,” Richard asked, “there’s lots of gay giant jokes?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously… I haven’t heard any,” said Richard.
“Yes seriously,” said Big John.
“Tell me one,” asked Richard.
“Hey Shorty, where do you and your giant boyfriend like to go mountain climbing… the Him-a-lay-a’s.”
“That’s really weak.”
“I know,” said Big John, “but, I think you are missing the point… it will never stop. People will always make fun of you.”
Richard thought about what Big John was saying and thanked him for his advice, but his mind and heart had already made his decision for him. That night Vivian and him would consummate their love inside the trailer of one of the big trucks.
http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/bearded-lady-vivian-wheeler-finds-her-son-after-33-years/19631453
Lorenc was given up for adoption at the age of 7 by his father. Lorenc never knew his mother, as his father had taken him away from her shortly after his birth. It wasn't until recently that Lorenc found out that his mother was Vivian Wheeler, a semi-famous bearded lady from a traveling circus... since that moment Lorenc has met his mother and in just a few days will guest star on the Maury Povich Show when a DNA test will reveal the truch of their relationship... the world is on the edge of their seats waiting to hear the results.
But, there is another story that has yet to be told... the story of Vivian Wheeler and her jilted lover.
HOT SUMMER NIGHTS: A Carni Love Story
It was the summer of 1976 and for Richard Chambers life was as good as his life has ever been.
It was a magical time to be an American. The Country’s Bicentennial was just around the corner and soon the United States would be celebrating the 200th anniversary of Declaration of Independence. Radio stations around the country were blasting out hits from ABBA, Starland Vocal Band, and Paul McCartney and Wings. The Omen was scaring teens at every drive-in movie theater in the U.S. and everyone watching T.V. was hoping that they wouldn’t gong the The Unknown Comic. It was a free and easy time… and no one was living freer or easier than Richard Chambers.
Richard Chambers was born in 1956 in the town of Gothenburg, NE to Chuck and Lydia Chambers. Chuck farmed and worked as a part-time tractor repairman and Lydia was a homemaker. When Richard was 2 his family moved to Kearney, NE where his father took a job as a tractor salesman at the local John Deere dealership.
At the age of 5 Richards’s father was killed in a freak New Years Eve accident. Moments after the stroke of midnight the Chambers were in their front yard watching their neighbors shoot fireworks into the air when all of the sudden Chuck fell to the ground… dead. It seems a stray bullet fired from a gun in celebration of the New Year fell back to the earth entering at the crown of Chuck’s skull and exiting at the base of his neck through the spinal cord, killing him instantly. Oddly enough two other people were killed and three others wounded by the same event. A few days later a man was arrested who witnesses claim to have seen fire several drums worth of ammunition from a 1930’s era Tommy Gun while screaming “Happy New Year Mothersuckers… waHOOOOoo.” Drug and alcohol were more than likely a factor in his belligerent behavior.
Lydia was devastated; the happy and pleasant life that Richard had lived up to that moment ceased following the death of his father and would not return for some time. Lydia did the best she could, but having no transferable skills for employment or family of her own to fall back on, the life of relative comfort that she and her son had come to know quickly ended. Within the year Lydia and Richard were living out of the back of their wood sided station wagon traveling from town to town panhandling for food and gas money. It wasn’t long before Lydia turned to drugs to ease her pain, instead of buying Richard food she began to blow her money on refer and cocaine. Her new life style quickly changed her from friendly homemaker and mom to a wasted shell of a woman and sometimes prostitute.
Richards life took another dramatic change shortly after he turned 7. While wacked out on LSD at hotel in Pecos, Texas Lydia Chambers sold her son to a man named Pete Windsong for a “bag of weed and ¾ of a bottle of tequila” who in turn sold him to a gay man named John Pulaski for “services rendered.”
Now when you hear that a 7-year old boy is sold to a gay man, nothing good comes to mind, but in this case it was just the opposite. John Pulaski was no saint by any means, but he had a soft spot for kids and when he heard that his “regular Pecos guy” had “bought” a kid, well he just couldn’t take the thought of this boy being raised, beat, pimped, and abused by the type of man that Pete happened to be, so John traded one month of free services for the boy. While one month of free services sounds like a lot, it really wasn’t, given that John Pulaski fit a sort of fetish where he was typically the giver and not the receiver in the type of relationships that he formed with his clients. And, here’s why; John Pulaski was also known as “Big John” and was 7’-1” tall. Big John specialized in an underground sex fetish known as “Being Jacked by the Giant,” a twisted affair, to say the least, but obviously a nitch that few could fill. For what was sometimes several hundreds of dollars Big John would perform masturbation on his male clients. It wasn’t something he prided himself on, though he was awesome at it, but it was something that kept food on the table and clothes on his back.
Gay Giant Jacking wasn’t Big John’s only occupation and it wasn’t long before he was taking the boy to what he called his “career” job; that as a featured attraction in Thomas and Rathbone’s Big Show Under the Big Top Traveling Circus. Big John also went by “John, The Living Totem Pole, Pulaski, Mass Murderer of the Midwest.” Charles T. Rathbone, owner and proprietor of Thomas and Rathbone’s Big Show Under the Big Top Traveling Circus (Thomas had died two seasons after they started their circus due to a bad case of camel fleas that just about shut down the Big Show’s operations, but that’s a story for another time) hired Big John to be the “tallest man” attraction in his circus, but a lot of traveling circus’ had “tallest man” attractions, some with even taller men then Big John, and Rathbone wanted his “tallest man” to be different.
Long before Big John joined the circus he had tattooed the faces of 4 men onto his chest, one stacked on top of the other, from his neck to his navel. To Big John each face represented a man he had loved, but to Rathbone the resembled a totem pole so he made up a story of how each face was that of a man Big John had murdered.
The crowd ate it up. The Ringmaster would start the show by telling the audience of Big John’s exploits, then the lights would go dim, and Big John would be brought into the center ring in chains for all to see. As the Ringmasted continued with the story they would rip open his shirt revealing the tattooed heads of his victims… at the end of the show Big John would break the chains and run wild in the arena before being recaptured before he killed some fair maiden in the audience. It was masterful.
Before long Richard was just another kid running around the show with the other circus performer’s kids. Often times Big John would take a day or two to visit a client and leave Richard with one of the other performers. Richard quickly learned that, in the circus, everyone is family. And, so he lived, traveling from town to town with a traveling circus, surrounded by all manners of man and woman whom he called family. When he was old enough Richard would became part of several acts and assisted with the set up and tear down of the tents, just like everyone else. He came to love the circus life. His sad sorry existence now had purpose.
At the age of 17 Richard learned that many a small town girl would do just about anything for free tickets to a show or ride on an elephants back late at night. Although he was not an outgoingly handsome man he always managed to find some young thing to spend a few hours with in the hay trailer in almost every town. But all these relationships lacked a certain quality that Richard longed to feel; that of a woman who loved him for what he was… an abandoned child who was raised in a circus.
In 1976, Charles Rathbone wanted to broaden the scope of his circus and added a carnival to go with his show. In each town the visited they would open the carnival Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday and have two circus shows on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. In doing so Rathbone brought in several games, rides, and… freaks of nature; The Worlds Heaviest Man, A Sword Swallower, A Fire Breathing Man, The Mummified Corpse of St. Bartholomew, and of course, The Bearded Lady.
Richard Chambers first noticed the back side of Vivian Wheeler as she was speaking to Mr. Rathbone by his office trailer , noting to a friend, “dammmnnnn that is one nice looking figure!” Vivian was dressed in a long silken skirt and a colorful form fitting tube top. Vivians long black hair flowed from her head down to the top of her bare shoulders and rested there like soft clouds. Richard found her figure very desirabl,e he wondered, in that split second, what her beautiful face would look like. And, almost as if on cue, Vivian turned around and revealed a 10” jet black beard.
Where most kids would turn in horror Richard simply stared with wonderment. All Richard had known most of his life was the odd “family” of the circus and a handful of summer evenings spent in a hay trailer with women of less desirable figures than the bearded woman that stood before him. “Richard,” Rathbone said, “I’d like you to meet Vivian Wheeler, do you think you could show her around.” And, that is how it started.
Richard started by showing her where the performers got themselves ready for the show, then the trailers in which they lived, they spent most of the afternoon strolling around the encampment while Richard introduced his new friend to the other performers and staff of the show. The visited and carried on through most of the night, each exchanging life stories as well as their hopes and dreams. Some would say it was love at first sight.
The other performers in the show could see it too. It was hard to miss; Richard and Vivian were together most of the day and usually all of the night. After only a few weeks they requested a portioned off room in one of the trailers together, like many of the couples that worked in the circus received. In a few months time they were inseparable. And, that is when Richards father figure, Big John, pulled the boy to the side and had a talk with him. “Richard,” he said, “It’s not easy being in love with a circus performer, especially one that is considered a “freak” by many of the people that pay to meet Mrs. Vivian. I know this sounds harsh, but you need to understand what you are getting yourself into. You will be ridiculed for your choices… trust me I know. I once loved a little normal man, his name was Mark. At first Mark and I were inseparable but as time went on Mark began to sort of resent me… he loved me, but he got tired of all the gay giant jokes… and let me tell you, there are plenty.”
“Really,” Richard asked, “there’s lots of gay giant jokes?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously… I haven’t heard any,” said Richard.
“Yes seriously,” said Big John.
“Tell me one,” asked Richard.
“Hey Shorty, where do you and your giant boyfriend like to go mountain climbing… the Him-a-lay-a’s.”
“That’s really weak.”
“I know,” said Big John, “but, I think you are missing the point… it will never stop. People will always make fun of you.”
Richard thought about what Big John was saying and thanked him for his advice, but his mind and heart had already made his decision for him. That night Vivian and him would consummate their love inside the trailer of one of the big trucks.
And so it went; their days were spent getting ready for their shows and by night they would love one another inside one of the trucks or trailers of the circus and sleep inside their 6’x8’ partitioned room. For the next few months Richard lived the life he always wanted. He loved his work, he loved his bearded woman, and he loved his life.
When the circus season ended Richard and Vivian took some time off and went to Bakersfield, CA to visit one of Vivian’s childhood friends and ended up renting a small apartment. Much to Richards protest, Vivian shaved off her beard… she simply said, “it’s better this way.” He didn’t get what she meant, but he loved her and respected her decision. In time though he began to miss the beard; he missed the way it felt when they kissed, and he missed running his fingers through it when they laid together. And, even thought it was odd, he missed the way it looked, the way it made her eyes sparkle and the mystery of it all.
After the holidays Vivian quit shaving in preparation for the coming circus season and Richard was once again delighted to see the 5 o’clock shadow on his circus princess. By late winter her beard was already 2 inches long. Richard began to notice the stares from people when they went out about the town and hear the whispers from them as they were passed on the street. But he ignored it for he was in love.
When the circus season ended Richard and Vivian took some time off and went to Bakersfield, CA to visit one of Vivian’s childhood friends and ended up renting a small apartment. Much to Richards protest, Vivian shaved off her beard… she simply said, “it’s better this way.” He didn’t get what she meant, but he loved her and respected her decision. In time though he began to miss the beard; he missed the way it felt when they kissed, and he missed running his fingers through it when they laid together. And, even thought it was odd, he missed the way it looked, the way it made her eyes sparkle and the mystery of it all.
After the holidays Vivian quit shaving in preparation for the coming circus season and Richard was once again delighted to see the 5 o’clock shadow on his circus princess. By late winter her beard was already 2 inches long. Richard began to notice the stares from people when they went out about the town and hear the whispers from them as they were passed on the street. But he ignored it for he was in love.
One cool February morning Vivian shot out of bed and ran to the bathroom and vomited. After she threw up Richard helped her clean herself up, he wiped bits of vomit from her beard and asked if she was alright… she assured him she was fine…. until it happened the next 3 mornings. This prompted Vivian to go see a doctor. While waiting in the waiting room Richard encountered his first negative sentiment about Vivian’s beard from another man waiting in the room. The man would not stop staring and smiling at Richard until Richard asked what the man wanted… “Nothing,” the man said, “just wanted to know if the downstairs smile was covered with the same color of hair as the upstairs smile.” Richard left the room in disgust and went outside.
A short while later Vivian came out of the doctor’s office with a smile from ear to ear. “I’m pregnant,” she told Richard. He was overjoyed. They celebrated by buying some baby clothes and having a nice dinner that night.
In two months Vivian was already beginning to show and that is when Mr. Rathbone called and said they were ready to get the circus going again for the season. Richard and Vivian loaded up their belongings and spent 3 days traveling to El Paso, TX where the first show was scheduled to start. Upon arriving and after many celebratory greetings it was back to normal carnie life; setting up shows, performing, tearing down and moving to the next town.
Richard got a new detail for this years show. Given the delicate condition of his lover, Mr. Rathbone asked that Richard stand guard by her tent as she was performing, in case anyone tried to do anything to her. This made Richard very happy as they would be able to work together now and could see each other more. But little did he know this would also be the beginning of their demise.
Richard had never worked in a “freaks” tent, as they were called, but expected many “oohs,” and “ahhs,” even the occasional derogatory statement. Vivian instructed Richard to say nothing to anyone despite what was said to her. As a woman who had been shaving since her 15th birthday there was very little Vivian hadn’t heard and wasn’t able to spin back onto the person making the statement.
At first Richard enjoyed his new assignment. He found it very amusing to hear the retorts of his lover when ever anyone made a spectacle of her bearded face. “Who would kiss THAT,” a man would yell, to which Vivian would reply, “Your wife likes to feel the tickle on her cheek.” The crowd would laugh. Richard would laugh
And, then one day in the middle of the summer outside of Hays, KS it all changed. It was becoming more apparent that Vivian was pregnant when a spectator screamed, “oh my god, who would screw you?” The spectator’s sentiment caught on like a wild fire and before long people were pointing and laughing and making the ugliest comments that Vivian had ever heard… or her lover. “What man would kiss a woman with a beard?” “Is her lover gay or a bigger freak than she is?” “Who on earth would want to have sex with you?”
At first Richard was appalled. However, as his lover requested, he said nothing. But, after hours of torment and after noticing a tear in Vivian’s eyes Richard snapped at a man who had made the comment, “how does he know which lips to put it in… I mean seriously, who would f*** a bearded lady?” Richard punched the man right in the face. The man jumped over the rail and went after Richard both were clawing and punching the other. Vivian was in the middle of it all trying to break the fight up. The tent cleared, and police were called in. The man wanted to file charges, but Rathbone agreed to pay him a few hundred dollars to just walk away. Richard would not be allowed to work with Vivian again. However, unbeknownst to anyone other than Richard a greater damage was done, a simple thought was planted deep in Richards mind after that… who would f*** a bearded lady.
Unfortunately the ridicule did not end there. Attending the show that night was a freshman reporter for the Hays Sentinel. The next morning a story appeared in the paper explaining of the fight and of a “jilted lover’s protection of his bearded lass,” as the young reported eloquently spelled out. Form that moment on, preceding the arrival of Thomas and Rathbone’s Big Show Under the Big Top Traveling Circus, a small story would appear in the local paper of the fight and the two lovers. Of course Rathbone loved it. The story brought more people to the show then ever before. Richard suspected Rathbone even leaked the story prior to their arrival to whatever small town paper was present where they were performing. The town would show up in droves and wait for hours to see the pregnant bearded lady. Vivian soon reveled in her fame and was also being compensated by Mr. Rathbone for the increased attendance. She knew the money would come in handy after the baby was born.
Richard, however, did not take to the situation as Vivian did. He would hear the whispers of the people as they walked around the carnival concerning his lover and her condition. He would also be approached and asked if it was he who impregnated her. No pictures ever accompanied the articles so no one actually knew what the “jilted lover” looked like. But, that didn’t keep them from asking every employee they met. Over time his resentment for the situation grew. Vivian could sense something was wrong. Richard was quieter and showed less desire to spend time with her. Instead of venturing into town after a show with the rest of the carnies Richard would often just want to hang out in his “room.” When they would go to sleep at night a resounding voice would echo in Richards brain, “who would f*** a bearded lady?”
On one of the last few nights that the circus was performing before packing it up for the season Vivian was nearly shoved out of bed as Richard woke up violently screaming, “NOOOOOO!” Vivian quickly grabbed Richard and tried to calm him down but Richard just shoved her away, not wanting to be touched. He stood up at the edge of their room and said “I dreamt our baby was born with a full beard,” and then disappeared out the trailer and into the night. He was gone.
Vivian was devastated. She cried for several days and missed the last few appearances of the season. No one had seen Richard. Big John spent days combing the local towns and motels up and down the interstate searching for his adopted boy, but could not find him anywhere.
At seasons end Vivian got an apartment in a small town in Nebraska where several of the carnies’ stayed in the off season. That November she welcomed a baby boy, Richard Jr. He was perfect… and without beard. A month after returning to her apartment to care for her new born son someone knocked on her door.
It was Richard.
She leapt into his arms. And, at first he returned her embrace but soon pushed her away. He explained that he was not there to rekindle the relationship he once shared with her, but that he was there to be a father to the boy the two of them came together to create. He never had a real father, he explained, and he wanted his son to know that he was going to be there for him.
She was mortified. What about her? What had changed between them? Did he not love her anymore? What? She implored him to explain, and, at first, he refused, but soon told her… “I can not bear the shame of being chastised for sleeping with a bearded woman.” He apologized profusely but explained that he could not change his mind.
At that moment a muffled cry came from the next room.
It was baby Richard.
She walked into the baby’s room and Richard Sr. followed. It was the first time he saw his baby boy. Vivian picked the child up and began to cry herself, she was very distraught. She quickly handed the baby to Richard Sr. and left the room, explaining that , “I need a moment.” She retired to her room where she buried her face in the pillow on her bed sobbing uncontrollably. She cried herself to sleep.
The next morning she awoke to nothing but silence, which she thought strange, because she usually was up and down with the baby several times a night. She picked herself up out of bed, slipped on a robe, and walked into the baby’s room. Richard Jr. was not there. In the crib where he usually slept was a note that simply said, Sorry.
In a panic she fled from her apartment and went down the hall to one of her fellow carnies rooms and pounded on the door. She explained what happened and then collapsed to the floor in a crying fit. Her friend called several other carnie family members and searched the town. Big John was called in to help as well, but no one could find Richard Sr. or Richard Jr.
Vivian searched for years for her lost son. She spent many of those years depressed and in treatment. She would never see Richard Sr. again. As for Richard Jr…. well, we’ll leave that for the Maury Povich Show.
