Chapter 28.
It was a five-block walk from where they left the three Eds. Rolf, Johnny, and Jimmy were both excited – yet apprehensive - about going to the most hallowed place on Earth for an Urban Ranger. While they were regretting not taking their uniforms with them on this trip, it was still nonetheless something of a pilgrimage, and thus they were not taking things lightly.
"Don't worry, Rolf", Johnny said reassuringly, "if you endured getting the Hairy Chest of Resilience badge, meeting the Grand Poohbah himself should be a breeze by comparison".
"Johnny's right, Rolf", Jimmy echoed, "you have really done things that very few Rangers worldwide could claim to match".
Rolf nodded, but he was still clearly nervous. He had called ahead on his cell-phone earlier to see if the originally scheduled meeting at 2 pm could be moved up, and surprisingly the request had been granted. Rolf believed in the old adage of 'the sooner, the better', but now he was wondering if it would have been better to have waited until the afternoon.
"Personally, I'm glad that we are seeing him earlier as I don't think I could wait another three hours myself", Johnny said. Rolf nodded without speaking.
They were now on Dover Street. They had spared a minute to look at the impressive façade of the Ritz Hotel, but now they were looking for a certain two-story Victorian style building. Jimmy saw it first.
"There's the flag!", Jimmy exclaimed as he pointed to a flagpole where the unmistakable sky-blue swallow-tailed flag - upon which was a white disc and a depiction of a hand showing the sign-language letter 'L' – of the Urban Rangers was flying. While Jimmy and Johnny were smiling at the sight, Rolf looked decidedly pale.
"Rolf, you're not about to faint, are you?" Jimmy asked with some anxiety.
"This son of a shepherd is about to visit the hallowed place and see his hero", Rolf said shakily, "Rolf is so… so… so…".
"We're nervous too, Rolf", Johnny said, "but this is something to be cherished; not feared. Live for the moment".
Rolf looked at Johnny and nodded, calming down some. Johnny had said to Rolf the basic credo that Rolf had lived by in the old country of Lapland. Worrying too much about the future was unproductive, so one really must live for the moment…
Taking a deep breath, Rolf gestured for them to go up to the building. When they got there, they saw a brass plate on the front door that read: HEADQUARTERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF THE URBAN RANGERS. Rolf took another deep breath, then pushed the doorbell.
After a few seconds, the door opened, A middle-aged portly man in butler livery appeared in the doorway and looked at the three teens.
"Mr. Xhuxha, I presume?" the butler inquired. Rolf nodded, his nervousness reappearing, despite the butler pronouncing his name correctly. Not many people could do that.
"The Grand Poohbah is expecting you, Mt. Xhuxha", the butler said with a smile, but may I enquire as to the identity of your colleagues?"
"Yes, Yes", Rolf replied, "This is Johnny Toubafor, and Jimmy Fitch. Both of them are Urban Rangers in the same chapter as Rolf's".
The butler nodded. He had been briefed earlier about Rolf's people mentioning themselves in the third person.
"Please come in, all of you", the butler said, standing by for all of them to enter.
After they entered, the butler closed the door. The butler then gestured for them to sign the visitor's book. All three of them did so, along with their Urban Rangers chapter number, and their own membership numbers..
After signing in, the three teens looked around and saw in the entry hall a lot of memorabilia on the walls and on display tables. Old uniforms, flags, charts of the various badges and medals that the Urban Rangers had to offer, photographs, etc. One item that was set aside in its own display case was an original first edition Urban Rangers manual that had been the property of the first Grand Poohbah. Beside it was a piece of parchment that bore a few signatures. Rolf knew the significance of that paper. It was the main reason for his being here.
"Please remain here and I will announce your presence to the Grand Poohbah", the butler said as he left the teens in the foyer.
"Look at all of this history", Jimmy said was he looked at the various items.
Rolf wasn't looking at those. He was looking down at his hands, which were shaking some. Johnny took note, saying "You'd better get that shaking under control, Rolf, or your signature is going to be illegible".
Johnny gestured to the parchment in the case beside the manual. Only those persons who had earned the Hairy Chest of Resilience badge and made the 'pilgrimage' to Urban Rangers HQ could sign that parchment. Rolf nodded, and went over to the display case to look at the cherished document. It only bore five signatures. The fifth signature was that of the current Grand Poohbah himself.
"Only six persons have ever attained that badge, Rolf, and you're one of them", Jimmy breathed, "I can't imagine a higher honor for any Urban Ranger to achieve than to add one's name to the Resilience Recipient Parchment".
"Except perhaps for a holder of the Hairy Chest of Resilience badge finally being able to meet a fellow holder of the badge", a new voice suddenly said.
All three of them turned to see an elderly gentleman dressed in a rather old-fashioned tweed suit enter the foyer from an inner room. He had a large handle-bar mustache and was smoking a pipe. His polished brown riding boots and brass tip of his walking stick clicked on the wood floor of the foyer. They all knew who he was. Rolf, Johnny, and Jimmy stood to attention and rendered the Urban Rangers salute of the 'L' hand sign on the forehead.
Lord Cyril Payton-Bowell – Grand Poohbah of the International Brotherhood of the Urban Rangers – returned the salute, then offered his hand to Rolf. Nervously, Rolf shook the offered hand.
"It is indeed an honor for this son of a shepherd to finally meet the Grand Poohbah", Rolf stammered out, "and this son of a shepherd would still feel the same way even if the Grand Poohbah did not have the Hairy Chest of Resilience Badge".
"On the contrary, Rolf Xhuxha", Lord Payton-Bowell countered, "the honor is mine. I never thought I'd be able to personally shake the hand of a fellow recipient of the Hairy Chest of Resilience badge in my lifetime".
After that, he warmly shook Johnny's and Jimmy's hands, welcoming them to the headquarters. Both of them mumbled their greetings as – like Rolf – they were humbled to be in the presence of this man.
Johnny and Jimmy had noticed that on the lapel of Lord Payton-Bowell's suit, he wore two pins: one was that worn by all Urban Rangers, and the other a miniature of the Hairy Chest of Resilience badge. Rolf was wearing those same two pins on his shirt. The only persons on Earth currently living who had earned the privilege of doing so were in the same room. Both Johnny and Jimmy were clearly aware of the significance of the moment. They wore their Ranger membership pins as well and were proud to do so at this particular place.
"You know, usually Urban Rangers who visit the Headquarters wear their uniforms", Lord Payton-Bowell said conversationally as he gestured for the three teens to enter his study, "but I must confess, I rather prefer seeing visiting Rangers wearing civilian clothing. I do prefer the informality at times".
Rolf breathed a sigh of relief. So did Jimmy and Johnny. The actual reason why they did not have their Urban Ranger uniforms with them was that they only had field uniforms. They did not have the formal dress uniforms which would have been proper attire for such a visit. The dress uniforms were prohibitively expensive. Only Jimmy had any part of a dress uniform and that was the archaic-looking dress hat which he shared with the others at various times. He last wore that hat during the contest between Eddy and Rolf for the Hairy Chest of Resilience badge.
All three of them were dressed casually - though not shabbily – and even though the Grand Poohbah had been notified ahead of time that they would be in civvies, they were still apprehensive as to his reaction. Lord Payton-Bowell's words put them at ease.
Lord Payton-Bowell gestured for them to sit down in comfortable chairs in front of his desk. As he went behind his own desk and sat down, the butler entered, carrying a tray holding cups of tea and small sandwiches. A small jug of milk and a plate filled with sugar cubes were also on the tray.
"Thank you, Jeeves", Lord Payton-Bowell said to him as the tray was placed on the desk, "that will be all. You can start getting things set up...". Jeeves nodded, then left the room.
Turning to the teens, Lord Payton-Bowell then said, "please help yourselves".
As the teens took their tea and a sandwich each, Lord Payton-Bowell said with a smile, "I rather suspect that the reason why you had our meeting moved up was to avoid any planned formal ceremony, would that be the case, Rolf?, he asked with a smile.
"Actually, Grand Poohbah", Rolf replied, "it was because Rolf did not think that he could still stay conscious waiting until two P.M."
Lord Payton-Bowell laughed. Jimmy and Johnny chuckled as well.
"I'm not the Pope, Rolf", Lord Payton-Bowell said, "and I don't bite. And I want to say to you all that I've looked over the record logs for your chapter and I am very proud of the way that you've run the Peach Creek chapter. Even if you hadn't earned the badge, Rolf, your chapter has set a fine example for other chapters around the world to emulate".
"Thank you, Sir", Rolf replied proudly. Jimmy and Johnny echoed Rolf's thanks.
"And as for formalities, the only ceremony we'll be doing is for you to sign the Resilience Recipient Parchment, and Jeeves will take a photograph of you doing so, and also for the manual holding. We have a uniform jacket for you to wear for the signing and the holding for the benefit of the photographer".
"Any chance we can get photographs of all us with you, Grand Poohbah?", Jimmy asked, holding up his cell phone.
"Consider it done, Jimmy", Lord Payton-Bowell replied, "but first, let's chat about other things whilst we enjoy Jeeves' tea and sandwiches".
"Make sure we all leave room for lunch when we leave", Rolf said to Jimmy and Johnny, "The Ed Boys and Kevin will be expecting us when we are done here".
With that, Lord Payton-Bowell and the three teens chatted for about a half-hour about their own histories. Lord Payton-Bowell told them about his time as a teen in the Urban Rangers and his own efforts in earning the Hairy Chest of Resilience badge. Jimmy and Johnny told him about their school and suburban activities with the Rangers, whilst Rolf filled the Grand Poohbah in on his own efforts. The teens got their informal photo-ops done with him as well. Rolf also filled Lord Payton-Bowell in on their experiences thus far on the vacation with their friends.
"So one of the persons you'll be having lunch with today was the one who challenged you for the Hairy Chest of Resilience badge?" Lord Payton-Bowell asked. Rolf nodded.
"He was making a dare, which made for a great motivator", Rolf replied with a nod, "it all came down to which one of us stayed conscious the longest. It was actually one second's difference between the two of us".
"Hmmm", Lord Payton-Bowell commented, "as the challenger was not an Urban Ranger, what did you give him for trying?"
"Uh, the Cry-Baby Boo-Hoo Badge", Johnny replied with some embarrassment, "as he wasn't a Ranger, we could not give him the 'Gave-It-Your-Best-Shot' Badge".
"Considering all that he and Rolf went through, giving him that badge was rather small beer, and somewhat demeaning as a consolation prize", Lord Payton-Bowell said with some distaste. None of the teens replied to the rebuke. Even though Lord Payton-Bowell said it rather casually, they got the message loud and clear.
"Well, let's rectify that right now", Lord Payton-Bowell announced after a few seconds of silence.
He opened up his desk drawer and pulled out a document. Asking for Eddy's full name – which Jimmy supplied – he quickly put Eddy's name on the document – which was a certificate blank – then signed it with a flourish. He then put it in an envelope.
"Please be sure to give this to Mr. McGee when you see him", Lord Payton-Bowell said as he gave it to Rolf. Rolf nodded.
"Well", Lord Payton-Bowell said as he stood up, "now that we have finished snacking, let's get the ceremony under way".
As the three teens stood, Lord Payton-Bowell pushed a button on his desk. The door opened, and Jeeves walked in, carrying a camera, and an Urban Rangers dress uniform tunic and hat. Rolf quickly donned the tunic and hat, while Lord Payton-Bowell put on a scarlet sash that denoted his position as the incumbent Grand Poohbah.
After he adjusted his sash and quickly checked himself in a mirror, Lord Payton-Bowell and Jeeves went out into the foyer. Rolf, Jimmy and Johnny followed them.
The parchment had been removed from the display case by Jeeves a few minutes earlier and was now sitting atop it with an old-fashioned fountain pen and ink well beside it. Rolf looked down at his hands. He was still shaking a little.
"Let us all bear witness to this ceremony, to formally recognize Mr. Rolf Xhuxha, Urban Ranger of the Peach Creek Chapter, and Recipient Number Six of the Hairy Chest of Resilience Badge for his achievement", Lord Payton-Bowell said formally. He then gave the salute to Rolf. Rolf returned it, then picked up the pen. Jeeves started taking pictures.
Jimmy and Johnny saluted (though with Johnny holding up his cell phone in his left hand recording the event) as Rolf dipped the pen into the inkwell, then carefully wrote his signature beneath Lord Payton-Bowell's. For his part, the Grand Poohbah remembered the time – over fifty years previously – when he had signed his name on that parchment. Rolf then put the pen back into its holder. Rolf then saluted the Grand Poohbah.
"You know", Lord Payton-Bowell said after acknowledging Rolf's salute, "I really don't like how our salute is now being interpreted. The 'L' - as you all know - stands for 'Loyalty', yet thanks to U.S. television and movies, people think it means 'Loser'. But despite that misconception, I don't ever want it changed as history matters more than media".
With that, Lord Payton-Bowell put the document back into the display case. He then took out the manual and had Rolf place his hand on it. Jeeves took the formal picture of them both in that pose.
"It is done", Lord Payton-Bowell formally intoned. With that, he put the manual back in the case, then shook Rolf's hand. Both Jimmy and Johnny did likewise to Rolf. Jeeves placed the parchment back into the display case next to the manual.
"All of you have earned the Headquarters Pilgrimage badge", Lord Payton-Bowell said as he passed a badge to each of them, "wear it with honor. It has been an honor to meet you all, especially you, Rolf. I hope that the upcoming Urban Rangers International Jamboree in Detroit, Michigan, next year will be graced with your appearance".
"You can count on it, Grand Poohbah", Rolf said with a smile.
"We'll be there too, Grand Poohbah", Jimmy and Johnny said as well. Lord Payton-Bowell smiled.
"Well, the ceremony is over, so I don't want to hold you up any longer. Please rejoin your friends and enjoy your vacation. Thank you all once again for coming, and I'll be seeing you at the Jamboree", Lord Payton-Bowell said in farewell.
As Rolf took off the uniform tunic and hat and gave them to Jeeves, he said to both Jimmy and Johnny, "This is a day that Rolf will never forget, yes?"
"I don't think any of us will ever forget this day, Rolf", Jimmy said, "But let's go meet up with the others, and don't forget that document for Eddy", he reminded him. On that note, they exited the headquarters for the walk back to Piccadilly Circus.