A/N: hello everybody. It has been a while since I last published a story here. Sadly, life happened to me and not in a great way, at all, either, with three tragedies impacting my life this past summer. Yet, with Ms. Dawn Wells crossing what would have been another year of life, her 84th, I have decided to write another birthday story about Mary Ann. This one takes place a few years after they would have been rescued from the island with Mary Ann now Mary Ann Gilligan and married to Gilligan-with children, too. Here, everyone is gathered together at the Gilligan residence for a huge birthday party intersected with a historical ongoing event which took place that very day 50 years ago. I meant for this to me a one-shot story, but then I started writing...and writing...and writing...and I am not finished yet. The conclusion will take place in the ensuing chapter. But for now, enjoy...and Happy Birthday to Ms. Dawn Wells!
The seven rescued castaways gathered in the Gilligan house to honor the youngest castaway of them all.
The Howells, The Hinkleys and their twin daughters, Valentina and Laura Ann, Skipper and his girlfriend, Maria Hernandez Ortega, were all there to mark the birthday of Mary Ann Gilligan. Her husband, William, had worked hard to put everything together. Endless Hors D'oeuvres, punch, pizza, hot dogs, and deviled eggs were the order of the occasion. Also, there were coconut cream pies made to order by the lady of honor on this fine evening.
And, of course, a giant birthday cake, with red, green, and milk chocolate frosting in honor of Mary Ann.
And, at the Gilligans were their son, Jonas, 3, and their daughters, Leilani, 1, and Lisa Ann, four months.
They gathered early that afternoon, just ahead of Game 4 of the World Series, being played up the coast in the East Bay area ship port city of Oakland, between the Cincinnati Reds and the Oakland Athletics. The squares vs the hairs, noted as Cincinnati was clean-cut and shaven, vs. the A's being with mustaches and beards, which many players had one or both of. One such Athletic in the latter category was one Reggie Jackson, the A's star right fielder. However, because he had injured his hamstring stealing home in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series vs. Detroit the week prior, he was out of this World Series.
Without Reggie, the A's were thought of being no match against the powerful Big Red Machine. However, the A's, behind the red-hot bat of one Gene Tenace, had taken the first two games of the series in Cincinnati, winning 3-2 and 2-1, respectively, giving Oakland a 2-0 series edge.
However, what was supposed to be Game 3 was washed away by a severe monsoon by the Bay, leading Game 3 to be played the evening of Mary Ann's birthday party.
Thing was, Skipper and William had business in the Bay area…and just so happened to have tickets to Game 3 that Tuesday evening. However, with the storm as horrid as it was, the two men decided to stay in a hotel that evening and, with Mary Ann's blessing, stayed on and watched Game 3 at the Coliseum that night, instead, with everyone agreeing to have the party to following evening on that Thursday, October 19th, instead. Thus, as Mary Ann and Ginger spent the actual birthday night watching that Game 3 on NBC-TV with the Gilligan and Hinkley children in tow, the captain of the S.S. Minnow and his first mate ended up being treated to a pitcher's duel between Cincinnati's Jack Billingham and Oakland's John "Blue Moon" Odom, in the first-ever World Series game played in the East Bay area. The Reds won that game, 1-0, to pull to within 2 games to 1 on the A's.
After the game, Skipper and William headed back home, driving all night inside of Skipper's baby blue Cadilac El Dorado, ready for a big, delayed party the following evening at the Gilligan's home.
The stage was all set.
However, there was, first, to be a musical interlude.
Mary Ann's keyboard prowess had grown quite prolifically. So much so, that her husband set up, just for her, a brand-new Moog synthesizer, which was a gift from the seven—plus five—of them all. Mary Ann, resplendent with her large afro adorning her head, wearing a leopard-print turtlenecked sleeveless minidress with matching leopard boots, large golden-hooped earrings, was overjoyed, adding this machine to the piano and organ she was already playing…and well!
"I am so very happy to receive this wonderful gift from each of you," Mary Ann said. "Thank you all, everyone." Mary Ann then kissed her husband, then each of the three men and women who were there in her presence, then going to kiss her twin nieces, Roy and Ginger's children, and the three children she had with her beloved William.
"You are welcome, honey," William said. "We love you honey; I love you. And we want only the best for you! And this Moog will help you to grow in being your best. To help you be the best musician, wife, mother, girlfriend, and friend that you can be."
"So, what do you say?" Mr. Howell said, "how about singing Happy Birthday while you play your new instrument?"
"Oh, Thurston, that sounds like a lovely idea," Mrs. Howell concurred.
"So why don't we gather around?" Roy said.
"Yes, let's," Maria said.
"Here you go, birthday girl," Skipper said, gesturing his little buddy's lady to sit at the bench to play her new instrument.
Just as Mary Ann began playing Happy Birthday, Ginger suddenly came forward in a rather seductive way to lead the song.
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday, dear girlfriend, Happy Birthday to you!"
As the other six applauded, Ginger and Mary Ann shared a kiss on the lips.
"I love you, Mary Ann," Ginger said.
"I love you more, Ginger," Mary Ann said, the girlfriends kissing on the lips once more.
"I just want to thank you all for this lovely gift," Mary Ann said, with Ginger sitting next to her on the bench, "this is something I have always wanted and this will help me grow, musically, as well as help me further bond with our children. I have so much music inside of me that I have been waiting to get out of me and this Moog will help me do that."
"So, do you have anything you wish to play before the game starts?" William asked his wife.
"Yes, honey," Mary Ann said, smiling, "I have just the thing in my mind."
On that note, Mary Ann broke into a song written by Stevie Wonder and performed by his wife, Syreeta Wright, called, Black Maybe. With Stevie now 22 years old, in complet control of the million dollar trust fund he had accumilted through ten years of work at Motown, a new, stronger, mature, adventurous Stevie was emerging. And, as she began to emerge as a professional musican in her own right, Mary Ann Gilligan was emerging, too. Now only with her appearance and her keyboard playing, but her singing, as well. A soft albeit audible purr, Mary Ann had finally found her voice and was happy with what she had discovered. As Mary Ann started, the music filled the entire house. As Roy held Laura Ann in his arms, Maria had Valentina. William held baby Lisa Ann, while playing the congas with his youngest daughter in his arms. Skipper had his namesake in his arms; Mr. Howell had Leilani, Mrs. Howell with her hand on the eldest Gilligan daughter.
Mary Ann was playing the song just as it sounded on the record itself. The song sounded rather autobiographical, as Mary Ann sang, "Black Maybe or maybe, it's just what you say…" As Mary Ann continued to sing, she ended up going to places and parts unknown. The song speaks to Black identity in a world where many Blacks are finding themselves set and secure in their identities as Black people. This was something Mary Ann always knew of herself, yet, in becoming further self-aware since marrying William and having children with him, the fact that they not only had children together, but was loved by a man who loved her for all that she was, even being Black, allowed her confidence as a woman, wife and mother to grow in the years they had been together as a couple and married—as well as parents.
Considering that her Black identity did not become known until they had been on the island for years, the other castaways thought about their knowing Mary Ann during this time, seeing her go from a cordial, friendly farm girl with pigtails to an afroed woman of further confidence, sophistication and depth. The contents felt very strong and as biographical, to them, as it was Mary Ann…especially relative to her marriage to William, when it came to drying his tears from all of those years on the island and even now with all the happiness, they had with themselves, each other, and their family. From tears of sadness to tears of gladness.
When the song finished, the party of 12 applauded the birthday girl.
"That was very good, dear," Mrs. Howell said.
"Bravo," Mr. Howell said, respecting how much Mary Ann had grown—as well as himself, as well. He was very comfortable around the woman Mary Ann had become.
"That was good, Mary Ann," Skipper said.
"Yes, that was as good as Stevie and Syreeta's record," Maria said.
"I really got into how well your soul was touched by your playing and singing, Mary Ann," Roy said.
"As I always am, dear," Ginger said, kissing her girlfriend on the lips.
From there, Ginger took her girlfriend by the hand and walked them into the special TV area which their house was set up with to watch Game 4. William had Leilani in his arms, while Skipper held little Jonas in one arm, girlfriend, Maria, in another. Mrs. Howell had Lisa Ann in her arms, while Mr. Howell carried Valentina in his arms, while Roy had Laura Ann in his. It was remarkable the unique bond Roy had with the twin daughter in his arms—everyone agreeing that she was so much like him already, even at nearly a year-and-a-half.
Game 4 started off a scoreless pitcher's duel between Cincinnati's Don Gullett and Oakland's Ken Holtzman. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, the scoreless duel was broken by the series' breakout star.
With one out, Oakland's Gene Tenace came up to face Gullett. Mary Ann and William surmised.
"I think he's due, honey, what you do think?" William asked his wife.
"I think he is up for a home run, baby," Mary Ann said, "he is due right now."
"No way," Roy said. "Those two home runs in Game 1 were a fluke. The man doesn't have it in him for another one. He only hit five during the regular season. What makes you think he'll hit one now?"
"Intuition," Mary Ann said, smiling towards her girlfriend's husband.
"Yeah," William said.
"And you are going right along with her, aren't you, Gilligan?" Skipper asked.
"Why not? I always stand by my woman," William said.
"That you do, boyfriend," Ginger said, with a sly smile on her face, implying that William was as much with his girlfriend on that matter as well as his wife. Their bond had obviously strengthened between the three of them even more now that they were all married with children, who were all being raised closely together with one another. "I can feel something big about to happen here, too," Ginger added in unison with her fellow loving couple.
On that very pitch, something did.
Tenace parked a pitch deep down the left field line and over the fence, in fair territory, for a home run, his third of the series, giving the A's a 1-0 lead. Mary Ann and William cheered in unison, jumping up and down in the presence of their children and the rest of their castaway family. Ginger smiled in admiration at them. The fireworks which went off at the Coliseum drew Jonas and Leilani to the television with immediate excitement.
"Look, Thurston, the children are loving the fireworks on TV," Mrs. Howell observed with a smile.
"Yes, they are," Mr. Howell grumbled, having bet some money on the Reds to win this series, especially once it was learned there would be no Reggie Jackson playing for the A's.
"So, what was that about Tenace not being able to hit another home run in this series, Professor?" William asked.
"So, he did," Roy said, also pulling for the Reds in this series—as was Skipper. Mrs. Howell and Ginger were neutral. Maria was going for the underdog A's. She applauded the Tenace HR, as well. "Just remember, Will, this game, and Series, is far from over. We will hear from the Reds again—and soon."
"We'll see," William said.
"Yeah," Mary Ann said, feeling confident the A's were going to get this done.
"Yeah," Skipper said, defiantly.
During the seventh inning stretch, after munching on all the food, which was laid out for the party, portions of which were reheated after the actual party itself was called off thanks to the Bay area monsoon, it was decided to cut Mary Ann's birthday cake at that time. Thus, the entire crowd gathered around to sing Happy Birthday to the erstwhile Kansas farm girl, who blew out the candles her husband and girlfriend had put together after the 6th inning. Then, they cut the cake and enjoyed that as action resumed in the bottom of the seventh inning with the A's still up, 1-0, on Tenace's home run.
Then came the eighth inning.
With the pitcher's duel still in progress between two of baseball's better left-handers, Cincinnati's Gullett and Oakland's Holtzman, Reds shortstop Dave Conception leads off with a single to deep shortstop. Then, with the pitcher's spot due up, Gullett was pinch-hit for by Julian Javier, who had been a member of three World Series teams with the St. Louis Cardinals while the castaways were shipwrecked—two of them on the winning side. Javier successfully sacrificed Conception over to second base for the first out of the inning. Then came Pete Rose, the man opposing fans loved to boo whenever he came to the plate.
"Yeah, here's Pete Rose. He is due for a big hit, right now," Skipper said.
"I bet you he comes through," Mr. Howell said.
"We'll see," Mary Ann said.
"Yeah, we'll see," William said.
"Right," Maria said.
Rose then proceeded to hit a comebacker to the mound—with the ball ricocheting over to A's second baseman Dick Green, who threw to first base to retire Rose, with Conception moving to first base.
With two out, and two left-handed batters awaiting, A's manager Dick Williams, who had managed the Boston Red Sox to the 1967 World Series during their infamous Impossible Dream season, which even gripped the castaways during their time on the island, along with everyone else on the mainland, decided to bring some left-handed fire power on in relief of Holtzman.
In came the one, the only…Vida Blue.
One year ago, Vida had been the toast of baseball—and the world. Following a severe opening day loss in Washington against the Senators, Blue hauled off to win his next nine starts en route to an 18-3 start, leading him to become the American League's starting pitcher in the 1971 All-Star Game, which was more known for Reggie Jackson's mammoth home run blast which was a rightfield light transformer away from cleaning the roof at Tiger Stadium—the same place which took his hamstring from him last week during Game 5 of the ALCS. Vida cooled a bit during the second half, but still managed to put up a 24-8 record with a 1.82 ERA and 301 strikeouts, enough to be elected both the Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards for that season.
He believed he deserved to be paid for his great season for 1971. Thus, when he tried to renegotiate with A's owner Charlie Finley, things did not go so well. Thus, he missed Spring Training, got to a late start, and as well as he managed to pitch whenever he did, his numbers dropped significantly to 6-10 in 1972, with a 2.80 ERA and 111 strikeouts. Despite these numbers, all was not bad for Vida—four of his six wins were shutouts. Regulated to the bullpen for the postseason, Vida had fared well: in four ALCS games vs. the Tigers, Vida pitched 5.1 innings of scoreless relief—taking over from John "Blue Moon" Odom to hold Detroit at bay, in earning the save in the deciding fifth game of the ALCS, the A's winning, 2-1, taking the pennant in five games—the first time the series had gone the full five-game maximum. In the World Series, Vida pitched the final 2.1 innings of relief, getting the save in Game One over the Reds, 3-2. Vida had pitched the night before in one-third of an inning of scoreless relief.
Now, he was back to try and get the final out of this inning to get the A's to the bottom of the eighth with their one-run lead intact.
"Come on, Vida," William said, "get Morgan out," referring to the next batter up for the Reds, Joe Morgan, a left-handed batting second baseman who was the focal point of a major trade the year before at the baseball winter meetings. The Reds acquired Morgan from the Houston Astros, along with pitcher Jack Billingham (who had pitched the night before in the game William and Skipper had seen at the Coliseum), third baseman Dennis Menke, outfielders Ed Armbrister and Cesar Geronimo, in exchange for first baseman Lee May, shortstop Jimmy Stewart, and second baseman Tommy Helms. The move help reinvigorate the Red Machine, decimated by injuries in 1971, back to the top of the baseball heap. Now, here they were in the World Series—with Morgan helping to lead the way.
"Let's go, Vida!" Mary Ann said, letting out a big whoop in the process. Being left-handed herself, Mary Ann had an affinity to Vida's success and read everything about him she could get her hands on. You name it: magazines, newspapers, books, etc.…she and William were there.
"Let's see what Vida does this time," Skipper said with a snide snarl.
"Hear hear," Roy said.
Vida's first customer was Morgan. His arm-flapping ways were observed keenly by Mrs. Howell.
"Why does that man flap his arm like that when he is batting, Thurston?" she asked her husband.
"That's his way of being able to hit the ball, dear," Mr. Howell said, smiling.
"Early on in his career, he had problems keeping his elbow down when he swung the ball," Skipper said, recalling seeing Morgan play earlier in his career with the then-Houston Colt .45's, prior to his being shipwrecked.
"Then it was Nellie Fox who suggested he flap his left arm when at bat to help him keep the bat up when at the plate," Roy said. "That is what helped him develop into the hitter he has become."
"The same Nellie Fox who played for the White Sox?" Mary Ann asked.
"One in the same," the educator said. "They were teammates in Houston. Joe was just getting started as Nellie was winding down his career."
"And I remember seeing Nellie play, he was a stocky as Joe Morgan here is," Mary Ann said.
"Exactly," Roy said.
"Sure was," Maria said, recalling seeing both Fox and Morgan playing for those early Houston teams.
This time, Blue lost the battle to Morgan by walking the batter.
That brought up Bobby Tolan to the plate. The centerfielder, brought over from St. Louis, along with pitcher Wayne Granger, in the deal with sent outfielder Vada Pinson to the Cardinals in 1969, came into his own with in Cincinnati after being a reserve outfielder on those Cardinals teams which went to the World Series in the two previous seasons prior to the trade. With his new team, Bobby had been an impact player for the Reds for two seasons before a ruptured Achilles, during an off-season basketball game, cost him the 1971 season. Now, he was back, helping the Reds back to the series with a change to impact this game nicely.
"Now, if anyone is due here, it is Tolan," Skipper said.
"Yes, he is due to get a base hit right here," Mr. Howell said.
Which is exactly what Tolan did.
The Reds centerfielder drilled a double down the rightfield line, scoring both Conception and Morgan, giving the Reds a 2-1 lead. Though Holtzman walked Conception to begin the 8th inning, Blue gave up the walk to Morgan, and now, the double to Tolan putting Cincinnati ahead.
"Yeah," Skipper said, in cheering the big Tolan double. The Gilligans were silent with their disappointment.
"Say, isn't he related to that man from the Olympics?" Mrs. Howell asked about Tolan.
"Yes, I believe so," Mr. Howell said.
"He is," Roy said. "His cousin was the Midnight Express, Eddie Tolan."
"Really?" William asked. "What Olympics was he in?"
"The 1932 Games, here in Los Angeles," Mr. Howell said.
"Did he win any medals?" Ginger asked.
"Yes, honey, the 100 and the 200" Roy answered his wife.
"He was also the first non-white man to be named The World's Fastest Human in his time," Mary Ann added.
"I remember his exploits when I was a boy in those years, as well," Skipper said.
"Is he still alive?" William asked.
"I think he passed away a few years ago," Maria said.
"He did," Roy said, "while we were still on the island."
"Then that wasn't too long ago," Ginger said.
"Not at all, my love," Roy answered his wife.
Blue got Johnny Bench, the Reds ace catcher, to fly out to centerfield to end the inning. But by then, the damage was done. Cincinnati now led the game, 2-1, heading for the bottom of the eighth inning.
Pedro Borbon came on in relief of Gullet to hold the A's scoreless in the bottom of the eighth.
Then came the 9th inning.
