From: "Robert Borski" 
Subject: (urth) the dog-boy of Carnies Past
Date: Sun, 4 Aug 2002 12:53:58 -0500

Dog-determined Roy has written:

--Ah, yes. I had forgotten that the mysterious Mr. Mason was the father of
Candy and Arline, as well as Doris. That's another strike against the idea
that Weer was the father of Doris. So far as we know, Weer never married at
all, much less twice. It would also make him the father of Candy, which puts
another ugly twist on the girlie picture Charlie sent him. But then, why
does Charlie write: "Anyway, if you have any comments on the picture you
would like to make, go ahead and make them to me and I will pass them along
to Candy; she will be glad to hear from you."? Why should Candy be glad to
hear from Weer? Who is he to her? Surely not her father!--

But does the mysterious Mr. Mason even exist? As Charlie writes to Den
"[Doris] was a kid that belonged to Mr. Mason (whoever he was--I myself
never laid eyes on him and there were quite a few people around the lot that
would have given you nine to five that there never was one."

This to me suggests the strong plausibility that the notion of a "Mister
Mason"--at least in Doris's case--is a nom de convenience. Mrs. Mason needs
to explain where Doris has come from--she may have been or is being paid to
be her ward, and "Mister Mason" may have placed her in the carnival to rid
himself of the illegitimate child who may be a major embarassment for
him--especially if he's on-track to be a major town figure. (There's also
the potential of statutory rape charges if someone like Sherry Gold is
involved.)

Charlie also notes that "Mr. M." must have been quite a ladies' man. But
while lifetime bachelor Den Weer may not have bedded Margie Lorn, surely
Sherry Gold and Lois Arbuthnot were not his only sexual conquests--a virgin
well into his forties if indeed so.

Note too that "M" upside down is "W."

In other words I'll take that 9-to-5 bet.

Robert Borski



--