Straight Life - Art Pepper [91]
I never did know how Patti met Remo. I just know that all of a sudden, there he was. She was in the valley then, and she came and left Patricia with us. She told me she was going over to get a divorce. She knew that if she waited until junior came back, she'd go back to him, and she'd had so much grief over him. And it wasn't because she didn't love him. I don't think she'll ever stop loving him. She still loves him. He's like a disease with her. But she knew she couldn't live that way anymore, and she knew treat if she didn't make it final, she'd take him back, and they'd start all over again. And they weren't good for each other. He couldn't live her way of life, and she couldn't live his.
John and Millie Noble
(John) Art and Patti were in school when I went into the service, and they got married before I got back. I can't talk about Patti too well. We never got along real good. Now it's different, but when she was a young girl she was always nosy to the point of being downright personal. She'd be around me for a little bit; it'd be okay for a few minutes; and then I'd try to get away from her because she'd start asking me about my girl friends and what we did and what time I got in and all this stuff, you know, that was absolutely none of her business. And, Christmastime or something, here's my presents all under the tree, and she couldn't wait to just tear 'em all up and see who sent me what. She'd go in my drawers and look at my love letters from my girl friends. She'd say, "I can't help myself." I used to get pretty vocally violent with her. I couldn't stand her for very long at a time.
I don't know how to describe her. Sometimes she was a witch to me. If she wanted to be, if. she applied herself, she had a pleasing personality, but most of the time she didn't apply herself. She was good-looking, and I guess she could have been called a good figure. She did model in San Francisco, I think it was. But it was hard for me to get close to her. She knew she was a nice-looking person. She had real nice eyes if she wanted to look at you and talk to you nice, but if she wanted to probe you, then I didn't like the way she looked. And she tried to probe everyone. But I lost track of them after Art started getting into trouble.
(Millie) We saw him down at Thelma and Moses' a couple of times. Remember, once he saw our little kid dancin', and he got such a big kick out of it, and he tried to talk Johnny into letting Jimmy take music lessons, and Johnny said, "No way in hell is my kid going to take music!"
(John) I followed Art's career, different places, and I associated a lot with those people. I wasn't in with them, but I was right alongside of them. I listened to them; I saw what they did. I just didn't want to encourage Jim to get into that type of entertainment field. There are some fine people, but you need a real straight, hard back and a good head.
You know what? In my opinion Art just didn't know how to say no. If someone'd come up to Art, even some of the times we'd go out together, "Well, John, I'll have to see you later. I'm going off with So-and-so." And I wouldn't argue with him. I'd say, "Okay, Art. See you later." He couldn't say no. Whether it was a man or a woman or what. If they got to talkin' with him and wanted him to do something, they'd keep persisting on him for a little bit, and he'd just break down. Away he'd go. He couldn't say no.
Before he started all that, shortly after he got home from the war, he was playing in San Diego-I can't remember the ballroom-and Patti wanted me to take her down there.