Micky Dolenz met Peter Tork when Micky was 12 and Peter was 14 at a pinball place.
They ran into each other one day by accident and Micky began to realize he saw Peter at the pinball place every Wednesday. He asked if Peter wanted to hang out while they were there. Peter thought this Micky guy was pretty cool, so he quickly said he did. About two weeks later Micky saw Peter at his junior high. He asked if he went there, and Peter informed him that he did; in fact he was only one grade ahead of Micky! Peter one day began hanging out with Micky’s friends and that began the long term friendship of Micky and Peter all the way through school. Micky’s friends thought it was very cool that they had a older kid hanging out with them and when they got to high school Micky sought out Peter to come hang out with them some more. Unfortunately Peter hadn’t really gotten over his childlike behavior and soon it seemed as though people were ignoring Micky and his group of friends a little. Micky’s friends soon came to him asking if they could kick Peter out of their group of friends. Micky only laughed and said of course not, Peter was his best friend. High school with Peter continued like that, with questions of why Micky hung out with Peter, but Micky only laughed it off.
Soon Peter was going to graduate and neither Micky nor Peter wanted to lose contact so they promised to keep hanging out and calling each other. It was only about a week later when Peter graduated.
For a while this strategy worked, and they called each other from time to time. Micky found out Peter had joined a band called The Jolly Green Giants, and though they never actually saw each other, Micky and Peter stayed fairly close. Sadly, one day Peter seemed to just cut off all contact with Micky and no matter how much Micky called, Peter didn’t call back. That, and Peter would somehow forget Micky was still in school and would call during school hours. After about three months, Micky gave up on his friendship with Peter and though he always had thought of them being brothers, he figured even brothers may lose contact someday. Micky decided to focus on family and high school friends more, and put his past behind him. Soon the friendship with Peter was left far behind, but Micky still had an inkling of hope Peter would one day contact him again.
The first day after Micky graduated was a bright, sunny, not too smoggy, Burbank, California day. The last day of high school for Micky Dolenz had happened only the day before, and he was happily enjoying his freedom. Soon, he figured, he’d be off to college and then be working sort of hard again. ‘Until then, though, I’m going to relax as much possible!’ Micky promised himself as he lounged on the couch watching TV, and gobbling up a bag of potato chips.
The phone rang loudly, interrupting Micky’s dreamy thoughts and his little sister Coco came into the room, “It’s for you Micky, remember Peter Tork?” she asked smiling.
“It’s not him?!” Micky had hoped Peter would call him for the last year, and his sister knew that, but Micky had given up on Peter. “You’re joking!?” he answered the phone and Coco stood back and smiled.
“Hey Micky? It’s Peter, remember me?!” Peter said hopefully.
“Peter, I can’t believe it! It’s great to hear from you,” Micojageo, Micky’s dog, came running into the room barking. “Shh, could you take him outside?” Micky asked Coco who quickly ushered the dog outside.
“Hey, why aren’t you in school?” Peter asked suddenly.
“I graduated yesterday,” Micky told him.
“Oh… Happy graduation!” Peter called loudly into the receiver.
“So, how’s The Jolly Green Giant’s?” Micky asked.
“Well… About that…” Peter said slowly, “That’s kind of why I’m calling. They left and now I have this really big beach house by the ocean, but I don’t think I can keep it if I can’t keep paying the rent. Everyone’s all gone, and I just wanted to be in a band, and I don’t know where to go or what to do!” Peter sounded very upset. “I don’t think the landlord likes me too much either…”
“Hey, it’s okay Pete, it’s in Malibu right? Why don’t I just go up there and we’ll straighten things out.” Micky said without really thinking. The minute it was out of his mouth, though, he realized what this may mean. It could mean staying up there far from his family or not going to college, ‘But Peter needs help,’ Micky told himself, and began packing right away.
“What are you doing?” His mother, Janelle, and his sister Coco walked into his room.
“I’m going to see Peter, remember him?” Micky finally finished packing and headed to the kitchen for food.
“You’re leaving?” Janelle looked a little worried.
“Hey, it’s to go see Peter,” Coco smiled at her mother, “Have a good time.” Micky smiled back.
“I don’t want to ask for too much money…” He looked hopefully at them.
“Here,” His mother went into the back of the house and came back with some for Micky.
“Thanks! Goodbye, wish me luck!” Micky headed out the door, but his mother stopped him.
“I can drive you!” She said quickly.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” Micky told her.
“It would get me out of the house, and give me something to think about besides your father…” Micky understood immediately, his father’s very recent death had gotten the family off course; maybe this was the thing that would help get him back.
Coco, Janelle, and Micky all piled into the car, and they sped off in the direction of Malibu.
“Peter! It’s great to see you!” Micky happily smiled when his old friend came to answer the door of the old, beaten up beach house he was living in.
“You came very quickly!” Peter remarked, it was still the day Peter had called Micky, just a lot later.
“Yeah, well, a friend in need is a friend in deed right?” Micky marched in and set his suitcase down and looked around. The place was extremely shabby, but it had a sort of nice feeling about. Micky decided he liked it. “So, what’s going on? What can I do for you Pete?”
“Well, I need to pay the rent of this house, so I need money. I don’t have any money, so I need a job. I don’t have any experience, so I can’t really get a job, and I don’t know what to do!” Micky thought this was one of the more rational things Peter had ever said, and thought maybe Peter had grown up a little since Micky last saw him. “And you know the worst thing of all? I lost my stuffed puppy, Fluff Fluff!” Maybe not…
“Well, we need to think of something you do well, and then have you do that for money!” Micky told him.
“I play music.” Peter smiled, quite proud of himself.
“Well, there’s not too many jobs for musicians out there. I learned that when I tried to be a drummer in high school… It didn’t work out too well… But that’s okay, I’ll try again! This time with you though, I’ll play drums, you’ll play whatever else, right?” Micky was getting very excited about the idea of being a drummer.
“Yeah, since the other band left, now I’ll be a band with you. What should our name be?” Peter asked.
“Hm, how ‘bout ‘Mick and Peter,’ or ‘Pete and Micky’?” Micky asked.
“I like, ‘Mick and Peter,’” Peter said, “Now we’re in a band.”
“Yep! The Mick and Peter band! I can’t wait till we get hired! Which room should be mine? Can I have the top?” Micky started up the stairs, talking to Peter all the while. They were both glad to be friends again.
Well, about a week went by, and Micky figured sitting around this old beach house letting the days pass by slowly wasn’t going to get them any gigs. Soon he suggested to Peter that they try playing their instruments in the park or something. Peter agreed, grabbed his guitar case, and then headed for the door. Micky began packing up the drum set his mom had sent him, and with an armload of boxes containing drums, he followed Peter to the park.
They played at the park for a very long time. Possibly the only reason they left was because someone got sick of the incessant sound of guitar and drums. They began heading home, when someone caught up with them and told them he’d like them to play at his daughter’s party in two days. Micky and Peter were thrilled that it seemed so easy to get gigs. If they got one after only a day of advertising their band, then it must be really easy to get gigs… right?
“Well, guess not,” Micky frowned at the empty ice box. “We’re not having breakfast this morning after all.” Micky shrugged at Peter. Just then there was a knock on the door.
“Hello Peter,” It was their neighbor Mrs. Johnson. “I brought this nice big cake for you two boys.”
“Thank you Mrs. Johnson,” Micky smiled and took the cake.
“Oh, and by the way, I’m supposed to tell you that you’re both invited to another one of Mr. O’ Henry’s cook out barbecues. Goodbye Micky, Peter.” With that she disappeared around the corner.
“Who’s that?” Peter asked.
“Oh, that’s Mrs. Johnson, she lives across the street somewhere. While visiting Mr. Kenly the other day I accidently marched in on Mr. O’ Henry’s neighborhood cook out and met all the neighbors I hadn’t before.” Micky went to get a slice of the cake he had put on the table.
“This cake tastes a lot like your style of cooking,” Peter told Micky as he tried a piece.
“Well… Not exactly… I never said I cooked all the stuff we were eating over the weeks. They were mostly from the neighbors.” Micky told Peter.
“Oh… You have a lot of neighbor friends! Why?”
Micky smiled, “Well besides the facts that they’re nice people, it’s good to have friends around the neighborhood, and most of them are elderly with not much family around… They give us free food!”
*Riiinnngg* The phone rang loudly.
“Hello?” Peter said into the receiver.
“Hello, this is The City Country Club, is this Mick and Peter, the band?” A proper voice droned calmly into the receiver.
“Yes, it is. Why?” Peter asked.
“We would like you to play at our annual summer country club ball on the 26th, can you come?” The voice asked calmly.
“I don’t know,” Peter told the man, “Hey Micky, are we busy on the 26th?” Peter asked.
“Of course not, we’re never busy. Why?”
“Well, there’s someone on the phone from The City Country Club that wants us to play a gig there.”
“At The City Country Club?” Micky asked doubtfully, “Cool!” He grabbed the phone and told the man on the phone they’d be there whole heartedly.
*Knock, knock knock*
“Who is it this time?” Peter went to open the door.
“All right, you two boys haven’t paid the rent for last month and I gave you two extra weeks. Pay up!” Mr. Babbitt, their landlord frowned at Peter.
“Well, uh, we don’t have the money, but if you give until the 26th we will!” Micky quickly ran up.
“Why’s that?” Mr. Babbitt growled.
“Oh yeah! We have a gig that day!” Peter remembered.
“A what?!” Mr. Babbitt growled again.
“A job,” Micky explained, “Can you give us until then, please?” Micky begged.
Mr. Babbitt thought for a moment ,“…No!!!” he yelled, “Pay up or move out!”
“Boys, I forgot to mention that we’d like you to bring your instruments to the cook out,” Mrs. Johnson walked back into the room. “Hello Mr. Babbitt,” she smiled at the landlord. “These are such nice boys, aren’t they? I’m so glad you let them live here, I couldn’t stand to have them move away, good-by now!” She went back to her house.
“Well boys, saved by nice neighbor across the street, but I’ll be back on the 26th like it or not. Then you’d better pay your rent or else!” Then he stormed out and slammed the door.
Peter and Micky glanced at each other nervously for a few seconds, then shrugged happily and gathered their interments. After that Micky and Peter headed off to the neighborhood barbecue.
