When the Pope Lived Right Up the Street From Me!

“LOST MUSKET DIARY” Wednesday April 8, 2015

Partly Sunny 47°F/8°C in Rancho Santa Margarita

Buongiorno,

   To a little Methodist kid trundling off to Sunday school every week, and then stifling yawns all through Reverend Brown’s Sunday sermon afterwards, the Pope, somehow doesn’t loom very large in my childhood memories. He was a big deal to my Catholic cousins, but me? Nada! Let’s just say that Papal Admiration was for me, an acquired taste.

The "Pope" and I

About the only time I ever thought about the Pope was when he died. My old aunts would cry and wail “IL PAPA!” And his picture would be in all the papers with big, black headlines reading POPE DIES! Then, a month later the newsreels would show pictures of smoke coming out of a stove pipe and all the crying would stop and a new guy with a pointy hat would wave to everybody from the balcony. In 1978, this happened twice in a month’s time and when the smoke over the Sistine Chapel had cleared we had another new Papa. A Polish Pope – Karol Józef Wojtyła aka Pope John Paul II.

  John Paul II turned out to be a terrific people person, a real rock star among some very serious-looking folks, and his image was everywhere. People Magazine even ran a picture of him in ski gear, fresh off an Alpine slope.  Karol Józef Wojtyła, aka Pope John Paul II, was everywhere. John Paul II traveled around the world and millions flocked to his masses. Instead of his own jumbo jet like Air Force One, the Holy Father hitched a ride with Alitalia.And, it didn’t take very long before my neighbor up the street from me, Gene Graytak, started hearing from his friends and neighbors how much he resembled the new Pope.

The Real Pope John Paul II

  Since our kids went to the same school  together, my wife Donna and I ran into Gene and his wife Dottie occasionally at school functions, or since we all shopped at the market nearby, I’d run into him occasionally at the store. Then, one year as Thanksgiving approached and preparations for the neighborhood kids’ annual Gershon Place Thanksgiving Day Parade were well underway, my kids informed me that this year’s parade would have as its Grand Marshall, the POPE!

  From a small neighborhood event with some brave parents pulling their little kids dressed up as pilgrims and Indians down the street in their Radio Flyers on Thanksgiving morning, the neighborhood kids had gone big time with an equestrian team-a neighbor who had horses, real parade floats built especially for the occasion by a team of dedicated dads, and the marching band from nearby Foothill High School. This year, they had a Grand Marshal. The Pope! Sure enough! Come Thanksgiving Morning, all of the neighbors gathered on their front lawn to watch the parade, enjoy the music and catch a glimpse of “The Pope.” And, “the Pope of Gershon Place” couldn’t have gotten a louder or warmer reception if the parade had been led by Karol Woytila himself.

 

So, who's the real Pope?

Gene later told me that, with the encouragement of Dottie and his family, he had photos taken wearing the appropriate costumes, and shopped himself around to some agencies that specialized in representing celebrity lookalikes. It didn’t take long for his new career to take off. Gene had several sets of papal garments custom tailored for him. And, his public demeanor was always quite dignified and warm. As he also told me, “no pratfalls. No pies in the face. I always remember who I’m representing.” After he became famous, he was no longer “Gene,” or “Mr. Graytak” to anyone among his neighbors. He became the man he portrayed, the Pope. Gene Graytak was now, “Pope Gene,” or “Your Holiness,” said with a straight face, by the way. Shaking hands with Gene in his papal garb was the closest most of our friends and neighbors would ever get to shaking hands with the real Pope. And, no one who ever saw him during his pontifical period would guess that the new pope was a retired real estate broker.

  Then, one night in 1982, during her appearance on Saturday Night Live, singer Sinead O’Connor tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II and caused a huge uproar. As we watched her on our TV, my wife turned to me with, “Wow! I wonder if Gene Graytak saw THIS!” And, then I realized that What’s-her-name had just insulted our whole neighborhood! My friends and neighbors broke out the torches and pitchforks and waited for the other shoe to fall. We didn’t have long to wait. Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord! And, the Lord took his full measure.

Sinead's Dastardly Deed!

neighbors would not just see this as a cheap publicity stunt aimed at the far-away Pope, but they would really see Sinead O’Connor was dissing OUR FRIEND! OUR NEIGHBOR! Yeah! Sinead.

  A night or two after Sinead O’Connor’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, I stayed up to watch the Tonight Show. As he came out of the commercial break, Johnny Carson opened the segment talking about the weekend incident with Sinead O’Connor and led into a brief clip of O’Connor tearing up the pope’s picture. “Fine,” I thought, “now he’ll have something to talk about with his next guest.” And, guess who the next guest turned out to be? Right! It was my good neighbor, Gene Graytak, who politely thanked Johnny for having him on his show. Now, enough time has passed that I don’t remember exactly what was said, but Carson never addressed his guest by his title or name. He let the visual of “the Pope” carry the moment. And, when he got to the place where the pope’s picture was torn, Carson asked Gene, “Did that upset you, sir? Did it make you MAD.” Gene smiled and said, “I never get mad over things like this. They don’t bother me. And, besides I have a picture of my own.” With that, Carson’s guest/Pope displayed a big picture of Sinead O’Connor, and with a flourish tore it right down the middle. The audience roared.

  Gene really enjoyed his new role in life. He was always very mindful of the stature of the person he was portraying. “The people love Pope John Paul, and it shows in the way people react to me when I appear as the Pope.” And he added, “I guess I’ll have a career as long as the Pope is around.”

  I moved off the block a few years later and gradually lost touch with the Pope and my other friends and neighbors. In 2005 when I was in Rome for the first time, Mike and Laura and I walked past the hospital where John Paul II was fighting his last battle. All of Rome was preparing for another changing of the guard at the Vatican, which would take place two weeks later. But, all I could think of at that moment was, I guess our neighbor, Gene, will be retiring now.

Ciao,

MikeBo

© Mike Botula 2015