Billy B. and Chet were going to the Orpheum Theatre to see the Frankenstein Classic movie made in 1931 with Boris Karloff portraying the Monster. It was 1962 and almost Halloween and they were in the midst of a missile crisis in Cuba. In school, the Bomb Drills had increased and Billy B.s neighbors were waiting in line to build backyard bomb shelters.

Eldorado was a picturesque little Southern Illinois town. It had been a coal mining town, as many of the towns in Little Egypt were, during the heyday of King Coal and its’ primary use as a heating source for homes and businesses. Before the movie, Chet and Jane, and Billy B. met at Carter’s and Chossier’s Drug store on the corner to enjoy a Nickle… a frosty mug of Root Beer. The delicious Root Beer was served in icy giant mugs…of which you could lose your troubles and cares in the high foam on top. Jane said that her family was planning on sleeping in their bomb shelter until the chance of nuclear war subsided. Chet mentioned that his mom, Thelma, had been weeping this morning as she read the Book Of Revelation and its’ account of the battle of Armageddon and the prophecy that the blood would run up to the horses bridle during the last battle. Billy B. had visited his Grandma Askew Friday night and she had told him to prepare for Armageddon and the Antichrist…and the coming of the Lord…

Daryl walked in and was beckoned over to the Root Beer Table by Billy B. Billy B. purchased a Tall One for Daryl and asked him what he thought of the news of the possible imminent dropping of bombs on Eldorado… Daryl quoted the scripture that said, ‘And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things shall come to pass, but the end is not yet.’

Billy B. was now old and he reflected on the fears of his youth…the war raged in Ukraine…a madman plotted world domination…and the deck chairs on the Titanic were rearranged…once again…