So I was online the other day, searching Jimmy (again!) and I came across a page that had a fictionalized story of James Dean surviving the crash and becoming a private detective. It was stupid. Then I read about how someone thought that if James Dean HAD survived and gone into hiding, that it would eventually come out because too many people knew, and not all of them could be trusted to keep their mouths shut for very long. It got me to thinking: I'm going to write a story about James Dean surviving the accident. My theory is, only five people really needed to be in on the "cover-up" - Bill Hickman, Sanford Roth, Dr. Bossert and Mr. Kuehl, the funeral home guy. So far I've got about three and a half pages written. Here are the first few paragraphs:
""That guy's got to stop! He'll see us!"
James Dean quickly moved his foot from the accelerator to the brake. The low-slung Spyder jerked slightly to the right as it slowed to the posted speed limit. But the other car, a behemoth Ford Tudor, did not move. He touched the brake again, then accelerated and turned the wheel sharply to the right.
The sound of the collision reverberated across the low landscape. The larger car spun sideways and came to rest across both lanes of traffic. The Spyder, its aluminum body crumpled by the force of the impact, spun too, flipped twice and came to rest inches from a power pole next to a fenced field.
It was 5:45 PM, Friday, September 30, 1955, and the sun had not completely disappeared behind the mountains, but darkness descended upon James Dean, slumped forward and resting haphazardly on the Spyder's passenger doorframe. The last thought he had before slipping into unconsciousness was, "Rolf." A tear slid down his bloodied cheek."
And from there I go into how he spent five days in a drug-induced coma, found out that everyone thinks he died that day, and only five or six people know that he didn't. But, eventually, I will have him die, because that is the way it is: James Dean did not survive. But I figure if someone can make up a story where he survives to be a farm hand, rodeo clown, lawyer and private eye, I can do this.
Eventually, I will finish it and find a place that will publish it online so everyone can read it. It is giving me goosebumps writing it. Please tell me what you think so far and if you have any suggestions as to where I should take the story, please don't hesitate to let me know. I must tell you that I already have the last paragraph written and ready to go when the time comes. It's really kind of sad. I would tell you what it is, but I don't want to give away the ending.
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