Dr. Tarr’s Story–Part 1
THE EARLY YEARS
Patient 07-65943
Age: Undetermined
Guy Henri Tarr
AKA Boi Ling Tarr
[Transcript of audio tape 109-01]
Dr. Ochs: Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Where were you born?
Patient: In the black swamps of the bayou.
Dr. Ochs: What was your early life like?
Patient: Kept in jars for the first ten years of my life. Professor Heinrich Gravel raised me. After assembly of the pieces, as he liked to tell me whenever he hit the hootch.
Dr. Ochs: I see. So you must have had a very interesting childhood.
Patient: Yeah, right, you don’t know the half of it, doc. I was raised in Tarr & Gravel’s Traveling Sideshow and Menagerie of the Truly Weird. Ever see that old movie?what’s it called, uh, yeah, Freaks Well, I lived it for the next ten years. My formative years. That’s what they tell me. Don’t know exactly what they mean. I’m telling you, that movie really spooked me. As a matter of fact, I think I might be in that movie. That’s why I won’t ever watch it again.
Dr. Ochs: What are some of your strongest memories of that time?
Patient (after a brief pause): Well, my best friends were Dario, Argento, and Romero Lupin, the Flying Wolf Boys of Portugal, who were really from Lisbon, Spain. The family was all hairy. All of them. I mean, fuzzy-wuzzy hairy. Even Mrs. Lupin. Bless her furr-covered soul. May she rest in peace.
[The patient pauses for almost thirty seconds, lost in deep thought.]
They were also really good acrobats. I spent most of my time as a part of the Lupin family. Practiced with them, learned with them. I became a very good acrobat by the time I was twelve, even though I got a late start on the other guys. We broke when I was twenty. The Lupins had a big get-together they were going to attend. The guys told me all about it, about what fun and really cool things we’d see and do. We. I got excited. Until Mr. Lupin told me I couldn’t go. ?Didn’t have ‘the covering,’? he said. I really had to stop and think about that one. Yeah, so I didn’t get to go run down and kill prey with my bare teeth. I’ve proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that is not true, haven’t I?
You know who fascinated me the most when I was a kid hanging out with the freaks? The Geek. I liked the Geek because he was seldom the same person. He could separate reality from the physicality. I loved that. I even wanted to be a Geek for a while there. But then I found science. I loved science. Hey, I was a product of science, according to Professor Gravel.
[The patient smiles.]
Chicken heads with attached respiratory systems nailed to a 2 x 4, wired to perform a galvanic feat. I created that. Got into a lot of trouble for that one. But it ?did something to me, it created a desire to pursue the improvement of the human race. Physicality becomes my tool to mold a new reality. Flesh seeping through my fingers?
[The patient pauses, looks startled for a second]
Crab Boy was one of my heroes. Saw posters of him, heard about him. Then I met him. He changed my life. Told me I oughtta be a doctor. I think he hit me right about then but I’m not really sure. I could have added that part. I did admire him, though. Even though I did have to punch the little man for punching me. Hey, maybe that part’s not true either. I can’t really remember, but that sounds good. Maybe I really even hated him. Just thought I admired him.
Nate the Human Skeleton, who was really Joe Scarpolli from Bay City, Michigan, kept eating my food. All the time! Then he wouldn’t admit it when I confronted him. That’s when I knew he had some sort of eating disorder. Then I saw him puke. Then I saw him puke again. It was quite regular. As a matter of fact, it became so regular that he up and died. Have you ever seen a heaving, puking living skeleton? I have. It was very interesting. Many thought I had something to do with his death. Just because of my fascination with poisons. But they couldn’t prove anything.
[patient grins]
I could tell stories about that time for hours and hours. Let’s move on. No, let’s quit. I don’t feel like talking any more. The images burn me. The doctor has spoken!
Dr Ochs: We still have some time left. Are you sure you don’t want to continue?
[The patient remains silent, refusing to speak any more]
[End of transcript]
Click HERE to read PART 2.