Flash. Jim Miller
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ADVANCE PRAISE FOR FLASH A NOVEL
BY JIM MILLER
“This remarkable novel is nothing less than a secret history of California—a radical past that might yet redeem our future.”
—Mike Davis, author of City of Quartz
“Flash is about the search for a usable past in a time and place where, as in Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil, the future has been all used up—or gentrified. Miller’s historical sense is rich and particular, showing a Pynchonesque flair for secret history, and a comparable tenderness for the lost lineages and resilient utopianism of the permanent left.”
—David Reid, editor of Sex, Death, and God in LA
“If Howard Zinn had written a novel about the I.W.W. in
border country during the Mexican revolution, one that was
also a family saga and a mystery revealing the secret history of
the twentieth century, it would read like Flash, which deals in the rarest of commodities: hope for our future.”
—Forrest Hylton, author of Evil Hour in Colombia
1
WANTED FOR GRAND LARCENY. BOBBY FLASH
Nativity, American; 25 years old; height 5 ft. 4 inches; weight
150 pounds; brown hair; smooth shaven; light complexion;
occupation dish washer, harvest stiff, bricklayer, etc.; two
gold upper front teeth; corduroy pants, brown corduroy hat;
tan button shoes, blue shirt. Member IW.W.., Holtville, Cal.
Was under Stanley at Mexicali and under Price at Tia Jua-
na-Mexican Revolution. Left here in the company of Gus
Blanco. He was with the IW.W.. bunch that took four horses
from Holtville and was mixed up in the robbery at Coyote
Well on the night of December 24th, 1911. He is a bad man. I hold warrant for his arrest.
Arrest, hold, and notify,
Mobley Meadows, Sheriff
Imperial Valley, Calif.
Dated: El Centro, Cal.,
January 2d, 1912
Who was Bobby Flash? I copied down the information and put the yellowed Wanted poster back in the folder. The next piece in the file was a mug shot of a young man staring hard into the camera with a defiant half smile that revealed what appeared to be a gold tooth. I looked at his face, under a mop of short but shaggy brown hair. His gaze was piercing and he had a fresh-looking scar under his left eye. I noticed that his work shirt was unbuttoned at the top and his overalls hung higher on his right shoulder than his left. On the back of the photo someone had written “Buckshot Jack, San Diego 1912,” but that had been crossed out by a different hand and replaced with “Bobby Flash, San Diego 1912?” I smiled at the thought of myself, Jack Wilson, being tagged with the nickname “Buckshot,” but I was more intrigued by the correction. Was this really Bobby Flash? I stopped for a moment, lost in thought. What drew me to him? Perhaps it was the vague stories about my “crazy commie great grandfather” that my mom would toss off when she was assailing my father’s side of the family. They had always resonated with me—just not in the way she had intended. And, perhaps it was just a flight of fancy, but I thought Flash looked a bit like my son Hank thrust back in time (minus the gold tooth). OK. Enough already. Maybe it was just the name, Flash.
I checked the time. It was 4:30. I looked up and saw that the librarian was still occupied at the front desk so I continued to inspect the file. The next piece was another Wanted poster:
WANTED FOR GRAND LARCENY AND ROBBERY. GUS BLANCO OR BUNCO
Nativity, American; age 30; height 5 ft. 8 in.; weight 157
pounds; brown hair; no beard; small moustache; gray eyes;
chunky nose; red cheeks; occupation bronco buster and cow
puncher; slightly stooped shoulders, upper lip hangs over
lower, walks like a man stove up from riding horses; left
here wearing blue overalls and black felt hat. Is a member
of I.W.W. [agitator], canvasser for Industrial Workers of the
World. Was in Mexican Revolution, first under Berthold at
Mexicali, and at Alamo under Mosby at Tecate also un-
der Price at Tia Juana in C Troop. Will probably find him
around IW.W.. halls and men. He is also in the bunch that
took the horses from Holtville and started for San Diego.
He was the leader of the I.W.W. men here and is an all around
bad man. Anything you may do to get this man will be very
much appreciated. I hold warrant for this man.
Arrest, hold and notify,
Mobley Meadows, Sheriff.