Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on April 15, 2021.

Caveman Supersonic: A Tale of Three Brothers is a memoir based on S. C. Quesenberry’s memories of his first seven years living in Floyd, Virginia, and on later conversations with friends and family that filled in some details.

The book starts with an introductory description of Quesenberry’s oldest brother, which sets the stage for the compelling story to unfold. “Gerald (aka Caveman) was a force of nature, an unbridled whirlwind of misplaced rage. He was a tightly wound ball of anger and wrath, unpredictable in nature and indescribable to anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in his general path of destruction. Gerald was not so much born into this world; it was more like he was unleashed.”

Born into poverty and his parent’s failing marriage, the author lived with his family in different locations in the county, including what he refers to as “the Civil War house.”

Most of the story is set in the trailer, nestled between the old Jacksonville graveyard where he played as a boy, and the Mayberry Funeral home. Quesenberry lived in the trailer with his mother, brothers and cousins throughout the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, following his parent’s break-up.

“It was modest, to say the least. The trailer was a cheap box that fell into the financial abilities of a hardworking single mom. It was small, cold, and in need of repairs, the vinyl siding cracked and peeling, fading from a once vibrant white into weathered off white with a greyish tinge. All the screens in the windows were old and torn, ripped from domestic disturbances, feral pets or from time passing…”

Moonshine, the bluegrass jamboree scene, the hippie invasion, alcoholism, a suicide attempt, the downtown garment factory where his mother worked and other local references all figure into the story telling (in which some of the character’s names have been changed.)

Quesenberry’s two older brothers were children of the ‘60s, the middle brother, Daryl (aka Animal) being 13 years older than him. Daryl, who was mentored by father figures after his parent’s divorce, was a legend among his peers as a multi-talented musician. Gerald (Caveman) struggled with rage, under the dark influence of drugs and alcohol, and eventually left town with the circus.

Often left alone while his mother moonlighted at a bar in Radford, the author watched a lot of TV and sometimes experienced night terrors. “I wake up, and I am wide-eyed, it is the deepest night, after midnight. I am paralyzed with fear. I had forgotten this feeling, but it is back. I force my line of vision to the corner of my room. I fear what is there; I know it is him. The tall, dark form waiting to be acknowledged locks my gaze. I close my eyes and turn over, tension in my muscles. I wake up on the floor. My protector is gone, and my terror is back.”

His father was a local bluegrass legend who met his mother while they both lived in Indian Valley. “Mother and father came together for a very simple reason. They are roughly the same age, and they are in the same vicinity. In rural areas like this, there are minimal options for dating…”

Masterful at recalling the family dysfunction that he was only able to put words to later, the young Quesenberry had perceptions beyond his age: “I have witnessed Mother’s work firsthand, I have personally experienced it, been the subject of her interest. She is a master at bending reality and pushing buttons, instigating, and setting traps. She wants to be rescued, put on a pedestal, and dote upon, treated like the Hillbilly Queen, ruler and muse to everyone, all the while poking and prodding for hidden paths that lead to your deepest psyche, this is where she does her best work. She wears you down in the same way ice erodes a mountain…”

One of my favorite stories in the book was a light-hearted exchange between the young boy and his father when the boy put caterpillars in his father’s hat as a joke. At first his father was annoyed, but then broke a smile, and I, as a reader, did too. I was desperately wanting to feel some glimpses of childhood joy amid the stark and sad remembrances that the book chronicles, and they were there.

I also enjoyed reading about the young Quesenberry’s relationship with his maternal grandfather, who he described as “the epitome of a Southern Gentleman, a moral man with no hate in his heart,” who “knew where to find the best arrowheads, where the black bears would build their winter dens.”

One climatic chapter was about his brother Daryl performing at a high school talent show when his popular rock band was at its height. The rousing show, complete with pyrotechnics, signified a triumph and the end of Animal’s Floyd childhood, as he left town following the concert for the music scene in Blacksburg and Radford. “He is taking his shot, and he refuses to be defined by our handicapped beginning. I admire him for his courage…” Quesenberry writes.

In the author’s own words, he notes: “This book is very raw, it is about the ugly in all of us, the subhuman existence that is a reality facing portions of us, and the effects mental disorder can reign upon any family. But it is also about the potential in us – hope ascension, the ability to make your own way in the world – to create yourself in an image of your own choosing. At some point in our lives, we are all cavemen…” __________Colleen Redman

Note: Caveman Supersonic is available from Amazon and locally at the Harvest Moon Food Store. Check with the Jessie Peterman Memorial Library and Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library in Christiansburg on the book’s availability to be checked out. Watch for an interview with the author in next week’s Floyd Press.