Amadeus Bridges
Amadeus Bridges (a.k.a. Milosz, a.k.a. Miles The Stitch)
The odyssey began while on a family shopping trip to the Lalima Fish Market
(in search of fresh baccalah). The infant Amadeus was kidnapped by a band
of gypsies and taken back to their native Hungary. He was given the name Milosz
and raised as a member of the tribe. He grew up isolated and friendless; deep
inside he somehow knew he didn't belong. Perhaps it was because of the patriarch
of the tribe, usually in a drunken stupor, who would exclaim," We should
have never kidnapped this kid."
One day things changed. A terrible fire broke out on the evening of the Festival
of Bacchus (a wild orgy of drunken carousing and mayhem occurring each month
on the first and third Tuesdays, the second and fourth Wednesdays, intermittent
Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, every weekend and whenever else they could
find some booze). Confused and dazed (and reacting like a horse), the young
Milosz ran towards the flames only to find himself inside a burning wagon.
After some thought he reasoned that he should get out. As he turned to make
his exit, he tripped over a large bundle and, as the Gypsy custom goes, he
kicked it as hard as he could. He stepped outside of the wagon, tripped on
the bundle again and kicked it again. This continued until he and the bundle
were a safe distance from the flames. Suddenly, the bundle moved. Milosz looked
inside to find another Gypsy lad. It was the young guitar virtuoso Django
Reinhardt.
Django befriended Milosz and vowed that, in return for saving his life, he
would share his gift of music. The next day he began teaching Milosz the guitar.
Milosz was a slow yet dedicated student, inspired by the great talent of Django
and motivated by the thought that perhaps, through music, he could escape
the drudgery of Gypsy life. That day came seven years later when Django told
him, "Get the hell out of here. If I knew you were such an idiot, I would
have preferred being burnt to a crisp." Milosz thanked him and moved
out.
He slowly worked his way across the continent, performing for scraps of food
and lodging usually until his host echoed the words of Django, "Get the
hell out of here. If I knew you were such an idiot, I would have preferred
being burnt to a crisp." Milosz made his way to Lisbon where he jumped
ship for America. He decided to shed all vestige of his Gypsy past, anglicizing
Milosz to Miles and adopting the nickname "The Stitch" (referring
to an odd, stitch-like birthmark just below his left armpit). He soon landed
in America seeking refuge in the isolated borough of Staten Island.
He searched for work and landed a job playing jazz in a dive called the Café
Cargo. One evening, after playing a particularly scorching version of that
jazz classic "The 'G' Man Got The Tea Man And He's Gone" and, due
to the fact that the owner of the club refused to open any windows for fear
of losing heat (even in mid-August), he attempted to remove his shirt. As
he raised his left arm, exposing his stitch-like birthmark, he heard the shocked
voice of one of the drunken patrons, "Oh shit, it's cousin Amadeus!"
His long journey had ended. He was home.