Short Story

And The Band Played On

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Today I have reprised a story from 2018.
Rewritten for The Unicorn Challenge where
we are urged to get creative in 250 words or less.
The photo below is our inspiration; this is my story.

© Ayr/Gray

It was Labor Day Weekend – the end of summer vacation. Margaret Wilson and her boy Sam came to Atlantic City to visit the legendary Steel Pier. There were barkers selling salt water taffy and cotton candy, minstrel shows, a water circus, and the famous Diving Horse, specifically trained to charge up a 60 foot ramp to a platform atop the pier where a woman, clad in a smattering of sequins, leapt onto its back just before it plunged off the pier. Horse and rider flew through the air, hitting the water to the applause of the delighted throng waiting below.

But one didn’t have to venture far from the boardwalk to sample less wholesome activities – brothels catering to every whim, gambling dens and criminals engaging in terrifying shootouts. However today was a holiday. Children played gleefully while parents made small talk … the start of school the furthest thing from their minds. Nothing could spoil the day.

Suddenly the shattering sound of gunshots erupted. People screamed and scattered as gun-wielding robbers ran from a pawn shop shooting wildly. They jumped into a waiting car and took off. All was silent until a piercing wail rose to the heavens and everyone turned to see Margaret Wilson cradling the body of little Sam, shot in the heart by a stray bullet. Inside his jacket pocket was a folded essay now stained with innocent blood –“How I Spent My Summer Vacation”.

The police arrived, removed mother and child, and the band played on.

NAR©2025
250 Words

This is “On The Boardwalk (In Atlantic City)” by Dick Haymes

The Unicorn Challenge-21/02/25

All text and graphics copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

58 thoughts on “And The Band Played On”

    1. Yes, Jenne – we have become hardened to tragedy and heartbreak which is itself heartbreaking. How people can remain unmoved by the daily events going on around them is beyond my comprehension. Thank you for your very kind and generous comments, Jenne. They are much appreciated.

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    1. Thanks very much, Mitch. I remember writing this story back in 2018; it was one of my first stories as a relative newbie on WordPress. The original version was a bit longer and I felt enormous pride when I read it on my post. These are the thrills we writers get, the sense of knowing we wrote something worthwhile. Thanks, again.

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    1. Not sure, Glyn. Here a boardwalk is a walkway along a beach or waterfront, typically made of wood. If you’re at a beach, chances are it has a boardwalk. We have A LOT of piers in the US. A pier can sometimes be found at the end of a boardwalk. It’s a structure supported on pillars leading out to sea. Take a look at THIS

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  12. My Eight Grade class trip was to Atlantic City, and I always thought it was a special place. Did you ever see the dancing chicken? I thought that was so much fun seeing the chicken come out and dance to some music when the curtain opened up. After the chicken was done dancing, grain would be dropped on the floor as the payment for her performance. I didn’t realize how cruel this was when I was watching it, as in order to get the chicken to dance, they had the floor electrified. The only reason that it looked like it was dancing was because it was constantly getting electric shocks, which made the chicken move its feet. It was still a fun place and not everything about it was cruel, but I bet that horse had no desire to jump from that height.

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    1. Animal cruelty has been going on since the beginning of time. It’s horrible and the way the chicken was treated in your account is reprehensible. My story is set in the 1920s but is still relevant today. Sadly, animal cruelty and drive-by shootings are alive and flourishing.

      I never went to Atlantic City as a child; my first visit was in 1973 with Bill and we’ve been there a few times since then but only for the gambling and shows. It’s been a long time since we were in AC; we’re a little closer to Mohegan and Foxwoods and the drive is infinitely more pleasant.

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        1. AC was (and maybe still is) a dicey place. One time we were there, Bill left the casino and drove to one of the shops about a mile from the boardwalk. He needed a dress shirt but I’m not sure why he didn’t have one with him. Anyway, he bought the shirt and was just stepping out the door of the store to go back to his car when a shootout occurred! He ducked back inside until the police arrived and he could safely leave. Funny, I just recalled that incident; perhaps that subconsciously prompted the shooting in my story.

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          1. A good friend of mine who was a bookie went to AC with his wife.  They were both coke snorters and he was also a dealer, so he had a lot of blow with him, which was stashed in his suitcase.  The hotel valet delivered his bags to the wrong room and when the other guest opened up the luggage, the hotel called the cops, and he spent six months in jail for this mistake.

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  14. There once was a boy full of cheer,
    Who spent his last day at the pier.
    With taffy in tow,
    He watched the show—
    But fate had a darker idea.

    A holiday wrapped up in fun,
    With horses and high dives begun.
    Yet crime had a say,
    And stole him away,
    As bullets replaced the sun.

    The band played on through the night,
    Ignoring the tragic sight.
    A tale to be told,
    Both heartless and bold—
    A postcard in black and white.

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    1. This is an oldie, cut down to meet the word requirement. It was also one of the first stories I wrote for WP and I’m pretty proud of it …. sad and scare though it might be. Truth be told, I prefer the longer version. Thanks for your very kind comments, Laura. I really appreciate them! ☺️

      Welcome back! 😎

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      1. Thank you so much, Nancy! 🙏
        And you’re so welcome! ☺️

        Yeah, sad tales need to be told sometimes. I hold back on some of mine and I know I shouldn’t. Unfortunate as it is, real world and all.

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        1. The manufacture of guns is big business. Whether used for hunting game for consumption or picking off innocent children in the street, they all stem from the same place. While I’m not opposed to guns when used in the manner you describe, it’s far too easy for anyone to get their hands on one.

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