© irene waters 2015
“I’ve found a secret drawer in Dad’s bureau” Charlie’s daughter told her sister. They looked out at the mountains ringing Lake Geneva contemplating breaking in. Their excitement rose as they saw an envelope hidden in the back.
“This confirms Great-Grandma was a gypsy. Dad was born in a caravan. No wonder MI5 couldn’t find records of his birth.”
“But why didn’t he tell. He could’ve re-entered the USA but he let them believe he was a bolshevik.”
“Yes and he could’ve got that knighthood 20 years earlier.”
“Charlie Chaplin was not only silent in movies but also in life.”
This week Charli has given us a prompt to look at an old mystery.
May 20, 2015 prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write about an old mystery in the current time. Is it a discovery? Is it solved? Does it no longer matter, or does it impact innocent generations in between?
Respond by May 26, 2015 to be included in the weekly compilation.Rules are here. All writers are welcome!
My story is a BOTS and the mystery of Charli Chaplin’s date and place of birth remain just that — a mystery although the finding of this letter in 2011 perhaps gave weight to the assertion in his memoir that his “grandma was half gypsy.”
For further information on the actions of the FBI and MI5’s investigation see here.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing this BOTS. I had no idea.
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I didn’t either and found it fascinating myself.
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I think Charlie Chaplin liked being a mystery but was insulted by the way he was treated by the FBI. No matter, his work speaks for his talent.
Your story is quite clever, much enjoyed reading it.
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Thanks Sharon. Yes I think must have liked stringing them all along to keep the letter hidden all those years. He could have quickly put to rest the matter of his birth but I doubt that J Edgar Hoover would have trusted his communist leanings any easier.
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Oh, that’s a fabulous mystery! Great last line! You make the discovery play out so intimately, as if we, the readers, are privy to it.
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It was an interesting exercise and I wrote a couple of versions before doing it this way. All the others sounded like I was giving a lecture to a group of silent movie buffs.
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That’s something that word count does for me — it challenges me to tell what I want to share in a different way over than straight-forward.
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This was really interesting. I wonder how someone would fare in today’s uber-security world without birth records.
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I think it would be very difficult to travel without the documentation. One of the problems the refugees have and I guess when you’re identity is stolen it would be a similar type of situation. Glad I’ve got mine.
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What a fascinating BOTS this is Irene, I had no idea. Oh I love a good mystery and now I am utterly intrigued by Charlie Chaplin’s story, thank you for that 🙂
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Yes I had no idea either. Charli sent me searching for an old mystery and for one reason or another Charlie Chaplin was it. The US refused reentry to him in 1952 and they queen wanted to knight him not long after but they refused to let her because they didn’t want to upset the US who still had him pegged as a Red supporter. 🙂
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So interesting, I’m so glad you sought out this mystery. I do remember something about his so-called communist ties. I wonder how he felt about missing out on his knighthood?
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Your mystery has captured so much about Mr. Chaplin’s life in such few words.
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Thanks Ann. Charli’s prompts send us to the most unexpected places then getting it into 99 words is a real challenge.
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Great take on this one! Can’t wait to see what everyone did. I almost went the historical route but wound up with something a bit… Well, mine’s a tad flat this week. Whatever. Tomorrow is another day and my mind is spinning with unsolved mysteries of all sorts now. See what Charli did to us? 😉
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I know. You never know the journey you are about to undertake as you wait for Thursday to roll on for Charli’s next prompt. 🙂
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Charlie rears largfe in our town as this is where he made m,any of his early silent films. We celebrate Charlie Chaplin days each year along with a film festival.
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What fun. He was certainly a master of the silent movies.
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It was fascinating about Charlie Chaplin’s past. I think he liked it that way as it went with his on screen persona of the Tramp
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Yes I think you are right Raewyn. It obviously suited him to keep it quiet. He was probably having a good laugh at the goings on.
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Fascinating how details that we all take for granted, like date and place of birth, once withheld, or brought into question, can throw everything into a new light. Great story 🙂
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Thanks MJ. Yes in this day and age it would be difficult to get by in the world without that proof but I think Charlie enjoyed having his birth place kept silent for his own delight. He could have solved it quite easily I feel. 🙂
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