Danny Knight was milking it. His heyday was the 1970s and now in his late 50s he was still using his 15 minutes, well actually 5 seasons, of fame. In a practical way that earned him a paycheck, he was a paid consultant for today’s kids and their parents who had aspirations of stardom. But it never ceased to amaze him how loyal of fans the other aging baby boomers and their kids and even grandkids remained to The PareTree Bunch. Three or four times a year there would be some kind of fan club gathering and they would pay his expenses to appear and have him share stories of days on the set. There was always the question of which was his favorite episode and his standard answer was the one where he accidentally broke his TV sister’s arm with a baseball bat just before her big tennis match. But everything turned out okay because she discovered the could play just as well with her other arm and went on to win the tournament.
Just recently the news stations called on him to share his memories of this TV parents, Shirley and Mike Paretree and their live in butler Mr Czech In a twist of fate all three, Fred Griffin, Florence Stapleton and Sebastion B Davis, all died within two weeks of each other. Even when he was pressed by a pesky anchor he kept mum on how nasty in real life the man who had portrayed the beloved butler was.
Late one night while unable to sleep Danny found a clip on Youtube of the Paretree Bunch with subtitles in a script he did not recognize. He searched some more and found several more clips with the indecipherable letters. Further surfing revealed the script was Arabic. His curiosity kicked in and he continued to search the web until he found a guy credited with the subtitling and his name was in English. He even found a way to contact the guy and on a whim sent Mudi Dubal an email. Danny stressed to Mudi he was not after royalties. He was just curious why the effort. Danny had even included his phone number but did not expect a call. But within minutes of hitting send Danny’s phone rang. In English with an Arabic accent a very excited man was gushing with excitement that he was talking to someone from his favorite show.
Mudi explained that the show was very popular in the Arab world and that he had subtitled all 145 episodes. He kept repeating he could not believe he was talking to one of the stars of the show. What came next surprised Danny. Mudi offered to fly him to Egypt for a personal tour of his country. All at no cost to Danny. Danny was a bit leery but Mudi was insistent and so Danny agreed but wondered what his first outside the US fan experience would be.
Danny was sharing his upcoming trip over a beer with his on screen sister at a brew house. Susan McCormick had taken a different post teen stardom path and became a urologist and had kept a low profile. She was happy for Danny but was glad it was him going and not her. Then a freak accident happened. Danny’s barstool toppled over and somehow Danny ended up with breaking both legs. Danny’s first thought after the medics gave him the news was ” there goes Egypt” So he called Mudi and explained how he was now confined to a wheelchair until his legs healed. Mudi insisted that Egypt was explorable while rolling in a wheelchair and explained that the tickets he bought were not refundable. Danny was skeptical but agreed to give it a try.
Danny thought it would be a hassle to fly with a wheel chair. But the flight and ground crews on Emirates Airline treated him like royalty and rolled him from curbside at JFK to curbside at Cairo International for Mudi to pick him up. Mudi’s excitement to meet his idol in person was uncontainable. He pointed out to everyone at the falafel eatery that he had a star to show around, and show off. He asked if it was true that the family dog , Panther, had been taxidermied and if so could he have a clipping of hair to have it cloned? Danny broke it to him that Panther had not been stuffed and not available for cloning.
Jetlag was catching up with Danny and so he begged to be able to go bed. The first hiccup was when they got to Mudi’s home and it was 3 steps above the street side parking. A couple of neighbors pitched in and they carried Danny and his wheel chair into the house. At least his bedroom was on the main floor. Mudi’s wife was quiet and shy but offered a bedtime snack of light airy dough balls with a sticky glaze. Exhausted Danny fell asleep wondering what all was in store for him while he was rolled around this ancient country.
Mudi awakened him with some instant coffee, he grimaced as he drank it down. Not his usual premium grounds for sure. It was a clear day no smog or sand in the air. Turns out a rarity in dirty Cairo. Their first stop was the Great Pyramid. Mudi got him to the parking lot and loaded into the wheel chair and rolled him up a wooden boardwalk to the base of the massive pile of stone. Of course Danny had seen pictures but until he sat there near the base the enormity and the steepness of the Great Pyramid did not seem possible. Mudi asked him if he wanted to go inside, he would carry him. But when Danny heard how tight and stuffy the fit would be he passed. Even if he was mobile he would not get himself in that confined a space. They got back in the car and drove away from the pyramid to a vantage point to get an overview. Camels all saddled up and ready for tourists lined the area. Sure why not get up on camel? thought Danny, maybe break two more limbs. But he was hoisted up and held on for dear life as it stood up and led into the desert sand. The guide had him hold his arms out in various positions and Danny went along wondering what it was all about. Once safely back on the sand they showed him pics of him holding the pyramid in his palm and hanging from his fingertips. Yes tacky and touristy but why not? He shelled out the few Egyptian pound, fifty cents US, for the pics. Next up another ride to the Sphinx which he knew was near the pyramids but had not seen from any vantage point. Turns out it is at the base of the hill and while you can easily see the pyramids from it the side of the hill hides the statue from the pyramids. He found it funny that the Sphinx is staring at a KFC at the edge of modern Cairo. Mudi had rolled him into a corner and lean forward and took his pic. This one had him nose to what should be the Sphinx’s nose if it had one.
Danny noticed a huge complex under construction on the way to the Egyptian Museum. Mudi explained that it was the new Egyptian museum which was years behind schedule and way over budget. It would be a state of the art world class one if ever finished with glass walls providing great views of the pyramids. But in the mean time the relics were displayed in a century old building that was over stuffed with everything. Poorly lit, one tiny elevator that barely held the wheel chair. Mudi pressed the button and said he would meet him on the next floor. Danny’s thought after being wheeled by the 500th dusty mummy that he hoped the new digs would have only a few on display with clean cases and good lighting. The special area with the King Tut collection was amazing but no pics allowed. A policy Danny was going to find was very common.
Mudi wanted Danny to experience Egypt like a local not a tourist and so had booked them a berth on the overnight train to Aswan. This proved to be anything but wheel chair friendly. The aisle would not accommodate the chair so it was folded and stashed and Danny was carried by the porters to the tiny cabin he would share with his host as the train ran south along the east bank of the Nile. Using a squat toilet on a moving train while supported by a guy he had just met proved to be a bonding experience. He did manage to sleep to the rocking of the train with Mudi snoring above him.
Aswan had the Philae Temple to explore which required a boat ride across the lake created by the lower Aswan dam. It took some creative lifting to get him down on the deck but the views of the green strip along the desert was worth it. The temple complex sits on an island. Once again Mudi’s comment that Egypt was explorable in a wheelchair was questioned. But the locals always pitched in to carry Danny and the chair to any place that it could not be rolled. He found the ruins artfully carved with repetitive details of daily life in ancient times. In sheltered areas the colors that the entire complex used to have are still visible. The stone fits are amazing considering the tools that were available to the builders. Some parts clearly had been reassembled and patched in with modern materials. The complexity of the layouts amazed Danny.
The hotel had an elevator and while slightly bigger than at the museum it did lack a door. Danny was not so sure as they rose up with the backside of the floor doors going by within touch. He was more concerned when they reached the 4th floor but the elevator reached the 4 1/20 floor and left a 5″ step to get hallway floor. The room proved charming with vintage Victorian furniture and a view of the Nile flowing by. Danny wanted to sit in something other than the wheel chair so with Mudi’s help he got over to the sofa and he toppled to the floor when the support across the front broke and he was dumped out. He felt terrible and joked about Americans being overweight. The staff assured him it was no big deal.
Mudi pulled up an episode for them to watch. It was the one that Danny drove Mr Czech crazy by repeating the dinner menu over and over. What surprised him was his well known line of “pork loin and raspberries ” had been changed to “beef filet and strawberries” to not offend the Muslim audience. He decided he could live with that change since he like filets better.
A very early morning got their day started as the made their way southwest away from the Nile and across the most barren land Danny had ever seen. Absolutely nothing but flat stony sand , the road and a parallel power line. Danny could not figure out why in all that nothing there was an occasional bus stop. Why would anyone get off out there? or why would they be out there to be picked up? The destination was Abu Simbel , the two temple complex relocated 50 k and many meters higher than its original location to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nassar behind the High Dam. Danny was not sure what was more amazing, the ancient Egyptians carving two entire temple complexes into mountains or the 1970s engineering fete that cut those mountains up , moved them, and put it back together so that no cuts are visible.
Back in Aswan dinner was on the west side of the Nile which meant a ferry ride across. Danny had a moment of panic when Mudi began rolling him down a very steep ramp to the boat. There was nothing to stop him from rolling into the Nile at the bottom. Once across he felt better going up the ramp and not feeling like he was going to tumble out.
A local Nubian family hosted them to a traditional meal. Chicken, beans, greens, biscuits , potatoes, the food kept coming to the roof top dining area they had carried him. He watched the kids playing with his wheelchair in the courtyard below.
Danny managed a second night in the hotel without breaking any more furniture and then it was off to their next local experience. They would float and sail down the Nile on a feluccas. A wide boat with a single mast and spar that could be angled in any position to catch the correct wind or duck under a bridge. This time he had Mudi back him down the ramp instead of face forward. The boat was cushioned and had many pillows so Danny made himself comfortable and watched modern and old Egypt go by. The hotel where Agatha Christie stayed while writing Death on the Nile. A coptic Christian church with armed guards around it. Christians make up about 10% of the population but are under constant threat of violence hence the guards. Danny thoroughly enjoyed the quiet day out the wheelchair. After a hearty dinner with camel and mashed potatoes the crew put up tarp and lined the sides with blankets to keep the desert chill off as the sun set. Curled up under 2 layers of blankets only his finger tips and nose got cold before morning.
When it got light the boat was in Luxor and to the west above the Valley of the Kings they saw hot air balloons floating in the clear sky. When he asked Mudi about them, Mudi said it was too expensive for him to afford. Danny told him he would have paid for the ride himself had he known that they were available. Mudi replied ” next time” The Valley of the Kings tour at first looked boring. All he could see was desert scrub and rocks on very undramatic hills. But the tour lies beneath he soon discovered. A scale model in the entrance area showed the 64 known tunnels carved in at various angles.
Mudi gave him a choice of three of the 19 open tombs to explore. He eliminated the one that involved a deep descent and choose the ones that required the least number of lifts for the wheelchair. What he found inside was a tunnel with vertical walls carved and painted in great repetitive detail. Their colors still vivid after all these eons due to the arid climate. Some went 100s of yards back in to the hillside. What really amazed him was that no trace of carbon from burning torches has been found. To this day they do not know what the light source was that allowed them to create such art so deep stone.
They had a goodbye feast that evening and reflected over what Danny had learned about ancient and modern Egypt. Mudi had never lost his excitement of having the star of his favorite show with him. Danny was amazed how helpful total strangers had always been to help him maneuver his way around a country that had never heard of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He would have never guessed that playing the part of a typical American teen in the 1970s would end up allowing him to roll like an Egyptian 40 years later.
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