Bud Caldwell (Calloway) a.k.a. Sleepy LaBone Timeline and Summary

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• After getting news that they are off to another foster home, Bud and Jerry both nervously pack up.
• Bud comforts Jerry, who is really upset, and thinks about how being six is tough. We learn that Bud was beaten by foster parents before and that Bud's mother died when he was six.
• Then Bud looks through his suitcase to make sure everything is still there. He checks out a flyer his mother gave him with a photo of a musician he thinks must be his father.
• Todd beats up Bud, who quits trying to fight back when Mrs. Amos walks in and Todd tells her it was actually Bud beating him up for no reason.
• Bud must stay in the shed alone, at night, and is locked inside. While in there, he sees something that looks like a vampire bat and whacks it, but it's a hornets' nest and he gets stung.
• While trying to escape the attack, Bud breaks through the window.
• Bud sneaks into the Amos house, hides the gun and pours water onto Todd to get him to pee. And he does. Then, Bud snags his suitcase and takes off.
• Eagerly, Bud falls asleep under a tree in front of the library.
• The next day Bud runs over to the mission to get some free breakfast, but he's too late. A man won't let Bud in line, but a stranger lies for Bud by saying he is his son and pulling him into the line with his family. Lucky day, huh?
• Back at the library, Bud finds out that Miss Hill is gone and married and is somewhere way too far away to walk to.
• Bud falls asleep under his tree again and is woken up by Bugs, who jumps on him to keep him from stabbing him.
• Without any other options in mind, Bud goes with Bugs to find a place called Hooperville (actually Hooverville) where they hope to hop on a train headed west.
• While at the Hooverville, doing dishes, Bud has his first kiss with Deza Malone.
• The next morning, Bud rushes to the train with all the other men and watches as a poor man confronts police officers guarding the train. When the train leaves, Bud gets left behind and decides to head right back to the library tree.
• Bud uses the skills the librarian taught him the day before to calculate distance and use a map to note how far away Grand Rapids is (he's planning to walk there).
• The nice librarian who helped him the day before is there and gives Bud a war book to look at, which he spends the whole day flipping through to look at pictures. When the library closes, the nice librarian gives Bud her bag of lunch.
• Late that night, Bud begins to walk west. While on his journey, a man stops his car to check on Bud and see why he is out walking through a racist town. He offers Bud food in exchange for information.
• Bud is about to get in the car with the man, who lives in Grand Rapids, but sees a box of blood in the front seat and thinks the man is a vampire. Yikes! Bud locks himself in the car and tries to take off but pretty much just stays where he is.
• The man (we find out he's Lefty Lewis) shows Bud he is not a vampire, and Bud trusts him enough to let him drive him to a place to sleep and then drive him to Grand Rapids in the morning.
• Bud wakes up in Lefty Lewis's daughter's house. She gives him clean clothes and makes him a huge breakfast.
• Bud gets a ride to Grand Rapids, and lies to Lefty about his dad (Calloway) forgiving him for running away.
• Inside the club, Bud claims that Calloway is his father and everyone in the band denies it. Calloway gets angry but Jimmy invites Bud to dinner with them anyway to find out what is going on.
• At dinner, Bud is really happy and feels like this bunch of folks are his new home, so he cries and cries. He is finally feeling safe and welcome.
• The band members take Bud back to Calloway's house, where some of them live, and Bud sleeps in a little girl's room.
• Everyone decides Bud can stay with them for a while. He travels with them to performances and helps out by cleaning. Then one day Bud notices he and Calloway both have rocks with names and numbers on them (the same ones) and it turns out that Calloway is his grandfather.
• Bud really is home!
• At the end, Steady Eddie gives Bud his own saxophone, and Bud sets out to play it.