Chet The Jet

The piece was inspired by a series of books about a California private detective Bernie Little and his dog, Chet. In the books, Chet is the one telling the story! He calls himself Chet the Jet. It's a very amusing series, and I thought it would be fun to write a piece about Chet.

The piece opens with a happy, jumpy portrait of Chet, who is proud to be part of the detective agency. Gradually, he gets sleepy and nods off. Then comes a mellow jazzy section in which Chet dreams he is a big hero with everybody admiring him. Soon the music quickens as Bernie wakes him up to go to work on a new case. They jump into Bernie's old Porsche and start following clues, finally catching the bad guys. There is a brief lyrical interlude where Chet expresses his feelings for Bernie, and then the two go home, happy, to wait for the next adventure.

Charles Reskin