The Josh Manely Mystery Characterizations Series

Bingo Dave Hallet

The many Faces of Bingo Dave Hallet

Bingo Dave Hallet is an important supporting character in Orphans Inc., a Young Adult/New Adult - mystery/crime series. He plays a role as guardian, an archetypic character as defined in Dramatica Theory (DRAMATICA: A New Theory of Story by Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley). Bingo Dave plays a unique role as one who protects the main character by cautioning and mentoring. He acts in support of the main character in pursuit of his goal. The advice from a guardian character affects the main character's actions and decisions which drive the plot. This is Dave's backstory, and my way of getting to know this character, his approach to life, his mental state', and how he deals with problems.

NOTE: You were introduced to the main character and protagonist in Orphans Inc., Josh Manely, through his essay written for his Grade 12 English class just before graduation.

When we meet Bingo Dave for the first time, he is master of all things bingo and the target of female attention from young and old alike. He inherited the role of bingo master and manager of the bingo hall about three years before, at a time when he needed to supplement his income. His business venture, Dave's Martial Arts Gym, was far from profitable at the time, and the bingo hall job paid for the necessities of food and lodging

Dave left the East Coast MMA circuit after three years, and headed for home in the west. He was bothered by corruption in the fight business, and didn't like being asked to use his fighting skills outside the ring sometimes. To be completely honest, Dave had to make a quick exit from Montreal. He had voiced his concerns to his managers one time too many, and more directly than was healthy for him. Dave's strong points were his honesty and sense of moral correctness, his weakest point was the lack of a filter on what he said, and with whom he shared his concerns. Dave was long on ethics and very short on diplomacy.

When he returned home, he took most of the money saved from his MMA career and purchased a small warehouse building, which he outfitted as a gym for teaching mixed martial arts. He started his gym because he loved combative sport and wanted to share his passion with young boys and girls who wanted to learn to fight. He believed strongly in the spiritual and physical benefits that came from learning those sports. Dave had benefitted personally regarding improved self-confidence and self-control and he wanted to help young people grow in the same way.

Years ago, before he started high school, his nickname was Dave the Scrapper, not Dave the Hammer. His claim to fame was the number of visits he made to the Principal's office, and the number of suspensions he had each year. It turned out that his reputation worked in his favor in the long run, because he was placed in a special program when he entered high school, The Satellite Program. It was designed to support intelligent students who had learning and behavior issues that interfered with their ability to be successful in school.

When the program began, it was called The Winners Program, but the general school population quickly replaced Winners with the words Losers or Wieners. The teachers in charge, Mary Mack and Mel Sanford changed the programs name to Satellite, a name difficult to change into a negative. If it hadn't been for Mary and Mel, Dave would have eventually been expelled from school, because the frequency of his scrapping had increased. Sanford saw Dave as an inherently good kid, and recognized his intelligence. He took a chance on Dave, pulled some strings to register him into Judo and Karate programs at the local YMCA. Dave came from a single parent family with little in the way of extra money, so Mel engineered the funds to pay for his programs too.

Dave stood out for all the right reasons in both Judo and Karate, and his instructors noticed he had an aptitude for the Martial Arts. As his skills increased, he moved from recreational programs to competitive teams. From the time he began taking classes at the Y, his scrapping behaviours ceased, and his performance in school improved. Dave still needed the support of the Satellite Program, but by the time he graduated high school, he was ready to face the world and find his way to become a successful professional MMA fighter.

Just before graduation, Mr. Sanford asked Dave why he stopped fighting with other students. Dave's response came quickly. He explained it was not the scrapping that he liked, and he certainly didn't like getting in trouble, but he enjoyed the contest fighting represented. Now that he learned to fight in a very controlled way, he liked the feeling of hand to hand combat even more. He liked the discipline of the dojo, and the way his body and mind grew along with his martial arts skills.

When he started working at the Bingo Hall, attendance went up, and younger women became regulars. Dave was twenty-four years old, single, obviously very fit, and ruggedly handsome; women, it seems, easily forgave a few serious scars on his face and obvious evidence of a previously broken nose. His head was crowned with dirty blond hair which he kept trimmed in a neat buzz cut. The women who attended bingo regularly, appreciated his easy manner and easy sense of humour, as well as his good looks.

To the dismay of a bevy of females, many of whom would have gladly thrown herself at his feet, Dave made it a policy to never mix business with pleasure. He kept everything very professional and interacted with his female admirers in a friendly way, but never let any of them get too close. Dave knew he would have to find a girlfriend outside of the bingo circle, but as yet there really wasn't anyone special in his life, and the ever hopeful bingo crowd knew it.

Dave felt that he owed Mr. Sanford a big favour. He knew his success in life grew from the support of that man, so when Sanford began asking Dave to take a student into his employ at the bingo hall, he was more than happy to do so. Sometimes Mr. Sanford asked him to take a specific student into his MMA School, and he never said no. The boys, and sometimes girls, that were sent to train with Dave needed to build confidence or self-control. In this way, Dave became a guardian for scores of young people, two of whom are Josh Manely and Zachariah Allenby. Dave exerts his influence on the plot action through his impact on Josh and Zack.

Dave was also associated with Dalton Millen. Dave and Dalton were classmates, members of the wrestling team, and good friends. Dave held some powerful information about Dalton and his family, but he never divulged that information to anyone. In some ways, his guardian role had already begun when Dave began protecting Dalton and his brother Callum from public ridicule and bullying that stemmed from rumours of child abuse. Dave had a nuanced sense of right and wrong, and he knew that sometimes an action perceived as evil by others might need to be taken to prevent an even greater evil.

Bingo Dave is a unique character who has had a unique life experience that makes him the perfect guardian for Josh and Zack. His position in the bingo hall makes him a reservoir of information that becomes invaluable to Josh Manely in pursuit of his goals.