A Counter Culture Moment With Janet—Special
March, '70
My parents were always happy to see me when I returned home
safe from one of my journeys. This time however, I didn't accomplish
what I had set out to do; that is, get a job. Even in Houghton Lake
I couldn't find work, so when Mike called up and wanted me to visit
him in New York, I jumped at the opportunity. Sandy, Mike's
girlfriend, went to the Big Apple, and both her and her girlfriend
landed secretarial jobs. After the girls settled into their
apartment Mike followed them to N.Y.C.
I caught a ride with my old friend Roger (the same Roger who
I lived with in Lansing) to the Ohio turnpike. He was on his way
down to Florida, and then I headed east for N.Y.C. As I was standing
on the onramp waiting for a ride, another hitchhiker got out of a
sixteen wheeler and started to walk up to where I was hitching. I
had been there long enough for the cold to seep into my bones, so I
was happy to see a new face. If it turned out that we were heading
in the same direction I was ready for the company. What I wasn't
ready for was that he turned into a she and she was just as happy to
find me as I was to find her.
Janet wasn't a beauty queen, but I wasn't complaining. She wanted to
tag along, and I was happy to have her there. I had heard about
chicks hitching alone, but not across the country; she was from
Wisconsin heading to Pennsylvania. The two of us got along fine. For
us, hitchhiking turned into a game, and we were winning. Getting
rides was easy and before long we reached the junction where Janet
went north and I was supposed to continue east. Janet suggested I go
with her to see her cousin who was attending a small church school
in northern Pennsylvania and I was more than happy to oblige. She
was returning money that he had sent her for the purpose of scoring
some weed. She could have sent the money back, but I guess she
figured she would get to spend some time with her cousin this way
(she wasn't able to get the dope because her dealer got busted.)
After we got off the turnpike, we went in the wrong direction, and
by the time we corrected the mistake, we were out of daylight and we
still had fifty miles to go. Our one compensation was that
Pennsylvania was beautiful and northern Pennsylvania was even more
beautiful. The mountain road to the college had little or no traffic
on it, so Janet called her cousin to come rescue us. Fortunately,
she was able to reach him by phone and he agreed. We found a small
restaurant to sit in until her cousin arrived in his black Mercedes'
limousine. Actually, the limousine wasn't her cousin's car; it was
her cousin's roommate's car. He volunteered to help with the rescue.
Riding in the backseat of a limousine with Janet was great fun. It
didn't appear to me that her cousin was in need of anything though,
since on the ride back he shared his killer weed with us. The music
and wine were excellent too. It seemed like it took forever to get
back to the college. Part of the problem was that halfway there we
pulled off the road to watch the largest crane/steam-shovel
imaginable. There were floodlights everywhere and this shovel, about
the size of a small house, was chewing up the mountain. We were
pretty stoned, so this spectacle was an interesting diversionary
activity.
That little sideshow gave Janet and I time to discuss our sleeping
arrangements and we decided come hell or high water we'd find a way
to be together. It was rather difficult getting our wishes realized,
though. We ended up giving her cousin $38. of the $50. owed him,
just so we could rent a motel room. Janet was old enough to make her
own decisions, and her cousin wasn't in a position to tell her what
to do, but it was easy to see that he didn't approve of his little
cousin's behavior. His disapproval was duly noted, as Janet and I
went off to our cushy motel room. We were, thanks to him, in the
right state of mind to enjoy the evening. We made it five times that
night. The next morning, after Janet's cousin found her in a good
mood, his demeanor changed for the better. He was only trying to
protect her; if I were he, I guess I would have reacted the same way.
Sight seeing was on the agenda, so we toured Janet's cousin's school
and it's small college town surroundings. We stopped for coffee
before heading back to the interstate and on our way south, Janet
and I sat holding hands while her cousin chauffeured us to the
highway. Our good-byes were less than poignant as each of us went
our separate ways. Janet's cousin went north, Janet headed west and
I trucked on east. Waiting for my next ride with my thumb out,
waving goodbye to my lover who also had her thumb out was a feeling
so odd that I just had to take note. There was something queer yet
beautiful about this whole state of affairs. I knew that this kind
of life would eventually fade into history, but that only made
living it extra special now!
No comments:
Post a Comment