Corpus Christy
Nov. 5
I hitched into town, and at Darlene's, we talked until Iva and
Jolynn arrived; then the four of us went out and bought some wine
and chips. Half way through the evening, we were running out of wine
when Darlene's mother showed up with two quarts of Boonsfarm under
her arm. That kept the party moving along. After the conversation
turned to my going to Austin, Jolynn said, "I'm leaving for
California tomorrow and if you would like, I can give you a lift as
far as San Antonio." She was moving to California to live with her
sister, and, of course, I was both surprised and delighted with her
offer. "Sure," I replied, "that would be great." The thought of
being alone with the girl who I had a mad crush on put me in seventh
heaven.
The Moody Blues album Question of Balance was playing on the stereo
and, when I wasn't laughing at something Darlene's mother had said,
I was trying to pay attention to the music. Darlene's mother was
quite the comedian. When the wine was just about gone, Iva and
Darlene's mother left. Iva had already stayed longer than she
wanted. She had an early morning class. Jolynn was close to passing
out, so Darlene and I decided to go for a walk. I don't remember
what we talked about, but I do remember what we did when we got back
to the apartment; it was instinctual.
I woke in the morning to the unpleasant sound of the telephone. Iva
was summoning me to a morning sociology lecture. By the time I got
back from her college, Jolynn was packed and ready to leave for
California.
It was intoxicating riding in the car with her. I felt as if Cupid
had sent his arrow straight through my heart. I tried to persuade
Jolynn to go to Austin with me. Actually, I was going to Austin
merely for something to do. I no longer felt that marching in the
streets was going to stop the war, so my entreaties to Jo left a
sour taste in my mouth. But, she agreed, and when she did, I could
hardly contain my joy. I must admit I made the protest sound like a
great humanitarian effort, but hey, a fellow's got to do what he's
got to do! It was a dream come true; Jolynn was coming with me.
We lost our way going through San Antonio. That was not an unusual
event for me, but Jo got flustered. The good part of the adventure
though, was coming upon the Alamo unexpectedly. It wasn't anything
like the way I remembered the Davy Crocket days back on TV. It was
much smaller. Seeing rats run through the streets of San Antonio was
kind of a bring down too. San Antonio didn't have a monopoly on rats
however; Corpus and other southern cities had their share also.
We went to the student mobilization committee (SMC) as soon as we
arrived in Austin. Once there, I got an address where Jolynn and I
could crash. After that, Jolynn and I were off to find Mike, the cat
who drove me to Austin from El Paso. We were in luck, he was
ushering at the theater where he told me he worked. After seeing the
movie, Catch-22, a good movie about the insanity of war, he invited
us over to his apartment where we drank beer and smoked some
excellent weed. He was insistent that we spend the night at his
apartment. (I felt blessed by all the good luck I was having.) As it
turned out, we were too stoned to move anyway.
Mike was with his girlfriend who had hitchhiked all the way from
McAllen, Texas (the very bottom of Texas). It was obvious the two
hadn't seen each other for a long time. When Mike wasn't playing
kissy face with his girlfriend, or listening to the James Gang on
the stereo, he was rolling up another joint. Before the evening was
over, Jo and I crawled into bed together. Cupid's arrows were mere
pinpricks compared to the real thing. Never before had the girl who
I lusted after and then loved, made love back to me. I didn't want
to go to sleep after that. I wanted that moment to last forever, but
alas, my eyes closed, and in the morning, I woke with the girl of my
dreams resting quietly in my arms.
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