And She Lets The River Answer That You’ve Always Been Her Lover
Alice, Texas
Oct. 20, `70
David was still sleeping when I was ready to leave El Paso. He
wasn't very happy when I woke him, and then he said, "How much money
do you deserve?" I said, "$10." I thought that would at least recoup
the money I spent for food. He motioned for me to hand him his
pants, whereupon he took out his wallet and handed me the money. I
walked out to the highway, and got a ride all the way to Austin,
Texas. I wasn't rich, but I sure was lucky.
The driver, Mike, and his sister, picked me up just before the rains
came. When we reached Austin, eight hours later, it was still
raining. Mike offered me his place to crash, and when we pulled into
his driveway, we saw pigs busting a car for dope just down the
block. That incident didn't exactly send good vibes our way, but
once inside the apartment, everything calmed down.
In the morning, Mike and I went to the University of Texas, home of
the Texas Longhorns. After eating lunch in the student union, we
climbed Beaumont Tower where the ex-marine had shot and killed all
those students. From the top it was easy to see how he could pick
off lots of people. The city of Austin was a lot like East Lansing;
it was the capital of Texas and even the streets were laid out like
the streets of East Lansing (the University was actually larger than
Michigan State University). I felt right at home. After spending
almost the whole day in Austin, I had Mike take me to the expressway
where I thanked him for his hospitality. I really enjoyed his
company. Then I stuck out my thumb and was off for Corpus.
The hitching was good until I got to the other side of San Antonio,
and then it still wasn't too bad. It was night when I got dropped
off outside Alice, Texas. I was walking through Alice when a couple
of cowboys picked me up and drove me out of town. Apparently, they
were concerned about my safety. They told me Alice was not a safe
place for hippie people. They said they had friends who, just for
the fun of it, liked to bust up people that looked like me. I think
they were sincere. Outside of town, I threw my sleeping bag down
Texas cowboy style, and called it a night. At the crack of dawn, I
realized I had slept next to Prickly cacti and an ant mound. I guess
that explains why I spent such an uncomfortable night, not to
mention that my sweaty sleeping bag was full of sand.
It was almost afternoon when I arrived in Corpus Christy. Located on
the Gulf of Mexico, Corpus was home to a beautiful yacht harbor, and
was a very scenic city. I stayed there long enough to get a donut
and coffee and buy a book. When I was browsing in the bookstore, I
remembered Tom (from the Tetons) telling me that Nietzsche was one
of the originators of existentialist thought; anyway it was a thick
book, I was sure it would come in handy.
Padre Island was located twenty miles southeast of Corpus and
stretched hundreds of miles down the coast of Texas. It was a very
narrow island; as such, it acted as a sea wall protecting the coast
of Texas from hurricanes. It also attracted a lot of beach people
like myself. When I arrived, after taking a bus from Corpus, I was
not disappointed. The island's tall grass, sand dunes, and beach
stretched for as far as the eye could see. The only hassle was with
the cars that drove along the beach. When that happened the beach
stopped being a beach and became a highway. Fortunately, for me, I
was there in the off-season, where only a few people were using the
beach. There weren't many facilities. I could walk to one small
store, or the fishing pier, but that was the extent of it. My
intentions were to get as far away from people as possible. Getting
food and water put a limit on just how far I could go though. With
the cars traveling the beach, you were always within reach of
someone anyhow.
My first night on the beach was nice. It was just me, the twilight, and
sound of the ocean surf. I was singing Leonard Cohen's Suzanne to myself
at first, and then out loud...well, at least until the wind picked up.
With the wind, came the sand in the face, eyes, hair, etc. One good
thing about the wind though, it kept the mosquito hordes away; a
pretty mean trick that did not go unappreciated. After finding a
spot for my sleeping bag, I made rice for dinner, but the blowing
sand kept me from eating it. The welcoming sound of the crashing
ocean surf was fantastic though!
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