That’s Very Curious! But Everything’s Curious Today

One Said The Universe Had A Beginning; The Other Said It Did Not
Black Hills Of South Dakota

Sept. 1976

Working at the Novelty Company gave me new life. At least in the
beginning, I was actually trained to do something. I had my candy
route to take care of, but I also had to fix the coin changers, and
occasionally, I had to fix pinball machines and video games. The other
guys (four route men, two tech people) mostly took care of the repair
part. I got along with everybody. In fact, everybody got along with
everybody. The boss even sprang for a Holiday Inn weekend for "his
boys." It was his way of saying thanks. It was a bit embarrassing,
though. My boss, Bernie, got drunk and belligerent, so they kicked him
off the premises.

Carole Sue and I were getting along okay. The summer passed without
incident. By then, living in Deadwood had become routine. There were
the occasional sixty-mile trips over to Rapid City, the largest town
in the area, but for the most part, we just stayed put. It was hard to
keep from getting stale, though. In order to get the blood pumping again, I
planned another trip to the mountains, but my trip to the Tetons was a bit
disappointing. I summed up my disappointment in a journal entry before
heading back to Deadwood.

Aug. 14, ‘76

I find myself in the wind and rain, at the foot of the Tetons, with $13 in my pocket. This
trip has been full of disappointments. One more surprise, and I'll pack it in
and go home. I use to write about disappointments; these days I do not write at all.

Back in Deadwood, it was the same old stuff, and then the cast of
"Godspell" came to town. The New York City theater troupe was on tour.
C.S.'s brother, Denny, an entertainer himself, became friends with
some of the cast members and got all of us invited to the cast party.
The troupe had rented three cabins in a beautiful spot in the Black
Hills, south of Deadwood. C.S. and I really I enjoyed their
performance and looked forward to going to the party. When the time
came we even took our new puppy with us.

The cast, a bunch of talented kids, was pretty laid back when it came
to partying, but that was the way I liked it. For the most part, we
sat around picnic tables talking, eating, and drinking. I was going
for another beer when I strolled past a couple of cast members who
were in a heated discussion. The female was drinking vodka straight
from the bottle. They were talking astronomy; a subject I had never
heard discussed in Deadwood before. At first I thought they were
talking about exploding stars, but it soon became apparent that they
disagreed on the origin of the universe. It wasn't a religious
argument, though. They were arguing about two opposing theories in
astronomy. One said that the universe had a beginning; the other said
it did not.

After I got another beer from the cooler, I sat down in an empty
chair. It was fun listening to them. I knew a little bit about what
they were talking about, but they knew a lot more than I did. When
I got to speak, I told them that I found the subject fascinating, and
that I had the best seat in the house.