I seem to have missed that kind of drug scene but skirted it enough to know that I was not very hip. My straight arrow phase started in high school where all my friends smoked, drank and cut school. Not me, though. And I was still a virgin, too. I wasn't a goody 2 shoes, I was just afraid of consequences, not a terribly noble reason to be a good person, but there you are.
Then I went to 2 years of University of Hawaii, living with my parents still. I had absolutely no goals so was easily convinced by my dental school brother to go to dental hygiene school. My mom said she didn't want me to end up being a waitress and figured cleaning teeth was a notch or 2 up from that. From ignorance (mine) blooms disappointment (everyone's.) Oh my god but dental hygiene was paralyzing. I started reading things like Howl and listening to Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger so I was illusioned into thinking I was some kind of intellectual.
Thereupon I figured I could write nonsensical hoo-ha as well as anyone else so began a stream of profound poetry-writing. At least when I read it it seemed profound but I soon noticed that I was alone in my admiration. Never mind...I still have every one of those scraps of hoo-ha paper which gives me yet a direct line to my 19 year old mind. Archeology of reminiscense.
I became more and more alienated from mainstream anything, but maybe that was just an abreaction to my original problem of no ambition. Thus I was easy pickings for the Peace Corps recruiters when they made their debut at UH. This became my 'save the world' phase as I whipped off an application to WA DC. Well, I saw a bit of the world, true, but can't really remember saving anything. Wish I could've at least saved myself, but, no...I apparently needed to self-destruct first. The legacy I gave myself was an "interesting history..." I sure didn't go on to fame or fortune, but was happy for many years with the sense that I'd been part of something big, something globally good.
Anyhow, at the beginning of Magic Trip there was some footage of Kennedy's assassination. That's what got me started on this little trip to the past. By the time I remembered the 11/22 historical reference, though, I forgot what I was going to write about it. I think I'll leave it right there.
3 comments:
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I was totally blown away by you back in '66 on that boat back to the USA. Peace Corps? Wow, someone who became a part of something bigger than herself. I admired your willingness to go somewhere to do something admirable whereas I just went into the Air Force because I had to. Thanks for writing.
A lot of people who were supposed to go into the service didn't. So you're admirable for being honorable!
Someday we're going to have to compare notes on that bucket of bolts. I still have the poetry I wrote but not the articles I wrote for the ship's newsletter. Like the one where I reassured everyone that we were nowhere near the hurricane.
The hurricane I slept through and came topside to see all the furnture tied up to the walls instead of laid out for lounging. Everybody looked at me like I was nuts when I asked why. I must have drunk a lot that night.
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