In the spring of 1959 I was living the life of a 19 year old college dropout. I was living in the loft above a former barn in Berkeley along sorority row. My rent was $5 a month. I had transfered to Cal from Cal Tech but quickly found street life more interesting and more educational than attending classes. I began and ended my first love affair. I was looking for adventure. I decided to hitchhike to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby.
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| Tomy Lee wins 1959 Derby |
Incredibly enough I made it. But with only a few dollars in my pocket, I did not see the race. Instead I satisfied myself that I was there on derby day and stuck out my thumb to head west.
I returned to find my loft condemned as a fire hazard. I built a lean to in Strawberry Canyon near the Cyclotron and lived there a while. My Thoreau period.
By August, broke with no options but relying on my parents, I joined the Army. I became a Russian linguist and spy in the Cold War.
Hence my soft spot for Derby Day, today.
6 comments:
I'll have another story snippet of your life... love them.
You and Jack Kerouac. Way ahead of your time Deemer.iwas hitch hiking from Sacramento to Pasadena about once a month in that year. Oh the rides - I could/should write a book of those tales.
You and Jack Kerouc. You were way ahead of the times, Deemer.i was hitch hiking from Sacto to Pasadena about once a month in 59 . (in a USAF uniform) oh the rides! I could/should write a book of those tails.
Gale Davis PHS57
Annie, you then might enjoy my memoir DRESS REHEARSALS: THE EDUCATION OF A MARGINAL WRITER. Paperback at Amazon. Ebook at Smashwords, you set the price.
Gale, my "Kerouac" was an older student, actor, who got me into long travel by thumb. I kept a journal of Derby trip, still have it, in fact I used an excerpt in my feature micromovie THE FAREWELL WAKE, main character reads from it.
Thanks for the suggestion - Dress Rehearsals has been ordered and I am looking forward to the read.
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