2 - The Day Before

Saturday, September 22, 2018

     What if I could find another '73 Catalina? Curious, I looked online, and found one. It was even the same shade of artichoke green. Only 82,000 miles (so they said) and mine for a mere $12,000. Why, they would even ship it from North Carolina.

     Nah, my Dodge Challenger would have to do. Not such a bad option, and accommodating of my overpacking. How did we do this in 1978, with two people? Because back then I had only three t-shirts, a pair of cutoffs, and a sleeping bag. Now I have twenty t-shirts, five slacks, four pair of shoes, and even a suit (you never know!). Not to mention a cooler filled with Gatorade, water, and emergency beer.

     Finally pulling out of the driveway, I actually felt chills. I want this! On the way down I-75 to Cincinnati, listening to music, I even felt a little high. (Though it could have been the Nature's Path "Hemp Hearts" granola I had for breakfast.)

     Bruce, my 1978 traveling companion. I met Bruce at Skyline Chili at Madison Road in Cincinnati, and brought my journals and photo albums. We talked for five hours.

     Why did you go with me back then? I asked him.

     "Three reasons. One, I wanted to do the trip. Two, sell the screenplay. (A Hollywood agent was interested in a script Bruce sent, and was willing to meet with him.) Three, get some space from a very intense relationship." (Example: “We went out for pizza. I asked if she wanted black or green olives. She replied, “Do you feel the undercurrent of violence in this city?”) Bruce was also dissatisfied with the course of his post-college career. He had been working in a federal prison, hoping to be a teacher there, but all he was doing was “living quarter and body cavity searches and watching for the passing of contraband during visits.” 

     I was not able to persuade Bruce to go with me this time, but I was able to get him to take a photo of me on top of my car, recreating the shot at the beginning of this blog. He was game, running out in the middle of Madison St. during breaks in traffic, and this is what we got:

     For that, my ass got soaking wet from the rain.

     Mike, who participated in the 1978 trip by playing chess with me remotely. After goodbyes with Bruce, I joined Mike, his wife, her parents, and their monkey "Scamp" for dinner.

     After everyone else had finished their entrees, I politely inquired about mine; the servers feigned surprise. "Oh, you ordered food too???" Eventually I got my dinner and we returned to Mike's, where we reminisced some more and started the 2018 chess game.

He's even wearing his championship chess shirt, to psych me out.

      Then after a long day, it was time for my first night's sleep, on the road (or a fancy Cincinnati suburb).

Tomorrow: Return to Kirklin, Indiana.