Genny read a pivotal scene in her story of Laura and Jessie, in which Laura quickly finds a driver to pick them up and give them a ride to the dance. It was 1967, the Summer of Love. Everybody was hitchhiking, Jessie writes.
Uneasy to begin with, Jessie is unnerved by the man in the back seat with her. He’s wearing a peace necklace and wingtip shoes, the name Jack is stitched on his shirt, and he’s pulling ‘the move,’ with his arm stretched across the seat, ‘accidentally’ falling on Jessie’s shoulder.
Jessie objects, and with no better plan, agrees to switching seats. Now Laura is in the backseat with Jack and his slick (at least in his mind) moves, and Jessie is not feeling any better about being in the car. She escapes at a stop light and runs. The car drives off with Laura still in the back with Jack.
Catherine was very amused by the combination of peace necklace and wingtip shoes. We learned the difference between ‘baldies’ and ‘greasers’ in 1967. And the Laura in the group can’t wait to see Ross, Judy, and Judd enter this story, given the turns her namesake’s story is taking.
The storm that was raging outside, thankfully began to die about this point. We all took some fish from the cooler Catherine brought after her husband’s latest fishing expedition, and headed out into the night that had settled down from flood warnings and lightning, to a light drizzle.
Night Writers 