Little blue bug eyed Sprite

I was probably 10-12 years old and had been shopping with my mom and sisters. As usual I slipped away from them with the agreement that we would meet later a a designated place.

So it was that I found myself at the foot of the escalator to the upper floor of Horne's Department Store in The Whitehall Terrace Shopping Center. I remember the place well as it became the focal part for one of the most life defining dreams that I ever had.

The Summer of 1965

 (Brief note, this story isn't quite a true account. It was as they say on TV inspired by true events. In truth we never even kissed, but we did flirt and she always had me ride in the front seat right beside her. Truthfully, I have no idea why she liked me so much - other than I was an easy no downside flirtation and maybe a little fun due to my lack of understanding.)

It was the summer of 1965, the Rolling Stones were amazing the world by flat out stating that they weren’t getting any satisfaction. Yeah, right, but you can be sure I wasn’t even though at 15 “Satisfaction” and “What the World Needs Now” were about the only things I thought much about.

A Summer Night

No, it wasn’t dark or stormy. In fact it was quite pleasant. The day had been as well. It may have stormed a bit midafternoon but by 7:00 we were outside working on Jerry’s car. Jerry was my best friend, a year older he was my ticket to go place, he had a driver’s license and per his reports, he was quite well versed in all things sexual. At the time we were working on a car that he and his dad were restoring and I was getting a lesson in bondo application.

“So you want to stay the night?” he said as we worked. “I can get some beer from the old man’s fridge, we can check out my Playboy collection. It’ll be cool.” At 15 how could I turn down an invitation like that? So I called home and cleared it with the parents, conveniently forgetting to mention the driving forces in the request. Looking back I think I had already checked my willpower at the door.