Now I am getting into some of my foggy years. There are a lot of missing time warps, and as I write, more bits and pieces come to mind. Let’s see, when I went to Seattle I needed some money so I sold my car to my dad, and in turn he sold it. I moved back to Coupeville and got my job back at the Seagull Café. I found a room in a motel 2 miles south of town that rented out for the month. It had a kitchenette and it was sufficient. I would get a ride to work and there was always someone to get me home. I would go to parties in Oak Harbor (12 miles away). I decided to have a party at my apartment, and had someone buy me a bottle of vodka and some roses lime juice. I started drinking gimlets as soon as I got home and by the time the first person showed up, I was drunk!! When I drank, if it tasted good, I would want MORE!! So I drank the entire fifth and when everyone showed up, I passed out. The next day I was told that I can throw a great party! I’ll take their word for it!!
I had a hard time getting rides to work so I found a cheap place to rent in town (Town had a population of 750 in 1967). It was two blocks from work. After work I went to a lot of parties and they usually ended up at my house. In fact many times I would come home from work to a party going on in my house and I lived alone!! I did not own a television. I had a stereo and lots of albums. The best albums were the “Oldies but Goodies”. I met a group of Sailors from New York and they would all end up at my house. We played the “Oldies but Goodies” all through the night and we danced, danced, danced!! That little one bedroom bungalow would cram in 50 people partying through the night!! To this day whenever I hear an Oldie from the 50’s, I get melancholy. Sha Na NA is one of my favorite groups. I remember one night I got a phone call from Vic Seeley the Tavern Owner/Mayor. He asked if I had a party going on, and I said yes, and he sent 9 Green Beret guys over!! They were at NAS Whidbey doing some survival training for Viet Nam and were on a weekend off and went to the Tavern looking for fun and girls. Vic sold them each a case of beer and sent them to my house!! Remember, I was only 19 or 20 at the time!!
I need to go back a year or so. When I was still living with mom & dad we lived in a very old Victorian house on top of a hill. It had a ghost in it. We never saw it, but it would do strange things. Once it locked my bedroom door from the inside. I lived on the second story and there is no way anyone could’ve locked it from the inside and sneak out the windows! It had a hook lock that needed to be pushed to lock. The ghost would turn my light on and off in my bedroom. There was one source of electricity in the room and it was from a hanging bulb from the center of the ceiling. I was afraid of the dark and would go to sleep with the light on. I would wake up in the middle of the night and it would be turned off. This battle went on for months, so we had it re-wired. That did not stop it. The cat would sleep with me and I would wake up to the cat growling staring at the wall. (mice?). We were all convinced there was a ghost!
Once while I was working at the café Helen and I were the only two in there. We were sitting at the counter and two good looking well dressed guys walked in and headed to the back dining room. I grabbed two menus and headed back. I got in the dining room and they weren’t there. I went back out front and Helen was still sitting at the counter. I asked her if she saw them walk out, and she said no. The only two doors were right in front. Helen was sitting there and they had to go by her to get out, I was in the hall and they would have to go by me or walk through the kitchen and come out by Helen. Hmmmmm…a couple of spirits just passing through.
Back to the parties… One night the “New Yorkers” were at my house and were were bored so we all decided to go to an old abandoned house a block away. It was eerie. The grass was mossy and soft, and the windows and doors were nailed shut. We pulled off the boards and opened the front door. The guys of course decided to go in first and my friend Irene and I were right behind them. As we all entered the house a Rainier beer bottle came rolling down the stairs!! (We were drinking Olympia). Well those big brave men flattened me trying to get out of the house screaming like little girls!! I got the giggles and couldn’t run! I was rolling in the front yard laughing hysterically. One by one they all came creeping back sheepishly. We went back in looking for the source of the bottle. Upstairs was kinda spooky. Well okay, the whole house was kinda spooky!!
I went in one of the rooms upstairs and there was a rocker in the middle of the room rocking all by itself. This time my eyes popped out of my head and I turned to run and noticed that again I was the last to leave!! They guys were a block away screaming by the time I got to the front door. Again I was rolling in the front lawn laughing hysterically. I think I peed my pants that time!! To this day I love to get scared!!
(adrenaline junkie).
Tomorrow…more parties!!
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