Thumbing Around: Letter From a Sixteen-Year-Old

Your last letter was the best one I’ve ever recieved in my life. It was like a really peaceful love affair. Not that I rate your letters 1-10—Just that it was cheering to know one so beautiful and intellectual as you gave a shit. So where did I go? RIGHT DOWN JONES STREET IN NEW YORK!! In fact I tried to call you three times but you weren’t in. HMM. I guess you were in Cambridge at that fateful time. So heres where I went in order.

1. - HARTFORD: got a ride from middlebury Vermont all the way. The guy gave us his adress in Milford for a place to stay, decided to go there that day—thumbed to—

2. MILFORD and stayed with him 3 days. WELL OFF! swimming pool, pool table, stereo, color t.v., snazzy house, and very cute, then his 2 friends drove us to—

3. NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND! Absolutely groovy Jazz fest. Stayed with various people—on the beach—in the woods, on the hill—and once in a very grubby hotel which we split from within the hour. YUCK. stayed for three days—Sly and the family stones, 10 years after, James brown, and the mothers of Invention plus alot of other super groups. (BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS!) got a ride in a tiny triumph all the way back to milford where we stayed another 2 days. Then (since the guy in the triumph gave us his adress and a place to stay) we split for

4. GREENWICH, CONN, where we arrived very tired. While thumbing through town to his place we got a ride with this seventy-five year old nut who offered us a place to stay all summer. We decided to start with just one night so we went with him instead. JESUS! (If you can dig that) we drove up to this castle with an actual moat around it! core. the house itself was a million rod serling books high and about two hundred thousand bell bottoms thick. Plush thick fat delicious green carpeting—high ceilings, an actual rembrant, servant quarters, old fashioned door bell chimes in every room—just super amazing things. Can’t go into it all . . . Anyway spent the night there and then went to the other place—the guy was there with his friend and we all suddenly decided to split for-

5. LANCASTER PENN. - we left conn very very stoned and fled down the turnpike in his teeny weeny little triumph. Marybeth and I were absolutely scrunched in the back . . . Thats pretty logical considering there WAS no back seat. So finally we got there and heard there was gonna be a bust. (His sister was very into the scene - - -) well there wasn’t and since his parents were in Canada on some island we decided to accept there offer of a place to stay for a while. Now I’ll describe the house—being One of the luckiest chicks in the world they were filthy rich too. that means —pool table—3 sports cars, a refrigerator with the most amazing stuff in the world in it. (gained 7 pounds there—no kidding!) (that includes caviar —YUCK.), 5 color t.v.’s, 3 stereos, the biggest mansion this side of africa, and put that all together and you relize suddenly who they were - - - -

THE OWNERS OF [-] COM.-incredible!!!

Then about 10 miles from them they were good friends with the owners of [-]potato chips! ! ! (the company not the chip himself.) we swam in their pool 3 times—it was in the [company] emblem!!! Too much. I don’t know how long we were there but we split to

6. MARYLAND next. Got a ride into the state with these super WEIRD guys. Marybeth and I were sitting in the back seat - - O. K. - - - So there’s this brown paper bag on the floor . . . Well, curiosity killed the cat and it might have killed me too come to think of it ... I opened it and saw alot of sheets—groovy. But they were torn— NO!!!They were cut! cut with scissors . . . cut like holes . . . two round holes and one long one . . I drew one out and YUCK! It was a hood! Jesus man I says to myself—you’ve done it this time, and the klu klux klan no less! Good thing they stopped soon. Got out and fled back to the security of

7. NEW YORK CITY—where we got a ride with a negro revrand into the city. On the way through I saw for the first time in my simple life an accident. This truck infront of us (A huge trailer truck ran smack into a family with about ten kids. The reverend stopped his car right in the middle of the lane and ran back to see if anyone was hurt no thank god. I was so upset!! So we lived at a runaway house in the west village awhile - - Had a coke at the zodiac with one of the mafia, they kept trying to sell us speed. Core. They were pretty scarey guys. They talked constantly of rape and murder. Whew. Split - - (WHICH WAS VERY DIFFICULT - - NEW YORK IS HUGE!) anyway we walked through miles of city till we finally reached some parkway or something. Got a ride with a weird couple in a 1941 lincoln! Absolutely out of sight!! Arrived in providence Rhode Island toward dusk and then thumbed at night on the mass pike into—

8. Boston, hung around the arlington street church till someone offered us a place to stay. His name was dicky and he was super to us. His wife was 9 months P. G. and due any day. He took us to his flat—first crumby place we ever stayed. Cockroaches in the refridgerator no less! Stayed there a few days—gave him all my speed to sell for me —oh damn. I wish I hadn’t. I really hate myself now. He got busted and we moved to Cambridge. Met my cousin on the street and stayed there 3 days till we went home. Poor mum. Anyway I’m back and not too happy. Mum thinks I’m a nymphomaniac. How AWFUL! she said I was frigid. Christ! my worst fear. Miss you muchly!