It was absolutely love at first sight. I fumbled my way through dinner but managed to impress her enough for her to invite me to show them around. I finished the shift and we rambled around Bourbon St. until we decided to go to my apartment in the Vieux Carre' for some rest. Mark had long since got the message from Sheila that she liked me. I've never been with such a wonderful girl before. After a quiet night of party she asked me to meet her the next day at their motel room on Airline Highway. I found out she is a New York model who is paid very well. She gave me a rabbit skin hat that figured in my life for many years. She joked about it being a rabbi skin. Jewish humor was so in.
I had discovered a long haired Persian cat trapped in the wall. I figured a way to rescue this cat. I later found out it was the dealers cat. The guy was arrested and had abandoned this beautiful cat. I eventually gave it to my brother who cares for her until she died.
When April rolled around, I set off down the highway to LA with stars in my eyes and a song in my heart. I had Sheila's scarf wrapped around my neck for good luck. It was a white fluffy thing that hung to my knees. I was hitching with Jim. He had a John Lennon haircut and a desire to leave the South. I found out later he was AWOL from the Army. You just never know what's in store when you take to the road. There were no more rides for us in the middle of Texas with no shelter. It began snowing heavily. We were faced with an early spring blizzard and death by freezing. I jumped the fence to build a fire. My hands were numb as I tried to light a fire in the blowing snow.
The steady hum of an approaching car made me leap to my feet and start running to the highway with the scarf flapping in the wind. A VW slid to a halt. We jumped in and asked the million dollar question 'how far are you going?' LA, he said. I wouldn't have seen you except for the white scarf waving like a flag. We arrived at Sheila's front door.
I said goodbye to my roadie friends and said a big hello to Sheila. Something was slightly akilter, though. Even though she recognized me, we were meeting in a different situation. We finally got over the difficult parts and started enjoying each others company again. She would go to work teaching school. I would spend the day driving around in her bright red VW until it was time to pick her up at school. Life was beautiful. She was absolutely beautiful. She was a recent divorcee and was missing the warmth and protection that marriage affords to women. She asked me to marry and I would have except I had nothing going on that would have supported us. You can't live on love alone. I started looking for a job in LA. Reality was soon taking over and hamstringing all my plans. Not even one job magically appeared to solve my financial woes.
Things moved into summer. We were still taking trips to San Francisco on the weekends and as many free events as we could. We saw Wilt Chamberlain play volleyball at a public showing. We were invited to party with celebrities. Sheila used to hang with the Buffalo Springfield and many other LA groups. I came to find out she was a groupie which is not bad in my book. Such a girl with her natural beauty was a potent guy magnet. She was with a guy like me and that was pushing the envelope of reality. I started thinking too much and having doubts that maybe I was being manipulated in some way. I hate politics. Enough said. She took me to a Jewish Community Center in LA. I sat beneath the skylight shaped like a Star of David with the beautiful sunlight streaming down on me. I will always remember that tender moment. I wrote many songs while I was with Shelia. All lost to the winds. I only remember fragments now.
One night we were going to Bill Withers house of 'Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone' fame. I started having panic attacks about this. I told her to stop the car or I will jump out. I opened the door as if to do it. She turned around and headed home. The stress of it all was getting to me. It was at point I decided that the music business was not for me. Fame is a fleeting thing. As the bass player told me when we were forming a band. You don't have the heart for this sort of rigorous life. He was absolutely right. I broke off all contact with anyone connected to the music business. In those days a band was stopped mid tour by law enforcement. Everything and I mean everything is confiscated. There was no fighting the powers that be. You might remember the group Blue Cheer? I met them in New Orleans. They told me of being stopped as they were entering Europe. There was nothing they could do but go home and sit it out. If I tried to succeed, I would have died somewhere in my early 30's. All I wanted was a nice quiet long life. Stage fright is a very real phenomena. I had stage fright since I was 15 yrs old. I could not recite the scout law in public even though everyone was watching me on stage. I disappeared from public life for good. I did my time. I paid my dues. I got no reward except some interesting memories.
Our beautiful friendship collapsed in a spiraling tizzy. Her white Persian cat got out one day and was beaten bloody by the neighborhood strays. The neighbors turned out to be drug dealers fresh out of prison. Sheila loved her cokes and smokes but I was having a psychotic episode. It was time to go home. I called my Dad. He sent me a plane ticket back to New Orleans. The dream was over. I sent many letters to her that were never answered. I called her brother. He told me she married a lawyer and moved to Seattle. She now has two babies. So that was it for me. No more long distance relationships. I was soon headed for nowhere soon.
When April rolled around, I set off down the highway to LA with stars in my eyes and a song in my heart. I had Sheila's scarf wrapped around my neck for good luck. It was a white fluffy thing that hung to my knees. I was hitching with Jim. He had a John Lennon haircut and a desire to leave the South. I found out later he was AWOL from the Army. You just never know what's in store when you take to the road. There were no more rides for us in the middle of Texas with no shelter. It began snowing heavily. We were faced with an early spring blizzard and death by freezing. I jumped the fence to build a fire. My hands were numb as I tried to light a fire in the blowing snow.
The steady hum of an approaching car made me leap to my feet and start running to the highway with the scarf flapping in the wind. A VW slid to a halt. We jumped in and asked the million dollar question 'how far are you going?' LA, he said. I wouldn't have seen you except for the white scarf waving like a flag. We arrived at Sheila's front door.
I said goodbye to my roadie friends and said a big hello to Sheila. Something was slightly akilter, though. Even though she recognized me, we were meeting in a different situation. We finally got over the difficult parts and started enjoying each others company again. She would go to work teaching school. I would spend the day driving around in her bright red VW until it was time to pick her up at school. Life was beautiful. She was absolutely beautiful. She was a recent divorcee and was missing the warmth and protection that marriage affords to women. She asked me to marry and I would have except I had nothing going on that would have supported us. You can't live on love alone. I started looking for a job in LA. Reality was soon taking over and hamstringing all my plans. Not even one job magically appeared to solve my financial woes.
Things moved into summer. We were still taking trips to San Francisco on the weekends and as many free events as we could. We saw Wilt Chamberlain play volleyball at a public showing. We were invited to party with celebrities. Sheila used to hang with the Buffalo Springfield and many other LA groups. I came to find out she was a groupie which is not bad in my book. Such a girl with her natural beauty was a potent guy magnet. She was with a guy like me and that was pushing the envelope of reality. I started thinking too much and having doubts that maybe I was being manipulated in some way. I hate politics. Enough said. She took me to a Jewish Community Center in LA. I sat beneath the skylight shaped like a Star of David with the beautiful sunlight streaming down on me. I will always remember that tender moment. I wrote many songs while I was with Shelia. All lost to the winds. I only remember fragments now.
One night we were going to Bill Withers house of 'Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone' fame. I started having panic attacks about this. I told her to stop the car or I will jump out. I opened the door as if to do it. She turned around and headed home. The stress of it all was getting to me. It was at point I decided that the music business was not for me. Fame is a fleeting thing. As the bass player told me when we were forming a band. You don't have the heart for this sort of rigorous life. He was absolutely right. I broke off all contact with anyone connected to the music business. In those days a band was stopped mid tour by law enforcement. Everything and I mean everything is confiscated. There was no fighting the powers that be. You might remember the group Blue Cheer? I met them in New Orleans. They told me of being stopped as they were entering Europe. There was nothing they could do but go home and sit it out. If I tried to succeed, I would have died somewhere in my early 30's. All I wanted was a nice quiet long life. Stage fright is a very real phenomena. I had stage fright since I was 15 yrs old. I could not recite the scout law in public even though everyone was watching me on stage. I disappeared from public life for good. I did my time. I paid my dues. I got no reward except some interesting memories.
Our beautiful friendship collapsed in a spiraling tizzy. Her white Persian cat got out one day and was beaten bloody by the neighborhood strays. The neighbors turned out to be drug dealers fresh out of prison. Sheila loved her cokes and smokes but I was having a psychotic episode. It was time to go home. I called my Dad. He sent me a plane ticket back to New Orleans. The dream was over. I sent many letters to her that were never answered. I called her brother. He told me she married a lawyer and moved to Seattle. She now has two babies. So that was it for me. No more long distance relationships. I was soon headed for nowhere soon.
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