The confidence I had as a youngster was shot. I discovered I wasn’t the toughest, wasn’t the best looking. I certainly wasn’t the coolest. When all was lost, I found Jesus, my Lord and Savior….Just kidding. To each his own, right? Heh. Anyways, I somehow made it to high school. I’d learned I wasn’t the crowned Prince of Earth, which is a good thing, but I still believed I was the best gawd damned artist in the land. I wasn’t.
Okay, before I get to high school, I neglected some prime moments in life which happened in junior high. Being influenced by
John
ny Weismueler movies & ER Burroughs Tarzan books, I loved, simply LOVED the forests of
Massachusetts
. At least during the day. At night those
Berkshire
woods were full of werewolves & various other nasty carnivorous beasts, but in the daylight they were a jungle paradise and I was Tarzan. I’d run through the woods, believing I was faster than a gazelle, to a magical lake called Moorewood. I could hold my breath for almost two minutes – really – I could, and I’d swim underwater going through the weeds, watching the fish escape me, the Jungle Lord! One beautiful day I was down there with goggles, and a beautiful neighbor, I’ll call her “M” in case she’s married w/ kids now, or a politician, came to the shore and yelled out to me out in the lake asking if I minded her jumping in too. She then took her clothes off. Long brown hair, large beautiful breasts & a slim belly. She was one of those sweet sixteen’s who dated older guys with cars. Now she was here, with me, naked. Y’know that scene from “The Creature from the Black Lagoon?” The one where the creature swims beneath Julia
Adam
s? I put that to shame. I tell ya, there was nothing more stunningly beautiful than watching a lovely large-boobed woman, swimming from beneath her. Every arm stroke, though believe me, I wasn’t watching her arms, was amazing. The beauty of a voluptuous woman’s body and its fluid movements affects a 14 year old fantasy lover like a flame affects a moth. I was never the same again. I never touched her, but we become good friends. My first love was one of her best friends; I’ll call her “S”. Even though “S” eventually crushed & stomped my 14 year old heart to mush, I recall those “M” days as some of my best. The “M” days showed me reality could be every bit as magical and exciting as fantasy. I started leaving the monster mags and comics behind.
I met Bob Stegner in the junior high offices. I think I was there for getting my ass kicked in the boy’s room; he was there cuz he got hit by a can of coke thrown by some wadhead during a school assembly. Out of the thousands of kids in the auditorium Bob was the one who got hit. Thank goodness, cuz Bob became one of those friends you get for life. Bob introduced me to motorcycles & a free spirited way of life that was firmly based in reality. He also had a mom who loved me and all of Bob’s and my friends were like her own. Bob’s home became our second home and Bob’s mom became our second mom (we called her Mum). We stopped fighting, rode dirt bikes, partied in Bob’s basement (in those days partying like that was cool), and formed tight bonds with some of the greatest guys on earth. The only drawing I did was under the influence, with my best friends “oh wowing” around me. Great times but not very productive. That about sums up all of high school. Great times under Bob’s mom and dad’s protective wing. Once graduating high school, Bob’s dad got us jobs at his tire store. We worked hard, played hard, and we all (Bob’s family and us) went up to
Arcadia
National Park
every summer for vacation. 1972-1979 were special days. I grew up those days. I witnessed a mom and dad who loved each other intensely and watched out for all their loved ones diligently. That was twenty five years ago. Bob’s mom, our second mom, died recently at 72. A husband, three of her own kids and many other kids who are now scattered around the world are better for knowing her. I can hear her loving voice, delighting in seeing us every time we came to her door. I refuse to believe I’ll never hear it again. She didn’t believe in hell, cuz she brought out the good in everyone who met her, never encountered evil, so I’ll be she’s got a good home in heaven. A home very similar to 17 Pinegrove Drive, where Bob senior, Bob Jr., Debbie, Michelle and the rest of the family’s adopted kids were privileged to enjoy a reality that was very magical. The magic, the drama, the heartache & joy of family. Mum’s family.
