40 Years Ago, On This Day- February 23rd... Tripping

This happened 40 years ago, on this very day- February 23^rd. It is a tawdry tale. Please, don’t be too shocked or too displeased.

I attended college in Boston the year after graduating from high school. I chose Boston because it was so far away from Spokane, where I grew up. I loved Boston that year. Being from the West Coast, Boston seemed like living in Europe. There were buildings from the 17th century. People had funny accents. I had never heard of hoagies or frappes or rotaries. “Regular” coffee came with cream & sugar. Boston in the early 1970s was an excellent place to be a young person; the city seemed to be filled with students from all the different universities.

On an extremely clear &very frozen New England day, my pal Lynn & I dropped acid (so nonchalant) & set out for an adventure. We decided on the Sheraton Back Bay which connects to the Prudential Tower, at the time was the best view of Boston.

Our elevator stopped on the 4th floor & a nicely dressed woman entered. When the lift started to move, our elevator guest turned to us & questioned: “Can I use the bathroom in your room”. We explained that we were not guests in the hotel. She then stated: “I know it sounds odd, but I really need to pee. I am not scary or a weirdo. I just really need to go & I can’t use public facilities.”

Lynn & I again explained that we were not hotel guests, that were merely going to the observation deck for the view. The woman, with more urgency & an edge of panic: “I know you are staying here & I need to use the bathroom in your room. You need to let me use it!” We equaled her intensity & dropping our edge of politeness as we were adamant that we had no hotel room.

The woman stared us down, hiked up her skirt, squatted & peed on the elevator floor. I was left thinking:  “why is this happening while I am tripping?”  We didn’t stick around for the viewpoint.

On the way home, I remembered that I had a walnut study due for drawing class the next day. I had a crush on the professor & I was eager to impress. I had neglected to buy some walnuts to use as models (could I fake a walnut drawing?). As I voiced my concern to my friend, she exclaimed: “Oh My God, what a stroke of luck. Right there, on the sidewalk…look, it’s a walnut! What are the chances?”

I could not believe my good luck. I picked up the walnut & stuck it in my pocket. A few block later, I pulled the walnut out to marvel at the Karma. The walnut felt different in my hand. It was melting. It was not a walnut after all, but a frozen turd & it was changing form as I held it in my warm hand. This discovery sent my friend into a fit of laughter so intense that she peed her pants, which then mostly froze before we made it back to her dorm room.

My question to the universe that afternoon: “Why do these things happen when I am tripping on acid? All this was happening while my future Husband was in the US Army protecting us from the godless communists.

This is what I was listening to in Boston 40 years ago, February 1973:

David Bowie-The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars

Nick Drake- Pink Moon

The Rolling Stones- Exile On Main Street

Curtis Mayfield- Superfly

Donny Hathaway- Live

Lou Reed- Transformer

Stevie Wonder- Talking Book

T. Rex- The Slider

Al Green- I'm Still In Love With You

Roxy Music- Roxy Music