Her-Part I

You should know that when I write She, it's not because I'm the sub here...it goes back to something that appear on Masterpiece Theatre, a series called Rumpole of the Bailey, starring Leo McKern (I think), and he referred to his wife as She Who Must Be Obeyed. But that's not Her.

As Spielberg would and did say, long long ago in a galaxy far away, when most of you were either little children or just a twinkle in your parents eyes, She and I met. I spent 2+ years after college teaching in what is now called middle school, and relaxed during the summers leading AYH bike trips across Canada or up and down Cape Cod. After the first full year of teaching I was burned out, and looked for a trip that wouldn't tax me. The coordinator suggested I take charge of a windjammer cruise up in Maine, basically babysitting a group of teens and early 20s to make sure they didn't fall off the boat. She was the only viable candidate, over 18, reddish brown hair halfway down her back, freckles much like the girl on Lost, sitting on the deck of the boat in a Tshirt and bikini bottom, watercoloring, wearing a floppy straw hat, pitch black aviators.

We spent a week on the boat, most nights after people went to sleep we sat on deck, just sitting together and talking, I would blow off a joint, she smoked but only Marlboros (remember it was a long time ago, and most people smoked), we talked about I don't know what, no touching, no groping, no nothing, just together. She seemed like a free spirited girl, a risk taker, she jumped into the ocean just to get clean before the end of the week and it was wicked cold, she drank beer and ate lobster with two hands. Little did I know.

At the end of the trip, I was heading down to Boston to visit friends, a nine hour busride, stopping in every little town between Rockport and Boston, and she decided to come with me...a free spirited girl, a risk taker. Or so I thought.

Earworm-Randy Newman Sail Away