Dearly Y’all,
I did some housekeeping in my files this morning, and re-read Gray’s Guestbook. It’s so hard to believe she’s really gone when all my memories of her are so ever-lastingly fresh… especially when they dove-tail so well with all of yours, and I find myself feeling so very old, crying over the very best of times so long ago…but then I have to laugh about the fun we had in our earnest youth, laying the groundwork for our committed lives.
I remember especially, the formation of the Somerset 17, the convoy home from a Pa.NOW State Board meeting held in the far from center of the state, rushing into the jaws of a blizzard at Johnstown Pass. Gray was driving her yellow Cherokee, and I was riding shotgun, listening to the truckers on the CB radio cussing at us 4-wheelers for getting in their way when NOBODY would even dare to try stopping for any reason. We were bringing up the rear of the 6 or 7 car caravan and I can
still see eccentric Flo, alone in her car in front of us, driving blind and erratic, riding her brakes and swerving, almost skidding into the path of passing truckers. We had 4-wheel drive, but I knew that if Flo lost control of her car, Gray would have a really hard time avoiding entanglement in an accident,
so I told her that I was scared for Flo and us, and the drivers behind us, and Gray started flashing her headlights in a prearranged signal to take the next exit…nobody argued…it was consensus in action…the whole string curled off the Turnpike at the Somerset exit where the blizzard had already dumped a foot of snow, and crept into the parking lot at the Holiday Inn, where we all got out to confer about the situation over dinner. We were all very subdued by the hazardous conditions, and when everybody heard our report about the trucker’s comments on the CB radio, consensus was again reached very quickly, without argument, that we’d all just stay put until the storm passed. I distinctly remember the utter relief that overcame us when we all agreed to surrender to Mother Nature terms, to rest safely tucked, together in three or four packed rooms, that I’m sure Gray helped subsidize because most of us were almost out of weekend money. There were some babies with us, and once they were bedded down, the rest of us became quite giddy with celebration of being together in a suspended time warp under a blizzard. We were carefree… and so bold as to telegraph Gloria Sackman-Reed, with the news that we were safely west of Center but clearly not yet home, and we even announced that we were billing Pa.NOW for compensation of motel expenses. Heh-heh-heh! Next day, we laughed all the rest of the way home to Pittsburgh, and having proved our point that Harrisburg was NOT the center of the State, we wo-manufactured 17 big buttons to wear to the next Board Meeting in the East, that said:
SAVE THE SOMERSET SEVENTEEN
All my Love. Morgana Sage, Queen of Hipi Road
http://thebroadsside.blogspot.com
AKA: Kris Williams, Washington County NOW(and forever)
I did some housekeeping in my files this morning, and re-read Gray’s Guestbook. It’s so hard to believe she’s really gone when all my memories of her are so ever-lastingly fresh… especially when they dove-tail so well with all of yours, and I find myself feeling so very old, crying over the very best of times so long ago…but then I have to laugh about the fun we had in our earnest youth, laying the groundwork for our committed lives.
I remember especially, the formation of the Somerset 17, the convoy home from a Pa.NOW State Board meeting held in the far from center of the state, rushing into the jaws of a blizzard at Johnstown Pass. Gray was driving her yellow Cherokee, and I was riding shotgun, listening to the truckers on the CB radio cussing at us 4-wheelers for getting in their way when NOBODY would even dare to try stopping for any reason. We were bringing up the rear of the 6 or 7 car caravan and I can
still see eccentric Flo, alone in her car in front of us, driving blind and erratic, riding her brakes and swerving, almost skidding into the path of passing truckers. We had 4-wheel drive, but I knew that if Flo lost control of her car, Gray would have a really hard time avoiding entanglement in an accident,
so I told her that I was scared for Flo and us, and the drivers behind us, and Gray started flashing her headlights in a prearranged signal to take the next exit…nobody argued…it was consensus in action…the whole string curled off the Turnpike at the Somerset exit where the blizzard had already dumped a foot of snow, and crept into the parking lot at the Holiday Inn, where we all got out to confer about the situation over dinner. We were all very subdued by the hazardous conditions, and when everybody heard our report about the trucker’s comments on the CB radio, consensus was again reached very quickly, without argument, that we’d all just stay put until the storm passed. I distinctly remember the utter relief that overcame us when we all agreed to surrender to Mother Nature terms, to rest safely tucked, together in three or four packed rooms, that I’m sure Gray helped subsidize because most of us were almost out of weekend money. There were some babies with us, and once they were bedded down, the rest of us became quite giddy with celebration of being together in a suspended time warp under a blizzard. We were carefree… and so bold as to telegraph Gloria Sackman-Reed, with the news that we were safely west of Center but clearly not yet home, and we even announced that we were billing Pa.NOW for compensation of motel expenses. Heh-heh-heh! Next day, we laughed all the rest of the way home to Pittsburgh, and having proved our point that Harrisburg was NOT the center of the State, we wo-manufactured 17 big buttons to wear to the next Board Meeting in the East, that said:
SAVE THE SOMERSET SEVENTEEN
All my Love. Morgana Sage, Queen of Hipi Road
http://thebroadsside.blogspot.com
AKA: Kris Williams, Washington County NOW(and forever)
posted by sage @ 1:20 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home