Let's get out of here. May, 1975: Homestead, FL

I suppose we were lucky meeting a couple of guys in Homestead who had heard about a vehicle like ours. It had been abandoned in barren swampland between Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys. Even though it was still in the dark of night, they offered to take us to it and we accepted. Before heading to the car, they took us to a quarry on man made canals facing lower Biscayne Bay. Just for fun, they showed us an example of phosphorescence common in south Florida waters. They whipped out a pistol and shot several times down into the lagoon. The bullets left glowing trails all the way to the bottom. It was a bit unnerving to be in the company of armed strangers, who happened to know the whereabouts of our vehicle and had met Steve and Buster. It was difficult to figure were we in the company of accomplices or adversaries. As it got lighter they put their weapon away, we got back in their ride and headed to Eddie’s car. It was not too far off the highway, but hidden from sight.
Upon examination, we determined Steve and Buster were never successful in getting a drink of water for the car. The radiator was bone dry and the engine had seized. It was not worth fixing. Eddie found a mechanic who would take it off our hands at no charge. It was nearly the end of the day when we were ready to head back to Northern Florida. But first we met Marilyn. She brought us to her house in Homestead and treated us to fine dinner. She had quite spacious quarters and had separate bedrooms for each of us. After a gentle evening listening to and playing music we retired in sumptuous luxury. I do not remember getting any sexual favors, but I do remember being woken a couple of times and seeing Marilyn bending over astride my chest with a long straw in her mouth that had just blown something up my nose. Whatever it was, blasted me into alertness . She would laugh, hop off and scurry to one of the other bedrooms.
Sometime, that night I had an incredibly vivid dream. In it, I was awakened by a brilliant flash of light. As I sat up to see what it was, I heard the sound of the Big Bang at the end of the world. I dreamed I witnessed a nuclear explosion out my window in the direction of the Air Force Base. Needless to say, it was a fitful sleep. Whatever her motive, our gracious hostess prepared us an excellent cooked breakfast and drove us to the highway. We were in a hurry to get back to Gainesville and decided it would be expeditious to separate. We split into equal shares the remainder of my Canadian bills. Then we drew lots to see who would thumb first. Paul got a ride quickly; Eddie was next; I got picked up last. But my ride was a good one; it took me all the way to Gainesville.

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