A Legacy Project

There were late summer nights we took long rides together. 

We were buddies. She was part of a Midland duo that found their way to Freeland, hanging out at the Rat Hole Bar with the guys who got high and drank cheap wine and listened to loud music. That summer–it would have been 1971–John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat had released an LP, which we would have listened to on 8-track or cassette tape. The LP was called Hooker and Heat. Somehow that name got attached to these two girls from Midland. One was Hooker, the other Heat. 

It was Heat who joined me on night rides in my VW. We drove country roads with the windows down, cruising 25-30 mph, listening to music or, more often, just talking. I wonder now if she didn’t think I might stop the car and hit on her, I wonder if she wanted me to stop the car and hit on her. Possibly she thought I was gay (the term “queer” was still more commonly used at that time). To my mind this was a Platonic relationship. It was easy. There was no sexual tension or confusion. Late at night we might drive those back roads for an hour and never see another car. If we had been drinking, which was likely, once in a while she’d tell me to pull over. She got out, walked around to the back of the car, sat on the edge of the rear bumper and peed. When she got back in the car, I took my turn, standing at the edge of the ditch.

As kids, boys hung with boys. It was simple. Then in high school, the vibe developed. You were juiced by hormones and knew at least theoretically that you were a stud. It was how one guy greeted another in the hallway.

“Hey, Stud. What’s up?”

“Not much, Stud. How about you?”

But boy-girl pal-ships also developed. In high school I went to Daniel’s Den on Saturday nights with Heidi Kamrath. We danced under the strobe light to Deep Purple. “Hush, hush, I thought I heard her calling my name.” She was wild and fun, and that’s all it was. Just fun together.

Sometimes I’d ask Heat, “What’s Hooker up to tonight?”

She would roll her eyes. Hooker was dangerous. She was 18. She had a baby. She got around.

Heat. She and I were cool together. I felt safe with her.