Moonpie One: Pages 23 and 24 - Part two

Here is the back of the postcard seen in the previous post. It is dated Oct 29, 1977 and bears my parents return address "11932 Morrow Ave. NE Albuquerque, NM 87112." It is addressed to Vance at "Lorretto Heights College 3001 S. Federal Bldg., Denver, Colo. 80236." (I have to say that I was agonizingly jealous of Vance for getting to go to art school. Bastard.

I believe that this must have been sent while I was on leave, just prior to going overseas to Germany. I forgot that Vance was not around. I think I must have been hanging out with Blane during that time.

Below the address is a little doodle featuring a ghost chasing a man. I had recently discovered Rapidograph pens and was enamored with their ability to draw small fine lines. I was not so enamored by their ability to dry up. Years later, when I actually went o art school myself, I was quite compulsive about keeping them clean.

Here's a closeup of another drawing -- fairly representative of my "underground comix" style at that period.

Some of the other marginalia includes the following notes:
1.) "Blane screwed Pixie.(no shit.)" I beleive Pixie was a girl I referred to earlier that was Vance's "girlfriend" for a brief period in mid-spring 1976. Worse, I think Pixie was her real name.
2.) "Jones's Mammy Called Me Yesterday." I think she was calling me and asking me to write Jim who was in the Navy by that time. I'm not sure how long after I went in the Army that Jim went in the Navy. It was after the night he got caught stealing his mom's car. Jones was driving around with Blane(?) and two girls. His dad tracked them down and pulled Jim through the window of the car.
3.)"Yow I saw Darth "Star Wars" Vader at Montgomery Plaza.I have no idea what this was about except that this was 6 months after the release of the original film. The first time I saw this, I thought it was the greatest fucking film ever. The second time I saw it I fell asleep about 20 minutes into it.

And now, to the letter, which I haven't even read yet -- not since I sent it to Vance 32 years ago! Wow! Jeeze!

"Ha Fool!
Whut Foolishness. Well, I haven't been doing much lately 'cept for (get this) driving around with Blane [and] getting wasted. I got a pipe bowl at the Conniseur called a six shooter. It has six one hit bowls on it. Pretty neat. also I got a new cowboy hat. I really look like a stomp now. It cost 42 bucks. and check out this. I got a 6 pen Rapidograph set. 32 bucks* It's pretty good. Not good for writing this fast though. It has sizes "00" to "4". I've really been getting sown on some cosmic foolishness now. Tonight we're going to see a play at the Little Theater. Then tommorow I guess I'll go see the Jug band again. are you (can you) coming down the weekend of the 5th -n- 6th? I'm pretty low on cash or else I'd come up there. Oh well if you do let me know so I don't go anywhere. Later Sarge,
Detective Tom Faxon. Memphis (P.D.)

*This'll get Betty to notice me."

At the end is this, a doodle. The Sarge reference came from a Monty Python sketch (which is on a CD sitting her on my desk to mail to Vance. JESUS!) which featured two British soldiers in the trenches in WWI.
MAJOR: Home on leave in three days, eh Sarge?"
Sarge: Oh, YES suh!"

So, that was that. It was more exciting and coherant than many of my letters. I wrote most of them under the influence. The one's on speed tended to be very long and disjointed. I may have actually been sober for this one. I have no idea what the Little Theater reference was about -- who I went with or what I saw. I guess the real big news -- it's in the second sentence! -- was the fact that I was hanging out with Blane. There had been no love lost between him and I for most of the time we'd known each other.When I came home on that leave, for some reason we hooked up and hung out. I had a wad of cash and the ability to buy beer on base and Blane had his black Chevy Luv. Blane and I did a lot of partying.

OH! This memory just came back to me. Eve, (wife of Ben, the owner of the previously mentioned Mini-Cooper) had a daughter who was about 14. The Jacqueline used to take us all to see the Watermelon Mountain Jug Band at Pepino's Pizza (Later the DWI School and now, O'Neill's) at Central and Washington. Back then, a minor could drink if they were with a parent. Jacqueline was good about adopting us. Anyway, one night during this leave, me and Blane went with (Vance -- who were those two kids who lived next to you on Tracy? The brother was a bit retarded? Glen!) and Eve and her daughter were there. So, the drunker I got, the more I danced with Eve's daughter, Cathy. We were at the table making out, and Eve was laughing at me. "What's so funny?" I asked. Eve smirked. "She's only 14." Me and the Cathy went out to Blane's truck and made out some more. She passed out and, I seem to recall, threw up. A few days later, she went out cruising with me and Blane. We had a case of Olympia in the bed of the truck. We were getting high, and decided to go to the McDonalds on Comanche. OK. So, you could drink with a parent but the cops ran checkpoints at all the McDonalds. Anyway, we got stopped at the checkpoint. Blane gets out of the truck and is falling all over himself trying to kiss this cop's ass. The cop shines his flashlight on the case of beer -- which was missing a few. He shines his light in the cab at me. At the bong that was sticking up between my feet. At Cathy, this girl who was obviously waaayyyy underage. He turns to Blane and says, "Why don't you guys just go find someplace else to party." Blane was bowing and scraping "Oh yes sir, thank you sir, we will sir." We drove away and I was pissed because I had the munchies. For the record, I never had sex with Cathy who was not called "Jailbait" for nothin'.

As I mentioned, I don't think I saw Vance again before I left for Germany. The next time we were to meet was not a good time. I came back from Germany fat, drunk, and stupid.** That and I had a couple thousand bucks in separation pay -- a little over 7 grand in 2009 dollars. I was too rich and too stoned to look for a job. And my mom had an unused Darvon prescription. That's all part of "Moonpie Two," though. There's still a few adventures to talk about in One.

**No way to go through life, according to Dean Wormer.