65 yr old x hippie story #5

Well, That was it. She was gone, but New York was Awesome! By that time everybody knew me, in detail. They knew who I was ,where I came from,Where I was staying, how old I was, and knew my girl was gone. I didn't know everyone, but they seemed to care about me. One Spanish lady pulled me off the sidewalk into her kitchen and cooked me plantains and in her broken English, made sure I filled in all the details.
In the few short weeks we were there, we had our own place and everything we needed.Everyone was so caring and generous,not only to me but to everyone,everywhere, It was like a big family. There was a guy named John Crabs, that showed us around and introduced me to a bunch of his friends. He would bring leftover doughnuts and Cold Duck Wine.He'd say "The bums drink Ripple".So if you've got a bag of day old doughnuts and a bottle of Cold Duck, your not a bum. I told him," I'll try to remember that," and after all this time, I did.
One time I bought some groceries and I got caught on the stairway by two guys. One held a pair of manicure scissors to my neck and wanted my money that I didn't have. But,just as we started up the stairs,John Crabs came in the door and starts up the stars behind us. So, the 2 guys usher me all the way to the top floor, while trying to look like they are not robbing me, and John Had to excuse himself, as he squeezed past us to go in my door. And didn't tell my friends inside I was being robbed. No harm done, thankfully, they let me go.
There was a lot of pot and LSD back then. Pot was everywhere and LSD was handed out like candy. Funny, when it was around so much,it was easy to turn down. Some days,You just prefer not to float in a wave of oscillating colors and laugh all day. We would meet other runaways. They were so easy to spot. We would take them in, feed them and let them get cleaned up. That bathtub in the kitchen got a lot of play.I don't know if they knew that showers were invented when they built those places. It was so awkward.
One day, a bunch of army guys were on leave in NY and somehow we ended up experimenting with, This stuff you would buy in a small tin can called asthmadore. They got it at the drug store and if you ate it,instead of smokingit ,You would hallucinate, sounds, smells, people, kinda like half dream reality. It was so much stronger than LSD and you could buy it off the shelf.A funny thing was,they all saw a rabbit in the hall, I don't know, maybe there was.
I was deteriating fast. Everyone was enjoying life and I was absorbed in sadness. The local mini gang of ten year olders surrounded me and wanted my money and a lady ran out of one of the apartments and grabbed a kid by the ear and the others dropped their sticks and ran. I felt kind of embarrassed being rescued by a lady in her twenties from a bunch of kids. That's when I Realized I lost my spirit.
I had been moping around in shock for days since she was caught. What a run we had. My attire of choice was a tuxedo jacket, bellbottom jeans, and boots.It went well with Lindas' knee high boots and bunny fur jacket.All purchased at the free store, with new items every day. We met friends everywhere and were planning our wedding. Now I knew how such a grand top floor apartment could be simply abandoned. There was a youth contact center were we could connect in some way by leaving and getting messages. None from Linda.
My new friend John Crabs brought me a, like new, pair of jeans. They fit me perfect.I asked him "why do they call you John Crabs?I never heard of crablice before. I thought my new jeans were itchy cus they were new. I tried to get rid of them with lighter fluid.(not the jeans), I didn't light it on fire, but it burnt as bad as if I did. Note - do not try that method. And then the menthal shave cream after that! Can you believe it ? the lighter fluid almost killed me but it didn't kill the bugs. Does it get any worse? I lost my girl and unwittingly torchered myself ,Twice! I walked all over New York, as best I could with my fresh burns and rode the subways, walked around port authority, (As if somehow she would be showing up). I was hanging on to some pretty bleak hope, but I wasn't going back.
I started missing my mom. I'm in my psychedelic room with black lights and checkered ceiling, the Beatles' Leaving Home is playing, My pet mouse that escaped, came back to me. I'm looking into the kitchen with the tub and thinking What? And leave all this? I get a message from the youth center that there's a guy looking for me.They said he looks real suspicious, as he was wearing sunglasses at night. Amazingly he was just blocks away ,and I knew right where he was. It was my Moms new boyfriend, looking for me. I found him sitting on some stairs . I could tell he caught the policemans' attention. Don't wear sunglasses at night. Anyway I decided to go back. I probably should have stayed . More to come, story #6. Thanks for reading.