First Long Leave
In the summer, August 1961 I believe, I hitchhiked to Michigan to go on vacation with my parents and Carol came with us. We went camping at Higgins Lake, a resort area in north central Lower Peninsula. Carol and I would go for frequent long walks. My mother, a very wise woman, suggested that we take a blanket with us. One night I left my parent’s tent to use the bathroom. Carol and my sisters were sleeping in the station wagon. No idea why they were there but I climbed through the window to be with Carol. After about an hour there, suddenly my father had a handful of my hair pulling me through the car window. Considering how short my hair was that was a major accomplishment for him. Now we weren’t doing anything wrong but I was embarrassed. You should know that we weren’t doing anything wrong was not for lack of trying on my part.
We would have campfires every night and one day I went to find some firewood and was coming back with a 10’ branch and axe. Two tough looking guys had been eyeing for some time. Not sure why, but I was 6’ tall weighed nothing and was probably goofy looking to them. I dropped the log on the ground and with single swings was cutting off 12 inch sections of a tree about 10” in diameter. They seemed taken aback by this. Unknown to them the log was mostly rotten but very dry and easy to cut. That is why I chose it.
Everyday I would play horseshoes with my dad, Roger. He enjoyed it very much. In the evening, we would sit by the fire and talk. This was a very special time of the day. There is something about friends and family around a campfire.
A day or so after we returned to Clawson, my mother drove me to Birmingham, MI near Telegraph Road, a major North-South highway. This was long before the Interstate System we have now. I still remember my mother’s tears as she let me out of the car. I hitchhiked back to Texas. It was about 1200 miles I made it in just over 24 hours. Again, I was smart enough to wear my uniform.