My Sweet Millisa

A trip that could or should have happened

I was thumbing down I-95 heading toward north with fifteen dollars in my pocket and two packs of cigarettes. I had a knapsack with two pairs of  Levis, two T-shirts and one pair of underwear, heading to an unknown future and I was in no hurry to get there. The sun was shining with a slight breeze, which is the reason most people move to the south. Not the hot and humid summer, but the gorgeous days of fall.

I was standing on the bypass in some small town in the south, not having much luck, when an old VW van stopped and waved for me to get in. Young long haired kids were yelling and laughing and I thought this just might be my lucky day. I threw my knapsack in the doors and climbed in. I think I was high before my bag hit the floor. The smell of pot was overwhelming and one guy handed me a pipe, which I eagerly accepted. I had been straight all day and I wouldn't have turned down a hit of pot  for all the cows in Texas. After taking a few tokes, people started introducing themselves.

There were three girls and two guys on their way to Virginia. What a stroke of luck. They invited me to ride all the way with them and I accepted like a puppy waging it's tail. I knew this would be quiet a ride.  A long red-haired guy named Mike  was driving. A nice guy, but the only name you really have to remember in this story is Mellisa. "Mellisa" .The name rolls off the tongue like an all day sucker being licked until it's almost gone. She had long black hair, to the waist. Green eyes, the color of emeralds that could see into your soul. They were coming back from the Keys in Florida, where they had attended to some business, that was none of my business. Ask me no question and I can tell no lies, is my motto.After getting nice and mellow, Mike plugged in the Allman Brothers "Eat a Peach" 8-Track tape and we floated on clouds as we made our way north without a care in the world.

Sometimes in life, little moments of opportunity knock very quietly. If you're not careful, you can miss them and your life will change in momentous directions one way or the other. I had almost a thousand miles to ride with these wonderful and generous people. They gave me food and drink and acted like they had known me forever. We somehow were like a family and I had only just met them. Maybe it was the pot. Maybe it was the fact that in a past time in my life there was a spirit which took over this country and peace and love rained down. It's life was brief, only a decade at most, but an extraordinary time in our history. A memory that will stay etched in my mind until the end of my brief time on this earth.

There didn't seem to be any strong relationships among the girls and boys. By this I mean there wasn't a "She is mind" or "Lay off my girl" vibe. They were free spirits making there way through a world where nothing is free. I started talking to Melissa, about what I will never remember, because It was irrelevant. Irrelevant, but somehow so engrossing I could not take my eyes off of her. She had a smile that lit up the the world and a laugh that made me enthralled with her. You will never know how fast a thousand miles can go by in such a hurry until you look up and you are almost at your destination without even realizing that hours have passed. My heart sunk at the thought of leaving these people. The thought of leaving Mellisa. 

It was dark as they pulled off the interstate and my spirits dropped so fast that my stomach was in knots. Imagine my surprise when she asked if I wanted to stay the night with them. They would take me back to the interstate in the morning. Yes, Virginia, there is a God! They lived on the sixth floor of a high-rise apartment complex. Small, but decorated with things bought at flea markets or just given to them. There were others there, playing music and talking. One guy was playing a guitar and could do Neil Young songs like they were his own. They were also dealing pot, which I only mention because it seemed as normal as any other thing there. I was introduced and we all laughed and sang and drank cheap wine from huge bottles passed around like the joints that were everywhere and all was right with the world. 

Later, as the night grew old and people were leaving, or falling asleep where they lay, Mellisa reached for my hand and we slowly walked down the hall to an empty room.There were mattresses, thrown on the floor as the kids did back in days of owning nothing.  She was wearing a Sundress, with flowers of differing color seeming to blossom in spring. In one nimble move, she had it up and over her head and I was staring at a creature that could only have been made by God himself. Her breasts were small, but beautiful in a way that only made her more desirable. She helped me undress and we fell on the bed and got lost in a land that only the people who have known complete nirvana could possible know. Time didn't matter, only her and her alone were with me as I turned from a boy into a man. The hours swept away as I got lost in Sweet Mellisa!

In the morning, I knew there was no staying. This was not a girl that I would be spending a lifetime with. I knew this going in. Just a night of making love and laughing was all I could ask of this beautiful and loving spirit. She drove to the interstate to a spot where most people stood and were picked up rather quickly. We talked small talk as we drove across town. Just simple things that ordinary people talk about, but again time passed too quickly. I will never forget the sound of her voice, and her laugh. The laugh that I will cherish in my memory forever.  She pulled to the side of the road and as I reached for my pack she kissed me. Not a kiss of passion, but a kiss of knowing that we knew each other for a moment in time, and that time was good.

Author's Note

I'm just an old hippy that remembers a brief time in history when some young kids stopped a war and changed the world. Rest in Peace John Lennon~

I edited this for anyone who would like to read it again. I think I made it better, or I hope so anyway.

Reviews

[Kenneth Sibbett]

Sam, thanks for the kind words. I did use to thumb as a teenager, all over the country. Never had a Mellisa though, I could only wish. I then went into the service too. But I still listened to my beloved Rock & Roll!

[Samuel Dickens]

Oh, what a sweet ride back in time. In truth, I wore a military uniform in those days and could in no way participate in adventures like that, but I sure wanted to. I owned "Eat A Peach" on 8-track and dreamed the same dreams as everyone else. Thanks for the memories, Kenneth.
PS: I vividly remember hearing the terrible news about Lennon's death.