Ran Away

The time he chased me in his car at Hessel  park 

- It all started the night before at the dining room table.  I got up because I could not eat all my food which was an odd thing. Then a dizzy spell came over me, I fell and passed out on the floor. I came right to, got up, and said there's nothing wrong with me. My dad said, "He needed to take me to the doctor the next day." I thought there is no way that can happen, because I skipped school that day smoking pot which was laced with I don't know what, with a bunch of guys that I'll be talking about more. 

So the next day I went to school, but I didn't come home. I went and hung around Hessel park until there was nobody to hang out with. Then I went to these apartments that I use to deliver newspapers to. I slept in the utility closet that I knew was there. 

The next day as I was standing with all those guys; I was talking about earlier. One of them yelled out mockingly," Hey, there's your dad you better run!"

That's what I did, I took off, and ran.  He followed after me in his car; he never got out. I stayed away from him; I couldn't let him catch me. They were laughing and making fun of me,  which was another reason why I couldn't let him catch me. Just before I took off or you couldn't see me anymore. He said,"You better come home!"

Well, I stayed in that closet many nights. I would go to stores and tell them that I brought Coke bottles in. That would get me a few dollars to get something to eat.  I even went trick-or-treating because it was that time of the year. It was starting to get pretty cold up there. 

Then one day while hanging around that parking lot at the IGA, those two guys that were the worst of the bunch started coming at me. They had their cigarettes in their mouths and they started punching me, kicking me, screaming at me, and yelling at me. I never really found out why they were so mad at me. These are the same two guys that use to talk behind my back,and to my face. They would say ugly things about me as if I wasn't even there, but I was. They get everybody laughing at me then. Any other time I found myself being kicked, and punched with cigarette in thei mouths and cursing me. The only defense that I knew of, was to give up, shield myself, and just wait for it to stop. I never had the option of fighting back, so I never ever knew that's what I was suppose to do...so this time I just ran and got away from there.  I got thinking tho, how much a shame I was, for not fighting back, if I would have they would beat me to a pulp. But I knew what I was going to be labeled with, as if I had not already been. 

Well, I got back to my closet later that night. As I laid there trying to go to sleep, I heard some movement going on outside. As I laid  as quiet as I can some man slid the door open, and closed it real fast.

Well, I knew I wouldn't be staying there anymore!

After awhile I came out of there and wondered around till morning. Then I went over to Centennial Park across the street to the High School. That's where they would congregate before school and smoke cigarettes. I found Okeefe, cuz we had talked about running away and going to California (I don't  remember why). So I asked him if he's ready to go, and he said, "yes!"So after he got out of school we went to his house, and he gathered a few things. Then we went to interstate 72 hitched to Springfield and got on Route 66 west. We got out to Clinton,Oklahoma, where some old guy picked us up. He let us stay at his house in Hobbart, OK, for the  nite.I don't know what or if anything happened overnite, but in the morning Okeefe said, "He was going home." So the old guy took him to greyhound station and me to interstate 40... This is the start of my time on the road alone...

Me 1971