I met Fast Fred again and the second encounter was stranger than the first. I was hitching out of the Bay Area going where ever the rides took me and got picked up by a semi straight looking girl on her way to Lake Tahoe looking to get a job in one of the casinos. This sounded like a good place to go since it was summer, so off we go. We took the 80 east to the Truckee turn off, the scene of Fred and my earlier debacle. She says that she has to stop for gas and pulls into a gas station. As we're sitting there I see a Toyota Land Cruiser that looks suspiciously familiar with a hippie chick pumping gas.
I go over to the Toyota and say, "Hi, is this Fast Fred’s jeep? I'm Tai and..."
And before I can say anything more, the girl lets go of the nozzle, grabs me and gives me a big hug saying, "You're Tai? Oh, I'm so happy to meet you! Fred's told me all about you."
This was not the reaction I was expecting since the last time I saw Fred he was in hand cuffs and on his way to jail. We had spent a total of maybe an hour hand cuffed together before that but what the hey, when someone is being nice to me I go with it.
The girl lets go of me and says, "Oh hi, I'm Lisa. I've been living with Fred for the last year. We have a gypsy wagon out on Bear creek. What are you doing? Can you come home with me? Fred would really like to see you again."
What can I say. I go over to the job seeking girl and tell her that I've just met an old friend and will be getting out here.
She say, "Okay." and I grab my pack, tell her thanks for the ride, walk over to the Land Cruiser and get in.
Lisa and I chat on the way to their place. She says that Fred's not there right now, he's checking on a tree planting job but he should be home by dark. We drive up into the mountains, turn off on a logging road then drop down into a valley. At the bottom is a gypsy wagon. Fred built it entirely by hand Lisa tells me. It's sitting in a grove of tall pine trees in a grassy area right next to a very pretty little creek. Lisa shows me around and tells me that there's another freek couple living about a quarter mile down stream but other than that there’s no one for miles. They don't own the land but have the owner’s permission to stay there so no hassles. I ask about the Owl Creek commune and Lisa just says, "That didn't work out."
We sit around and talk until almost sundown when a pick up truck comes down the road and Fred gets out of the passenger’s side. He calls out to Lisa "I got the job, it starts in two days." then he see me and hollers, "Oh my god, is that you Tai?"
I admit it is and he runs over, hug me then says how happy he to see me again. I ask him about the bust and he says, "No big deal. A month in county lock up and three years probation."
When I say that's kind of steep for a joint, he says, "It was my second bust and they charged with indecent exposure too." and shrugs. "But hey, that's the past. What are you doing now?"
I say, "You know, same-o same-o. Hitching around, doing dope."
He wants to know if I'm holding, it's been a mighty dry summer this year. Boy 0 Boy am I. I got some Colombo tied like Thai sticks that have been dusted with Heroin. A fine high, a high and a half, guaranteed to get you off. I roll one up, we smoke half of it and everyone agrees it’s a mighty fine high indeed. We have supper and he tells me about the gypsy wagon. He built it all by hand out of old barn wood on a school bus frame. Lisa and him did all the stained glass work and the interior. I got to admit it's the prettiest one that I've ever seen.
I ask him about Owl Creek.
He says, "It just didn't work out. Too much politicking and bickering over diddly shit stuff, so me and Lisa split. They still owe me some money for my share of the land but I don't expect to see any of it.”
He, his brother and the guy down the creek are planting trees for Weyerhaeuser after the lumber company is finished raping the land. He and his buds had bid on a job for re-planting and they got a three day re-plant that starts day after tomorrow and tells me all about it.
It's getting late so I say that I think I'll go to bed. I'll sleep out on the grass under the stars by the creek, but before I go Fred says, "If you'd like to sleep with Lisa it's all right with me."
I look at Lisa but she's not saying anything so I say that's okay and go outside.
Next morning I'm up at dawn to do yoga, meditate, do the I Ching and Tarot, which I've been heavily into for the past few years. While I'm meditating Fred comes over and says, "Hey man, do you know you are covered with lady bugs?"
I open my eyes, look and see that I have hundreds of lady bugs crawling all over me, beautiful shiny black spotted little red lady bugs covering me from head to foot. I smile then go back into meditation as Fred says, "I ain't ever seen anything like that before, it's majickal."
After I'm done the ladybugs have left, Lisa comes over and asks about the I Ching and Tarot. I tell her about them then give her a reading. I tell her that I also do numerology, astrology and palmistry. She asks me to do those for her too, which I do.
When I finish she says that she is totally blown away by how right on all these thing are about her and asks Fred to come and get his done but Fred says no thanx, he's got other things to do.
About that time the pick up with the neighbors arrive for morning coffee. We get introduced and Lisa tells them about the reading I gave her. The other girl asks if I'll do hers. As I do she's agreeing with every thing I say until, when I'm reading her palm, I tell her that she'll have two kids.
She says, "No way. I can't have children because I have a deviated fallopian tube and the eggs can't pass. I've been to lots of doctor's and they all say the same thing. I sure would like to have kids though."
I tell her that according to her palms, she will have two kids. After I'm done with her she asks her boyfriend if he'd like his done, he says no, he and Fred have business to discuss. I did a lot of readings for a lot of people in those days and the females almost always wanted theirs done while less than 50% of the males ever had me do theirs. I've talked to other soothsayers and they say it about the same with them.
By then it was 10 a.m. They ask what I was going to do that day. They had to prepare for work tomorrow. I say I thought I’d pack up then drop some acid and tripp through the woods.
They say, “Alone?”
I tell them that it was the only way I did it anymore. I didn't want other people’s vibes messing with my head. I dropped and spent the day just following my Fate tripping through the woods and had a really beautiful one with the Mother and Her children. About sundown I came upon an asphalt road. Just as I stepped out onto the roadway a hippie in a station wagon came by, stopped and asked if I wanted a ride.
Might as well. I get in, he says his name is Randy and he lives in a trailer in the woods on his own land by himself. He's on his way to some friend’s house for dinner and a party, and would I like to go along.
I'm starting to come down from the acid after a mellow day by myself and that sounds pleasant to me so I say, "Why not."
We pull into this great big well kept up Victorian house with a nice big yard that's in the middle of the woods. There's a bunch of newish looking pick ups and cars parked in the drive and I'm thinking that this does not look like a place for Tai, but I'm up for anything so let's us see what the night brings on. Randy introduces me as his friend from the City. The folks are all dressed like hippies but their clothes are all is really good condition, even the patches on their Levi’s look new.
The hostess introduces me to the "Guest of honor", an artist who's having his first show at a major gallery in the City. All he talks about is what he's going to do when he's rich and famous. Most of the people are standing around listening to his rap. I think he's a bore and go in search of some quality entertainment but there’s nothing, no booze, no dope, no naked babes, nothing. We have dinner and a glass of wine with it but that's it. To get things rolling I ask who'd like to smoke an after dinner hooter.
The hostess says, "Those who would like to can go upstairs."
About half the folks go back to listening to the artist talking about his art. The rest of us, including the hostess, go upstairs and I show them what I've got and they all go, "Ouuu" and "Ahhh" “Is it Thai Stick?"
I tell them what it really is. I roll one up and we all smoke it. One is enough.
After awhile the hostess says that she thinks that it is too good to be Colombian.
I remind her about the smack but she doesn't want to believe me and even argues with me about it until she sarcastically says, "Well, I guess you'd know all about it, wouldn't you. Why you probably even knew the farmer who grew it" and even though it's my dope, most of her friends agree with her. What a bunch of dweebs!
That's enough for me, I am out of there. I pack up my shit and tell Randy that I am splitting. He tells me to wait up, he's leaving too
In the car I ask Randy how he can hang out with such a bunch of boring jerks. He just shrugs saying, "The food was good."
I laugh, Randy’s one those good natured laid back non judgmental types and I like him a lot. He asks if I want to sleep at his place. I say sure. We go to his place, smoke a J, drink some beer then we hit the rack. Next morning after my yoga and breakfast, Randy tells me that he knows of a really bitchen swimming hole and asks if I want to go. Sounds good to me so we hang out at his place until noon when it gets hot. After a stop for some cold beer we head over to the hole.
We get there and it's a great big gravel pit that's filled with crystal clear really deep cold water. We shuck our clothes and jump in and spend the next couple hours floating in that pure H20. I hear a car coming up the dirt road and when it comes out of the trees I see it's a Land Cruiser with Lisa driving it.
I get out of the water and say, "Hi. What a small world.”
She gets out of the jeep, walks over to me, hugs me, looks me up and down then with her eyes fixed on my wang she says, "Good to see you Tai.” She raises her head and looking me in the eyes saying, "Fred's going to be gone for the next two days, so how would you like to spend them with me?" As she's talking she's taking off her clothes. Soon she's naked and looking real good but before I can answer, she runs and jumps in the water.
I stand there and watch her lovely body gliding through the water and think ‘oh boy, looks like I’m in for some fun tonight.’
After she's done swimming, she gets out, comes over to me then says, "Well?" I tell Randy see you later, grab my pack out of his car and off I go with Lisa into the sunset.
Two days later Fred shows up in the evening dirty and tired. After eating and cleaning up he asks if I have any more acid. Always. He tells me that he and his brother want to do some tomorrow and that they have a special place to do it at. It's a three hour drive so we'll leave around 4 p.m. and get there just before sundown. It'll be a full moon so it should be real trippy as this is a real powerful spot.
I say it sounds good to me, let's do it.
He and Lisa sleep together and I sleep outside.
The next day right before we leave the neighbors pick up comes down the road. The girl gets out, runs over to me, gives me a big hug and kiss then yells, "I'm pregnant!"
Everyone says, "What?”
She says, "I can't believe it either, but I am pregnant. After Tai gave me that reading I remembered that I hadn't had my period last month. I thought I’d just missed one, but then though that I should go to the doctors just to be sure. He did some tests and when I went back this morning he said, "Congratulations! You’re pregnant." I couldn't believe it. I said he must be joking, but he said, "No, you really are pregnant." I'm so happy. Plus, he told me that since one egg has made it through that there's no reason that more can't too, so we're going to have lots of kids. Right honey?"
The boyfriend looks more stunned than happy, but says, "Yeah baby, I guess we will." She kisses me again and thanks me.
I tell her that I didn't do anything, but she tells me thanks anyway because I told her she'd have kids.
Fred tells them that we're going to Pyramid to do some acid and would they like to go along. They say that they have all they can handle right here right now. Lisa says that she's staying too, so we say see ya and head out in the jeep to pick up Fred's brother who live about five miles away. Mike, Fred's brother, is younger than Fred and is clean cut. I ask them where the pyramid is, but they just say, "You'll see."
We head toward Reno but before getting there we turn north off the freeway out into the desert. After a few miles we come to a gate with a big "No Trespassing" sign on it. We open the gate and ignore the sign. Further down the dirt road there's another sign. This one says, "Reservation. Keep out!" We go through that gate too. Off to the east there's a large lake. When I ask Fred about it he says, "That's Pyramid Lake, Tahoe's twin and a very spiritual place. We're going to the north end where there are these strange mud hills and some hot springs. We're on Indian land but we've been here lots of times and never seen anyone."
We drive until we come to the mud hills and they are really weird. They look like some giant kid made huge mud balls then stacked them 100 feet high in the shape of pyramids. The rest of the desert is fairly flat around them. Fred parks and we get out. He shows me the lake and the hot springs, which are real marshy and overgrown. You have to clear the weed and algae out before you can get into one and even then though they are hot, they're not very deep. You have to go through lots of marsh to get to the lake but it's clear and cold once you do. We wait until just before sunset then drop. Just as the acid is starting to come on, the sun sets and the moon rises. We hang together until we start feeling the rushes then tripp our own separate ways.
The night is majickal, just full of things to be and experience. The moon is reflecting in the lake and everything is truly wonderous and beautiful. After a couple hours of tripping around I climb to the top of the tallest mud hill then sit in the lotus position for the rest of the night, taking in the universe and listening to the AUM all around and in me, and I am Content and at Peace. Fred and Mike are running around the desert howling at the moon, sitting in the hot pools and swimming in the lake. Then they come out of the water, roll around in the dirt for awhile then repeat the process having a generally good time.
Just as it gets light Fred climbs up to where I am and says to me, "How can you just sit there like that all night?"
Instead of answering him I unbutton my shirt and sitting right over my heart is a big fat desert scorpion sharing the heat of my body. Fred freaks right out and starts screaming something about scorpions and lady bugs as he scrambles down the hill as fast as he can. I flick the scorpion off my chest, rebutton my shirt and go back into meditation. As the sun rises Fred calls to me and tells me it's time to go.
We're all still high so there's not much to say. We drive to Lake Tahoe and spend the day swimming in that cold clear water and sunning on the hot sun polished granite rocks. As it gets late afternoon Fred asks if I want to go back to Bear Creek with him and Mike, but I feel that our time together is over and tell him that I think I'll stay right there.
He says, "Okay, but you are always welcome at my place so come by anytime."
We say, "See ya later." to each other then he and Mike split leaving me at Lake Tahoe, my original destination.