Second place winner of the 2024 Q1 District 6 Writing Contest.
In November 1974, I traveled to Atlanta to see George Harrison. I was almost 17. I had heard about the concert from the local radio and also a poster at the record store I frequently bought records from. The concert was at The Omni Arena on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Consequently, this meant that I missed my first Family Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving had always been a big deal for my family. We had been going to my mom’s folks, my grandparents, since we moved to Florida. My mom was a little disappointed that I would miss the tradition but understood how much it meant to me. It was George Harrison, the former Beatle, after all.
I flew one way from Tampa to Atlanta. I paid cash at the airport. I was 16 and had no ID. You couldn't do that today for sure. I had a notebook that I carried everywhere to write stories and poetry. My mom wrote a note on a page “To whom it may concern, my son has permission to hitch hike back home from Atlanta.”
I landed and took a bus downtown and put my stuff in a locker at the bus station. I had hiking boots that had room in the toe because my feet are wide so I got a larger size. The locker key was in one boot and my money in the other. I went to a coffee shop and had coffee and wrote some and read the paper. I guess I got distracted because when I left the coffee shop I forgot my notebook. I went back to get it, found it and went back out, went around the corner and literally bumped into a guy. I can't remember his name but he was what we called “A Fellow Freak,” due to the long hair and nomadic lifestyle of the times.
We got to talking and he told me he knew he'd meet me from the cards. He had a way of fortune telling using a normal deck of playing cards. I was the Jack of Clubs. He was King of Clubs and his Lady was Queen. He invited me to stay with him and his lady in a rooming house where they were staying. One-bedroom, common bathroom in the hall. The first night I slept on The floor. They in the bed. They squeaked the bed so much I hardly got any sleep. I’ll let you use your imagination to figure what the noise was from. The next night I was in the bed, they on the floor. They were still noisy, but I could sleep.
The concert was the first night. I took a bus or walked to the old Omni Arena.
I had long hair parted in the middle and had it in a ponytail. I was really into George Harrison and the whole eastern meditation thing.
The day after the concert I took them to a diner for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a trip. The next day we were moving on. Me back home, them somewhere else. They got into a big argument about where to go next and we parted with me not having such an ideal impression of their relationship and having it all together as I had thought on the first day we met. They were just normal like everyone else.
In November 1974, I traveled to Atlanta to see George Harrison. I was almost 17. I had heard about the concert from the local radio and also a poster at the record store I frequently bought records from. The concert was at The Omni Arena on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Consequently, this meant that I missed my first Family Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving had always been a big deal for my family. We had been going to my mom’s folks, my grandparents, since we moved to Florida. My mom was a little disappointed that I would miss the tradition but understood how much it meant to me. It was George Harrison, the former Beatle, after all.
I flew one way from Tampa to Atlanta. I paid cash at the airport. I was 16 and had no ID. You couldn't do that today for sure. I had a notebook that I carried everywhere to write stories and poetry. My mom wrote a note on a page “To whom it may concern, my son has permission to hitch hike back home from Atlanta.”
I landed and took a bus downtown and put my stuff in a locker at the bus station. I had hiking boots that had room in the toe because my feet are wide so I got a larger size. The locker key was in one boot and my money in the other. I went to a coffee shop and had coffee and wrote some and read the paper. I guess I got distracted because when I left the coffee shop I forgot my notebook. I went back to get it, found it and went back out, went around the corner and literally bumped into a guy. I can't remember his name but he was what we called “A Fellow Freak,” due to the long hair and nomadic lifestyle of the times.
We got to talking and he told me he knew he'd meet me from the cards. He had a way of fortune telling using a normal deck of playing cards. I was the Jack of Clubs. He was King of Clubs and his Lady was Queen. He invited me to stay with him and his lady in a rooming house where they were staying. One-bedroom, common bathroom in the hall. The first night I slept on The floor. They in the bed. They squeaked the bed so much I hardly got any sleep. I’ll let you use your imagination to figure what the noise was from. The next night I was in the bed, they on the floor. They were still noisy, but I could sleep.
The concert was the first night. I took a bus or walked to the old Omni Arena.
I had long hair parted in the middle and had it in a ponytail. I was really into George Harrison and the whole eastern meditation thing.
The day after the concert I took them to a diner for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a trip. The next day we were moving on. Me back home, them somewhere else. They got into a big argument about where to go next and we parted with me not having such an ideal impression of their relationship and having it all together as I had thought on the first day we met. They were just normal like everyone else.