Sept 16, 1966 Fri
Before I go on, I want to ask a question. I know
many of my readers have been to college, maybe mostly later than my time
there but it is not new or alien territory to the degree my cowboy girl life
was. Might it get boring? There are still a number of plot threads that have not
been resolved but do you really want to follow them for more installments? A
warning, it is going to get a bit more choppy and not match up neatly day to
day from here on out for many reasons and I am not sure how I will deal with
that aspect. So does anyone want to
continue to follow this saga with those caveats? I surely will not be offended
if you say no! I will make a decision probably before the next regular entry
which would be September 23, but would appreciate any feedback.
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The week of Sept 9-16 had seen me through my first week of ‘college’, which included both some things I had expected and a lot of new experiences and challenges. I had passed the first weekend on campus --well, there and walking all over
town! The sudden lack of physical activity and work for long hours to burn up lots of energy was a difficult adjustment.
That first semester I did a lot of walking.
On that weekend, I also wrote letters--including one to Dusty to let him know about my sudden amazing change and where I was now including my campus mailbox and the closest dorm pay phone (old dorm only had a few scattered around) I had communicated with him very little since his visit in June and his time in the hospital. I was not sure if his mail might still get intercepted or that such contact might put his job if not more at risk, so I had waited. I knew he was back at work now so took the chance and hoped this one would reach him. It did but I did not know that for awhile.
I met a few girls in the hall and made a couple of
tentative friends. I bought some light pink fabric and drew my little horses on it with
crayon which 'set' with a warm iron to make curtains. They did make the room less stark and
institutional. After a couple of days, Kim moved out; I heard she was expelled
after being caught in a men’s dorm long after curfew. I soon got a new
roommate, Carol Nichols, who was close to my age and doing her student teaching.
She had roomed for two years with Lila Bentley, a former Mingus grad who had
been in my class. Small world. It took longer to get my first check than I had
expected and that threw me into a brief panic but I managed to postpone various
payments. It finally came midweek and
went quickly but all the necessary things were covered. I went to every class at least twice, attended a
meeting of the rodeo club and began to
try to do homework most evenings. I was not too confident I could keep my
grades where I felt they needed to be. That four year break…
I usually wrote up the day in my journal shortly before
bedtime. Thus, Friday, Sept 16 got skipped because I want back to Clarkdale for
the weekend and left soon after my last class. The Boss came up and got me
that afternoon. Generally he seemed cordial and mildly curious about my
experiences so far. I went along to the pasture and actually took part in a lot
of talking, not really “talks” as such. It was a brief repeat of my return from
California back in January--all nice and light for a time. That
evening Buzzie seemed to have a mild colic so I rode her around until dark. I
felt like a visitor sleeping on the cot in the living room as Charlie Mike now
had the double bed, formerly mine, and
that night shared with Alex. who had taken over the cot.
Three photos from campus, fall 1966. The Forestry Building. The rodeo club met here and I knew several who had classes there. Then the east face of North Quad and the main door. Morton Hall was around the corner to the right side. Finally, just south of campus on one of my many walks.
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