DUMB AND NAIVE IN 1960

The House of Bernarda Alba was over and I had left the passionate Adela behind me.  Rosalind had moved out, taking with her all 68 pairs of shoes, as well as the beautiful bedspreads and curtains.  I looked around my bare little room and was aghast.  I have never been a minimalist when it comes to decorating; I like warm and cozy and, yes, a bit cluttered.  Alas, my room now looked like a cell in a women's prison only not as pretty.

I had become good friends with another drama major also named Linda who lived across the hall.  Little did I know then that we would still be close friends over 50 years later.  Linda surveyed my barren enclosure with its bare walls and its one overhead light and radiated sympathy.  She knew I had no money to buy anything as she frequently gave me toothpaste and shampoo.

"Well, maybe you could get some of the posters from our plays and hang them on the walls," said Linda helpfully.

"And maybe I could take some pink table cloths from the dining hall and hang them up for curtains."  We laughed.

Then she said, "We'll room together next year, okay?"

"Okay! said I cheerfully and in my head I thought thank God.  "I have a blind date tonight with an older man.  I think he's 21.  I've never been on a blind date, but how bad could it be?"  Linda looked dubious.

Chad was muscular, good looking and excruciatingly boring.  He talked about football, his fraternity, his car and his madras jacket.  It was immediately clear that I was not his type.   Soon, even Chad became bored with his talk and I could tell our date was nearing its end.

"Come on, Darlin', I'll drive you back to campus," said boring Chad and ushered me quickly out the door of the Pinebrook.  He was silent during the brief ride back to Wesleyan and I started blathering on about being a drama major which Chad thought was hilarious.  He parked in a deserted spot on campus, far from the loggia, and said, "Are you passionate, Darlin'?"

"Oh, I....I don't think so," I said although I suspected I might be.

He immediately started kissing me way too hard and way too long.  At one point early on he took my hand and put it on what felt like a piece of wood with fabric on it.  What in the world was that?  His next move was to put his hand on my bare knee and slide it quickly up my thigh.  At last alarm bells went off and I pulled away.  My mouth felt bruised.

"Well, Chad, thank you for a lovely evening.  I have to go in now.  Good night."

Chad was disgruntled.  "I thought you were going to let me go all the way."

"We all make mistakes, Chad.  Bye, bye."

Chad gunned the motor and roared off into the night and I walked very fast to the safety of the loggia.  It took me years to figure out what the piece of wood covered with fabric was.