INFATUATION AT AN EXTERMINATORS' CONVENTION

DOING THE TWIST - 1962

I met Al at an exterminators' convention on Jekyll Island the summer of '62. His father was the actual exterminator, but the rest of the family had come along for a vacation.  I have no memory of actually meeting Al or what I was doing at the exterminators' dance.  But I do recall feeling as if I had known him a long time and not just an hour or two.  This close feeling was undoubtedly helped along by several drinks.  Although Jekyll was a dry island, everyone had brought a bottle and lots of soda.  Al and I saw no reason not to sample what his parents had brought and being inexperienced drinkers, we soon became extremely cheerful and amorous as young folks are wont to do.  After dancing very close for a while it became clear that kissing one another was absolutely necessary.  Since Al's parents were busy on the dance floor, Al thought their hotel room might afford us some privacy so we stole away into the night, giggling at our own cleverness.  Soon we were lying together on one of the beds, kissing.  Now, remember it was 1962 so I was wearing a lovely black cocktail dress, a black half slip, stockings, a Merry Widow bra, a GIRDLE and high heels.  Al was in a suit and tie so nothing improper could possibly go on, which was a good thing because after only a few minutes of kissing, Al's mother suddenly entered the room.  Aghast at seeing her son lying on the bed with a strange young lady, the poor woman averted her eyes and mumbled something about needing her comb.  Al and I lay there in shocked silence, thanking God we were fully dressed. After his mother made her hasty departure, Al suggested another setting must be found so the kissing could continue.  When we went outside, Al ran into a friend who had a car and was also looking for a secluded place to be alone with his young lady.  We soon found a deserted beach shimmering in the moonlight.  The other couple quickly disappeared into the underbrush, but Al and I were more romantic and wandered along the beach, looking at the stars and smiling warmly at one another.  Soon we were standing at the water's edge on some rocks thinking it would be a good idea to start kissing again.  So we did.  We were soon transported into a lovely sensual world we had no wish to leave.  Until.....we both noticed a strange sinking sensation.  Reluctantly,we pulled our lips apart and saw
WE WERE SINKING!
The rocks we were standing on were slowly sinking into the sea and we had been oblivious.

The rest of the evening is a delightful blur.  Al was barefoot as his dress shoes were ruined, but he barely noticed.  My shoes were wet and my stockings torn but I was feeling the intoxication of early infatuation. At one point the four of us went to an all night coffee shop and tried to revive ourselves with bacon and eggs.  I remember my head falling slowly to the counter and I slept for a few moments until I was gently awakened by Al who said his friend would drive us to the condemned hotel where I stayed.  Al followed me up the stairs to the Girls' Floor where we found an empty room with fresh linens.  As Al took off his jacket and tie, I ran to my room and took off the dress, the slip, the Merry Widow, the torn stockings and the Girdle and threw on my nightgown.  I crawled into bed with Al and whatever romantic plans we may have had for the brief hours before dawn came to naught as after a few gentle kisses we fell asleep.  When morning came I awoke to find Al gone, but he had scribbled a note on the back of his dad's business card.  Barefoot he ran across the island from my ancient hotel to his, slipped into his room and fell asleep to be awakened by his mother just in time for breakfast.  Al and his parents came into the restaurant where I worked, but weren't seated at my tables.  College addresses were exchanged at some point and fevered promises to meet.  Al kissed me at the door.  All my waitress friends were wide-eyed, but I smiled mysteriously and said nothing.

Al and I corresponded regularly and he came to Wesleyan two or three times.  We remained close--we understood each other.  But after a while he stopped writing.  Perhaps there was a crisis in the family; perhaps he met someone else.  I never knew.  But he lived on in my memory.  I still have sense memories of that first night we met, the warmth, the kisses, the innocence.