Spirits and Demons

Woodstock 1969

                                                               Part Twenty Three

  In less than four hours Bubba and Mike were headed north, crossing the Arkansas state line. Bubba knew I-20 East was the best way to go yet he and Mike only had twenty five dollars between them. Taking the country, scenic US highways there would be less chance of them getting stopped by the police, were his sister to report her car stolen. Also Bubba had a plan for obtaining gasoline, his plan consisted of a cut piece of waterhose and a five gallon gas can. He joked about their situation whilst Mike was a bit nervous. Every hundred miles or so, Bubba would pull into a downtown parking place just around the corner from the mainstreets of small, little towns they were passing through. He'd look around a few minutes making sure the coast was clear, then he'd take the cut piece of waterhose and five gallon can and siphon gas from people's vehicles. Mike became very nervous, always urging Bubba to hurry up before he got caught stealing. In between towns, Bubba pulled out a hand rolled cigarette and told Mike to light it and take a few puffs to calm him down. At first Mike hesitated but Bubba kept saying take just a few puffs and he'd feel better. Thirty minutes later they were both laughing their heads off, rolling down the highway listening to the scratchy sounding speakers in the loud Volkswagon. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young were playing and everything seemed to become pretty mellow for a while. Mike thought to himself and wondered just how they'd make it all the way to New York and back without getting caught and only twenty five dollars. He figured they may become stranded, running out of gas and possibly getting caught in his sister's stolen car. Once he related his thoughts to his partner in crime, Bubba threw his head back and laughed out loud, saying just enjoy the marijuana high and live man. Eyes red and watering, Bubba reached into his ice chest and pulled out a couple of beers. Mike was glad to have something to drink, his throat had become very dry from smoking the pot. It wasn't long until they both felt hungry so Bubba entered the next rest area and they made a sandwich. They'd been on the back, country highways for hours and dark had fallen. The last thing either of them remembered was one of Santana's songs playing on the radio before they both passed out for several hours from the effects of the marijuana and the previous day's driving. 

  Bubba woke Mike up before dawn, telling him to push the car downhill while he sat in the driver's seat to let off of the clutch and crank the Volkswagon. Fortunately Bubba had parked on an incline so it wouldn't be hard to push, Bubba said the starter had been out on the car for months. Mike noticed the fuel gauge was on full and he related to Bubba that he thought the gauge must be stuck. Bubba said no it's not stuck, he'd siphoned five gallons of gas from a nearby stationwagon and five gallons from a Chevrolet Impala while Mike had been fast asleep. Mike realized that's what the metal clinking sounds were that he'd heard in his sleep, from Bubba raising the hood and pouring the gas in the tank. Mike's head felt woozy from the marijuana high he'd experienced the night before. The car cranked, Bubba hit the brake long enough for Mike to jump in and away they went for another long day of driving. Bubba handed Mike a plastic bag with marijuana in it and some rolling papers, asking him to roll a joint. Mike had never rolled a joint before and it took quite a while before he could even get one halfway rolled, so he handed the poet and papers back to Bubba. Not being able to hold the steering wheel and roll a joint, Bubba pulled over and let Mike drive while he rolled a joint. After a few, long puffs he passed the joint to Mike so he could get a few puffs also. Soon they were both feeling comfortably numb while Mike started driving better, except for a a little bit of weaving in the road here and there.

  Three days after they'd left Baton Rouge, they finally reached New York. Not knowing exactly where they were at, they pulled over at a truckstop when they saw carloads of hippies all over the place. Bubba and Mike got out to speak with some of the hippies to find out which road to take to the concert. Some hippie chicks laughed and said to follow them since that's where they're headed also. Bubba bummed a cigarette and turned the radio on while they leaned on the Volkswagon, waiting for the hippie chicks to return from the bathroom. Jimi Hendrix was blaring through the scratchy speakers and Bubba said he couldn't hardly wait to get to the concert. The hippie chicks were driving a cool looking Volkswagon bus with flowers, peace signs, love, no war, painted all over it. Bubba and Mike followed them to the concert grounds which were on a farmer's land way out in the country. Not having enough money left to purchase tickets, they waited until there was a crowd of hippies going through the entrance that caused a distraction long enough for Bubba to pull up on the bottom of the flimsy fence for Mike to crawl under. Once Mike was on the inside he held the bottom of the fence up so Bubba could crawl through. Bubba had a harder time crawling under the fence than Mike did but he finally made it through with only a few scratches. Blending in with the crowd, Bubba took off in a separate direction and told Mike he was going to find some drugs and that they would meet up later. Mike walked around and ran back into the hippie chicks that he and Bubba had followed to the concert. They took him by the hand, inviting him to come and party with them. Once situated on some blankets the hippie chicks had spread out on the ground, Veronica wove together some lovebeads handing them to Mike. High from smoking several joints, Julie and Veronica pulled Mike up to dance with them whilst they laughed and chanted peace and love.