CKLW AM 800

She was heading out west. He was driving a drive-away car to California. She crossed the border in Detroit from Windsor and brought a substantial amount of dope with her. He carried some cash and a couple of joints, and he also crossed the border in Detroit. She planned on taking the Greyhound to Los Angeles. He had been assigned to drive a car to Los Angeles, and he was also leaving from Detroit.

She had brought pounds of weed across the border with her on the bus. She shoved it into the bag of an elderly woman who sat in front. She knew the customs agent would take her in and leave the little old grandma alone. Which is exactly what they did. When the customs agents took her in, she allowed them to find three joints on her, which they confiscated. The customs agent smiled at her, rejoicing at the thought that he had deprived her of smoking three joints later. When she got back on the bus, she greased the palm of the old woman, who then gave her a bag full of weed, and they called it even. Everyone was happy. When the bus pulled up to the stop in downtown Detroit, she wanted to catch a Greyhound as soon as possible.

Disheartened by hearing that the bus to Los Angeles wasn’t leaving for another three days, she was beside herself and went to the closest bar for a bite and some drinks.

It was June 25, 1968. He was tired of his parents always being on his back about “Doing something with his life.” He wanted to ask how they expected him to do something with it when he hadn't truthfully lived at all. He hung around the same guys at the same pool hall, played the same games: Snooker and Eightball, and smoked a pack of cigarettes all day long every day. He wanted to get a life and do something too. So when his cousin called him to explain why he should come and be a drive-away driver, he jumped at the chance. His first couple of assignments were to Rhode Island, New York, and Alabama. But this assignment, man, this assignment was to California. A place he had always wanted to go. He was eager to go, but he arrived too early to pick up the car, so the man in charge sent him across the street to the bar for some grub. He had just sat down when she walked in.

She asked, “Is this seat taken?” Her blond mid-back long hair flowed around her well-rounded face with high cheekbones and a killer smile.

He looked her up and down and said, “No, not at all. Please. Sit down."

“Thanks,” she said. “I’m kinda in a pickle. The bus out west doesn’t head out for three more days, and I wasn’t prepared to stay here for that long. I thought that buses left every day for California. Geez, that must sound pretty dumb, eh?” She asked.

“Really? You don’t say. Can I buy you some lunch?” He asked.

“Wow! That would be great!” She smiled.

When the food came, they ate in silence. As he took out his money to pay, he dropped a joint onto the counter. He shot her a look.

“Oops. Sorry, you weren’t supposed to see that,” he laughed.

She raised her eyebrows and said, “Oh, ok, then I didn’t see it,” she laughed back.

He paid the bill, and then they gave each other a look that said, "You want to?" And then they told the bar they'd be back, and they found a back alley where they could smoke a couple of jays. When they returned, they ordered a drink. He only had one because he had to drive later, but he helped her knock back a few as he paid the tab. He noticed the time and thought about leaving her. He didn't want to. She was fun!

He knew the trip was paid for, so he invited her along. On a whim, he just blurted it out without really thinking about the consequences or end result.

“Say, I’m heading to California. If you want, you could come with me. I’m leaving in the next three minutes, though. What do you say?” He smiled at her.

She gave him a surprised look and said, “What kind of music did you say you listened to?”

Puzzled, he looked at her and answered, “I didn’t.”

She laughed and then got up to leave with him. Once they got outside, she said, “Didn’t you see it, man? Those two guys in there, listening to us and watching us?”

“What? Are you sure? Let’s just go around the corner here and see if they come out after us,” he suggested. Sure enough, the men came out and looked in both directions before they settled on one and took it. It was the wrong one. As soon as the coast was clear, the couple returned to the bar.

They asked the barkeep, “Do you know those two men who were just in here by any chance?”

“Yeah, they're the F.B.I., and they are not nice. They hang around a lot and chase customers away from my bar. I call and complain all the time. It doesn’t do any good. What are you going to do?”

“Really, what do they do in Detroit around the clock? What’s the draw here?”

“Well, I assume since we are an International border, they are watching for drugs and alcohol going over the border back and forth. But I‘m just a barkeep, what do I know?” He said.

“It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” she asked. Thinking about the dope in her bag. Maybe someone tipped them off. Maybe she didn't pay that grandma near enough? Damn.

“Well, hey, thanks for the information. But we've got to get going.”

“Okay, take it easy and be careful; you never know who’s out there watching,” the barkeep said, and then he winked at them.

Once inside the drive-away car, he pulled out of the lot as they agreed. He drove around the corner and she jumped in. They smiled at one another, and then she reached for the radio. They discovered they had the same taste in music. CKLW AM 800 filled the radio waves. They opened the windows and sang along. She watched like a hawk in the rearview mirror for the F.B.I. until they were well past Illinois. After that, they relaxed about looking in the rearview mirror, and they were able to get to know one another a little better. They discovered they had many similarities...

...The End