Foxy Lady
“Dean, can I put on the eight-track?”
“Yep.”
I opened the glove compartment slid the cassette into the player, and leaned my head back to listen to the music. We cruised down the highway as we listened to “All Along the Watchtower,” “Are You Experienced,” and “Fire.”
“Dean, why do you only have one 8-track cassette? Is Hendrix your favorite?” I asked.
“Yep, I like him, he is my brother.”
“Dean, Hendrix is black.”
“Yep?”
“You are white,” I commented. “You can’t be brothers.”
“Hendrix is a veteran, we are all brothers,” Dean replied. Well, that shut me up. Foxy Lady came on and made me think.
“Dean, do you think I am a foxy lady?”
“Yep, definitely.”
I smiled and said, “Thank You,” then lay my head back, thinking again. “Dean, do you have a foxy lady girlfriend?”
“Nope”
“Ever have one? “
“Nope.”
“What about Jan? She was your girlfriend, right?”
“Nope, just a friend who needed a ride.”
“Did you know what she was doing with those truckers at the diner when she went outside to the back parking lot with them?”
“Yep.”
“And you were okay with that?” I asked.
“It was none of my business,” he replied.
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Yep,” he replied.
“Did you do that with her too?”
“Nope.”
“Really? Why not?”
“I don’t do girls.” I stopped talking. I pulled the cassette tape out to stop the music. Oh my god, I thought to myself “he’s a homo!”
“You don’t like girls?” I asked.
He replied, “I like girls, I just can’t do girls.”
“I’m sorry Dean, I am confused.”
“War wounds,” he replied.
My mind screamed, “Holy shit they shot his dick off! Just my luck…” Oh no. I was horrified… I didn’t say that out loud, did I? Shit! I looked at Dean and he wasn’t the least bit fazed; He was just calmly driving along as usual. I was so relieved that it was just my mind screaming inside my head.
“Dean, I’m sorry, I’ll shut up now.” I turned the radio on only to hear the song “AayyAayyMen… AyyAyyMenn.” I looked up and said, “God! That’s not funny.”
Back to Chapter 7. ….. Forward to Chapter 9.
RUCKSACK GRUNT - A Vietnam Veteran's Memoir 