It was one of those hazy sunshiney summer days that you see in the movies...your lazy and chilled out...the bees are feasting on the roadside flowery weeds and the larks up in the clear blue sky above are noisily engaging in dogfights...summer sounds. It was 1975 early afternoon and I was driving my brightly colored Hip VW Beetle along a green leafy English country lane here in Eastern England. I was in a good mood and feeling carefree with my car stereo pumping out the calming sounds of Crosby Stills Nash + Young. My faithful bug had a full cloth sunroof which was opened wide exposing a gaping expanse of rich blue sky into the car...the scented summer air gushed in as I cruised along at 45 mph making me feel quite heady..it felt good to be alive.
As I rounded a tree lined bend I saw her silhouette set against the contrast of the greenery...as I fast approached she came into view..a young pretty woman with wildly flowing natural blonde hair that seemed to reflect the sunlite...around 5' 6" tall and dressed in a white cheese cloth top with flowing sleeves and flowery hippy dress that just fitted the day perfectly. She wore a natural broad smile and had her arm outstretched into the road..she was hitch hiking! Instinct took over and I impulsively pulled over...."Where you headed" I called? she warmly smiled back and her eyes quickly scanned me up and down before answering..."I'm trying to get to the medievil village of Lavenham and would appreciate a lift" she replied in a soft West Coast American twang..."oh thats only 7 miles up the road..hop in" I returned.
She settled into her seat quickly with a relaxed air about her and a friendly warmth that allowed chat to flow so easily...it felt like we were old friends who had not seen one another a while. During conversations I noticed little things about her ie her thick blonde hair that framed her face so perfectly..she had a red ribbon entwined in one side of her parting like American Indian women did a century ago..it drew your gaze..her sun tanned skin on her face revealed little freckles around her upper cheeks..she had cute dimples appear with each dis-arming smile and full pouting lips that suggested intimate things. I caught her gaze during these quick fire exchanges while trying to concentrate on the winding road ahead..not easy because this girl/woman had me entranced...her eyes were so deep when they looked at you that you felt a gush of something...I felt alover the place.
During those 7 miles of English country lane she quickly spilled out her story..she was 17 and on holiday with her parents staying in a London hotel. Mom + Pop had planned to spend the day visiting all the London top tourist spots like Trafalgar Square..Buckingham Palace hoping to see the Queen...Hyde Park etc but she was bored and wanted to see first hand some of the places in England that she had read about in History books at high school in Los Angeles so...on impulse she told her parents and took off. She took a bus to the edge of London and hitch hiked her way the 70 miles to the English County of Suffolk. she was lucky she said as a truck driver was going a big chunk of the way and she ended up being dropped off in the Pretty market town of Sudbury...she was thrilled to find it was the home town of famous painter Thomas Gainsborough whom she had read about in school. so....having fed her interest there she set off on the last leg of her journey to Lavenham the historic town untouched by the passing of time.
Like old friends happily nattering away we almost didnt notice we had arrived...I pulled up outside Lavenhams impressive towering church..I gave her tips on where to look while there...she thanked me warmly as she opened the car door to depart forever...I nerviously blurted out I would be happy to hang around and be her tour guide if she wanted? I fully expected her to gratefully decline but..to my surprise she quirped "really...it wouldnt be too much trouble would it?..I'd love that" . I felt quite guilty as my heart missed a beat and a thrill came over me. Why was I feeling so damn silly!
We spent that hazy sunny afternoon strolling down history lane where the past was dripping from the overhanging wooden buildings and if you listened carefully you could hear the voices coming from the fabric of the buildings. I could see her eyes glaze over as she studied them carfully and we chatted about the things that had happened in this place over the centuries..about the people who used to stroll these cobbled streets tied up in their lives...how family generations contributed to the history of the area...so many voices with so many stories. We stopped off for English tea in an old wooden beamed building with pictures of old hanging from the rough plastered walls...pretty English linen table tops that was produced locally and from which Lavenham gained its riches in the past. A waitress bringing freshly baked crumpets with locally made rich jam and thick cream. I felt like I was in a romantic Somerset Maugham play sitting at that table in this traditional setting with my lover. The sun was cutting through the leaded window of this quaint English teashop and lighting up a section of her golden hair..it was a dreamlike image before me...her eyes were crystal clear as she studied me in detail and little half smiles emerged as she lifted her china teacup.
Later as I slowly drove home from that historic setting I felt a little empty inside. my head was buzzing with so many thoughts. A crazy afternoon where I had fallen in love with a complete stranger and now I was returning to my normal life and routines...left with a feeling inside and a warm memory in my head..a memory that has stayed with me over the past 35 years..its a place in my head thats nice to re-visit during melancholy moments and the passing of time has of course romantacised that chance meeting so long ago. I sometimes wonder what happened to that beautiful flowery 17 yr old Hippy girl of 1975? Shes probably a fat 52 yr old grandmother now living in some American backwater watching daytime TV soaps....Maybe her English trip is but a fading memory for her or she might even be dead.
I owe her a 'thanks' for giving me such an enduring lasting lovely memory all those years ago. But on that sunny afternoon way back in 1975 as I waved her goodbye outside that English teashop as she planned to stay the night in a local hotel she was gone forever. As I drove home alone leaving that Historic place in my rear view mirror I allowed myself a brief period of feeling good inside and a smile on my face but had to force myself to snap out of it that dream...I was late and my pregnant wife and young child was waiting for my return at home. CALLEN
Words of Wisdom....."Anyone who has never made mistakes in life has not tried anything new"
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