[AGL] Trip

[Terry Dyke]

Some great stories there, thanks. Best wishes on the big seven-oh! Very 
inspiring -- I'm hitting 60 this year and starting to contemplate the 
remaining mileage...

Terry

Gerry wrote:


> Thanks for the history Terry. Ah yes, the days of long trips in VW 

> campers on the coastal roads and through the forests of Northern Cal. 

> I only went to Mendocino once or twice. Found my natural place in West 

> Marin, '71 through '76, came back to Austin on July 4 of that year. I 

> lived in San Rafael (Terra Linda), Pt. Reyes, and Bolinas, all of 

> which I visited last month and all of which are still quite beautiful, 

> but crowded. It seemed like the greenery was thicker than ever, very 

> green and rainy in December. There was an Austin gang in Bolinas too: 

> Beckman, Minor, Jack Mc, Houston and I on a regular basis, etc.

>  

> Before that I lived in Berkeley in a house I inherited from Frank 

> Lurie and gang, '69 I think. I was there when People's Park went down. 

> Left Berkeley after the big protest march related to that 

> insurrection. Moved to Fairfax for a time and swore to stay out of 

> political intrigues (Benson, etc.). By then I was tired of protesting 

> the War, ready to live the Whole Earth Catalogue dream in the country.

>  

> One night Cat Mother arrived in San Francisco from Mendocino for a gig 

> simultaneous with a pickup full of joy from Austin which I had 

> arranged to store in Gary's place (formerly Fred Todd's studio) on 

> Brady Alley. Cat Mother had arranged to stay in the same place. That 

> night there was a party at Pacific High Studios just down the street. 

> We all went and discovered after awhile that we were all stoned on 

> acid, it was in the champagne, Don Hyde had laced it. The Cat Mother 

> guys crashed in Gary's warehouse, another bunch of us (Houston, 

> Charlie, Stan Poitress, and me) were around the corner in Houston's 

> place. We were up all night, could not sleep or function, couldn't 

> even dial a telephone number for help, couldn't even roll a joint. We 

> did finally get a record player going, and one record played all 

> night, Elmore James. Next morning I wondered out and the doors to the 

> stash house were wide open! Various bodies lying about. I finally 

> managed to call Jamie and he brought us medicine which brought us 

> down. Whew! As they say, God takes care of fools...

>  

> Last time I saw Liz was in Marin. She was quite tan from the coastal 

> life and very beautiful. She traded me abalone shell fragments she had 

> gathered on the Mendocino beaches for a lid. I think I still have the 

> abalone...

>  

> Influenced by Nick and you I ran a Volkswagen repair shop for a time 

> in San Rafael, mostly rebuilding and modifying 40 horse engines. My 

> old shop is still there, currently serving as a rehearsal hall for 

> Hughie Lewis and the News.

>  

> Say Hi to Barbara for me. She was a good pal.

>  

> Yesterday I turned 70. Wondering how much longer I can keep up the 

> pace. So far it all still seems to work and I give thanks for my 

> health and all the wonderful memories, especially of the days in 

> Northern Cal with transplanted crazed Texans when anything was 

> possible. Guess what I heard on the radio today: "Get Together" by 

> Jesse Colin Young...talk about memories!

> G

>  

>  

>  

>  

>  

>  

> ----- Original Message -----

>

>     From: Terry Dyke <mailto:tdyke at grandecom.net>

>     To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s

>     <mailto:austin-ghetto-list at pairlist.net>

>     Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2007 5:46 PM

>     Subject: Re: [AGL] Trip

>

>     Sounds like a great trip, Gerry. I always loved Mendocino.

>

>     I hung out there for a while right around the time you are talking

>     about. Liz and I were living together in a house on Francisco

>     Street in Berkeley, and I'd taken over Nick's VW repair business,

>     Liberation Auto Service. Nick was living in his VW camper and

>     going back and forth between Mendocino and Berkeley, and we'd go

>     up there in our converted '58 GMC panel truck and stay for several

>     days at a time. We also hung out with Charlie, and I even

>     auditioned for Cat Mother, although they eventually decided they

>     didn't need a second guitar player. I remember the great little

>     cottage he had with the whole Pacific Ocean in his front window.

>     Of course, Jim Benson would show up now and then to spice things

>     up with his latest one-step-ahead-of-the-law caper.

>

>     I left Berkeley in '71 and Liz moved up to Medocino a year or two

>     later. She and Nick hung out with that same group there, but they

>     were never an item, actually. I'm glad to hear he's still thriving

>     -- I'd always wondered what happened to him. I still run into

>     Barbara now and then.

>

>     Terry

>

>     Gerry wrote:

>

>>     I just returned from a trip to Northern Cal. Visited Berkeley,

>>     SF, San Rafael (Terra Linda), Bolinas, and Mendocino.

>>      

>>     The good news is that Nick Wilson, rumored to have committed

>>     suicide a few years back, is alive and well. I didn't see him but

>>     I did have a chance to thumb through a book of photographs he has

>>     recently published. It is historical by theme and has lots of

>>     shots of young hippies of the '70's in Mendocino. I saw Charlie

>>     Pritchard in one. Published under the name of Nicolas Wilson and

>>     titled something like Historical Mendocino??? Who is Nick? He and

>>     wife Barbara were part of the extended Conqueroo family in the

>>     days of the Summer of Love. It was at his house that I first

>>     heard Hank Williams while stoned on acid. He was also a fine

>>     mechanic who rebuilt a Porsche 356 while a student at UT and made

>>     a living tuning VW's Berkeley--'68 and '69. He broke up with

>>     Barbara and took up with Liz Jacobson and they went to Mendocino

>>     and never came back. I was relieved to find that he is still with

>>     us and making fine photography.

>>      

>>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/austin-ghetto-list/attachments/20070114/01726ea8/attachment.htm