With the encouragement of my father and money made from summer work, my good High School friend, Mike Friedman and I, were left on the outskirts of Walla Walla, by my father. He made us a little sign, "New York or Bust!"
44 rides and 4.5 days later, we were, just before dawn, on a Staton Island Ferry heading to New York City and the William Sloane House YMCA, at 356 West 34th Street in Manhattan. Our experiences at the Sloane House YMCA, need at least a chapter!
I was not as pure as the driven snow when I turned 18, but New York City and various associated experiences were "mind-blowing" for two young men arriving directly from the Walla Walla Valley.
Fast forward to Rome, November 1962, where this picture was taken, at one of Rome's famous fountains. I must admit, for me, at that time in my life, I was not really that interested in Famous Fountains, Museums, historic European Sites, the Bernini Doors, the Sistine Chapel or old Christian Cathedrals.
When I saw Venus de Milo at the Louvre in Paris, I could not understand why there was such a big deal about a small statue missing her arms and looking to me to be more male than female. A very different understanding of beauty than I had been raised with.
Even when we saw the Egyptian Mummies, in the basement of the Louvre, it seemed kind of culturally crude to display a dead relatives body, so that everyone who wished, could go look at this old corpse. I knew my elders would never allow the earth suits of our departed relatives to be treated in this manner.
At the same time, it is was important to check in at these tourist spots, take a picture for our parents, so they feel comfortable that we were not spending our time, drinking beer, partying and falling in love, as often as possible.
The reality was I was more interested in events and venues like the Octoberfest, and nightly dancing, partying, romance and meeting new friends. This led to some unique experiences.
One night in Rome, along with some other experiences, yet to be shared, we did manage to break into the Colosseum, with a fair amount of beer to drink. We then sat and drank beer and played like we were spectators at Gladiator Games and threw the empty beer bottles into what was left of the Colosseum floor. As each bottle smashed we yelled like we were gladiators.
Crazy, when you look back at these kinds of experiences, and I had more than a few, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do! We are now approaching the Red Zone so I will close for now.
