The New Jaco's
We had only been in Jaco’s six months or so and Momma and Daddy hired a man named Mark Hitchcock to work some with us. He was an insurance salesman that had just gotten divorced. He sold insurance to large companies and made good money. His wife took him to the cleaners, he said. He asks for them to give him a job because the court gave her almost everything they owned. The money he made at Jaco’s was his spending money. He gave Kathy a job and Judy Brown too, at the insurance company he worked for. He was a cool kinda guy, everyone liked him, he just fit in. A couple months after he was hired, the court contacted him and told him, that he had to give the car he had to his wife, then he was to take the one she had and it would be at his expense. He asks momma and daddy if they wanted to take it to her. She had moved to Denver Colorado. By this time momma and daddy had a few bucks so they decided that we would take a trip to Denver. He made a deal that he would pay for the gas for our trip. Mark was to take care of all the money things and Roy Redfarron and Cathy, a few of our friends worked while we went . . .
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| Momma & Daddy & Chester Duffield in Uniform |
We had only been in Jaco’s six months or so and Momma and Daddy hired a man named Mark Hitchcock to work some with us. He was an insurance salesman that had just gotten divorced. He sold insurance to large companies and made good money. His wife took him to the cleaners, he said. He asks for them to give him a job because the court gave her almost everything they owned. The money he made at Jaco’s was his spending money. He gave Kathy a job and Judy Brown too, at the insurance company he worked for. He was a cool kinda guy, everyone liked him, he just fit in. A couple months after he was hired, the court contacted him and told him, that he had to give the car he had to his wife, then he was to take the one she had and it would be at his expense. He asks momma and daddy if they wanted to take it to her. She had moved to Denver Colorado. By this time momma and daddy had a few bucks so they decided that we would take a trip to Denver. He made a deal that he would pay for the gas for our trip. Mark was to take care of all the money things and Roy Redfarron and Cathy, a few of our friends worked while we went . . .
I slept a lot while daddy drove. I really didn't want to go. I was afraid that I might miss something at home. I was coming off speed I could not take any when I was with mommy and daddy. I was a hyper person anyway and speed made me noticeable more hyper. I couldn't take speed while I was with them. When you come off speed, you sleep 24/7 till your body catches up on the sleep that you have been without because you take speed. They knew that I had been taking some speed but they really didn’t know how much. I on an average would take five to seven tabs a day. I was not interested in the travel. I remember that there was a lot of snow in Denver. There was a monument of some guy at the top of some mountain and daddy woke me up and said why did you come if you were gonna sleep all the way. I didn’t tell him what was on my mind but he made it clear that he would put me on a bus in Denver if I didn’t want to enjoy the trip. I said please send me to myself. Of course he didn’t mean it . . .
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| The Brown Derby |
When we got to Denver we looked up Roy Chun remember, he is one of the kids that came back from Vietnam. We went across to the Northern Western part of the states, Missouri, Kansas, then to Denver. We went through Utah and then to Reno Nevada over to Carson City. The first stop where we stay in California was Sacramento in Northern California. We then would go over to Oakland. We then down the coast of California. I wanted to go LA and Hollywood. We were to go back up the state of California to go to Bakersfield and up to Porterville to see one of Guy’s friends the shrink that he met at Cumberland. Our plan was to come back by old Route 66. By the time we left Denver, I had caught up on my sleep and felt like I was gonna make it thought this trip. Darn! I have to admit that when we got to California that I was enjoying the trip. It is kinda like I was a kid again and that we were a family again, I say again we really never like other families. There were all kinds of places and things that I had seen on TV. Hollywood was as cool as any place I had ever been. We got to Hollywood and Vine and saw the Brown Derby. That was in mid 1969 and all the hippies were out . . .
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| Orange Groves in Porterville, Ca |
Guy had contacted his friend from Cumberland Heights he lived in Porterville, Ca. Lou Smith, remember he was the psychiatrist. Guy told him that I needed some counseling. He made it to where momma and daddy were not with us and when he got me alone he asks what Guy was talking about. Guy had seen me depressed, did I forget to tell you that by this time I would get depressed and I sleep 24/7 till I would wake up and wonder what day it was. One day when Guy was recording he stopped the session and came out to the car where I was and ask me what was wrong. He was recording a song about leaving and heartache and he saw me go outside and thought that I might run away. I was just looking for attention from Guy you know he wasn't showing me enough by letting me come to the session with him. I was so into the orange groves. They were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, remember I was an old farm girl. They were such straight rolls. I saw the vineyard's, rolls and rolls of them . . .
Guy knew that momma and daddy were always drinking and fighting so he thought that I would benefit from some sessions with Doc Smith. Mind you, he was an alcoholic and needed help himself. I told him every thing was OK with me. I told him that Guy was just protective of me. Doc Smith asks me again later while we were alone are you sure you don’t need to talk to someone about what is on your mind. I told him that I didn’t need anything from anyone. That should have been a sign that I did need help. Before we left, I did talk to him a bit about my need to have hero’s in my life and how most were alcoholic. He told me that hero worship is something that people use to keep at distance from real people. People create them so they will not be let down and have any reasons to be depressed or to use alcohol? He said that I probably related with alcoholics and that was why they were all alcoholic, What? That made no sense to me. Now as I look back at it that was a true statement. I have over the years had a void place in my heart that I tried to fill with someone and I do that still today. Another case of me having a chance to get help, it is not the last time in my life that I turned away help . . .
We left on our trip back home after we had been in Porterville two days. Our plan was to go back like I, said route sixty six. Next it was Los Vegas WOW! We got into Vegas at night and I woke up in heaven. I wanted out of the car but daddy said we didn't have the money to stop there and I was not of age anyway. I am so glad that I went on this trip because I got to see J.C. and Birdy. When stopped to see J.C. and Birdie, they acted just like I was family. It gave me the warm fuzzes seeing them again. They were great people and they mean a lot to me. We went to Gallup, N.M. that's a major marketplace for the Navajo Indians. Real live Indians just not like in movies because they were dressed just like all us. There were no feathers, no skin showing. Albuquerque is where we got off Route 66 in West New Mexico that's where we got interstate 40 through tall the way to Tennessee . . .
We left on our trip back home after we had been in Porterville two days. Our plan was to go back like I, said route sixty six. Next it was Los Vegas WOW! We got into Vegas at night and I woke up in heaven. I wanted out of the car but daddy said we didn't have the money to stop there and I was not of age anyway. I am so glad that I went on this trip because I got to see J.C. and Birdy. When stopped to see J.C. and Birdie, they acted just like I was family. It gave me the warm fuzzes seeing them again. They were great people and they mean a lot to me. We went to Gallup, N.M. that's a major marketplace for the Navajo Indians. Real live Indians just not like in movies because they were dressed just like all us. There were no feathers, no skin showing. Albuquerque is where we got off Route 66 in West New Mexico that's where we got interstate 40 through tall the way to Tennessee . . .
That route took us right up to the door of Jaco's. It was still there and doing well. I was ready to get out of that car. I went on three days of being drunk when I got home. Momma and daddy never asked where I was. I have never thought how much I was drinking back then till I wrote this book. I was a drunk looking for somewhere to land, and land I did. I was heading for a life long job and not knowing it. Shortly after we got home, I started really trying to hook Jimmy. You could say that I was in love but as you know as you learn about me reading this book, I didn't know what love was . . .
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| I love Neon |