Introduction to Writing Project
In the summer of 1969, I went to Europe for adventure and to escape the army. At my draft physical, my amphetamine-enhanced blood pressure had been so high that I was sure they’d be suspicious and want to test me again. If so, I wanted to be able to skedaddle to Sweden, and it would be a lot easier to do that if I were already in Europe.
I had read Arthur Frommer’s 1957 best-seller Europe on Five Dollars a Day, and figured my savings of $450 would be enough. But then I got busted for having one joint and a $250 fine left me with only $200. This will be my memoir at age 23 of spending ninety days penuriously abroad, joining the first burst of Baby Boomers thumbing and bumming through Europe in a hippie lifestyle.
Here are some highlights (in rough chronological order):
Entering London with an unstoppable nosebleed.
Sleeping in youth hostels without paying and sometimes getting kicked out.
Finding a sneaky way to eat for free in a Danish cafeteria.
Smoking legal “shit (hash)” at a prison converted into a nightclub.
Finding out why it was smart to bring along a carton of Marlboros.
Concluding that hitch-hiking in Germany is a good way to get killed.
Smoking hash among armor, broadswords and cobwebs in a spooky Danish castle.
Becoming an accidental drug dealer.
Being busted with hash at Swedish customs.
Learning why Swedes liked Americans while other Europeans hated them.
Living my Swedish girl fantasies and getting a new perspective on female sexuality.
Driving a bog slow car through the Pyrenees and learning new, international obscene hand gestures from angry drivers passing.
Fooling a foul-mouthed French cop into releasing me and my companions.
Punching out a French gas station attendant.
Encountering a French nudist camp.
Awakened on a beach by a Spanish cop with a dog and a machine gun.
Falling asleep on a beach and suffering sunstroke.
Fleeing Spain ahead of the law.
Saving an Englishman from starvation and then living in luxury at his parents’ estate.
Catching pneumonia at the storm-soaked Isle of Wight Music Festival—but getting to see Bob Dylan perform.
Returning to America and facing a threat not found in Europe.
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I plan to post selections and maybe entire chapters as they are ready for review. Those who follow this site will be notified when posts appear. I appreciate and welcome your input.
-David Blander