"She loves Quaaludes"

Really! I mean, jeez. How was Nigel supposed to know? I'd only taken them twice. Well, OK. Let's make it three times, alright?? The first time was at a party at Mike "Weatherwoman" Fenwick's party in Mt. Adams (circa 1972-73) -- egged on by my best friend Steve O'Banion. Steve, a great dancer for a white boy! -- was always trying to get me to come out of my shell. That night I guess I did -- after a couple of glasses of wine and a 'lude, we were twirling across the room in what felt like a sophisticated dance and then suddenly I went all limp, like an overcooked noodle and collapsed right on top of Mike's coffee table!

Next, came a verrry long Amtrak train trip (can we say, "almost 24 HOURS?") on "The Cardinal" from Cincinnati to New York City by way of Washington, D.C. with my very special long-haired, soft-lipped, sweet friend, Bradley. Can this be 1975 or so? Our mutual friend Nina was already ensconced in the East Village in a flat on St. Marks Place which she had generously offered to share on our visit. I have a lovely recollection of dining with Bradley amongst white table linens in the diner club car, enjoying the scenery -- or whatever one can think of as "scenery" while speeding through the wasteland which constitutes the picturesque byways of the state of New Jersey.

I must say that B. and I had a wonderful side trip on this visit to see the original Off-Broadway version of Lanford Wilson's The HOT L BALTIMORE. With a cast encompassing such actors as James Cromwell; Richard Masur; Conchata Ferrell (a REAL find!); Al Freeman Jr. and Charlotte Rae (and if my program is correct, an actor named in it as "Ron Paul Little", later known as Horshack in "Welcome Back, Kotter" as Ron Palillo!)

Last occasion of bad girl 'lude usage was circa -- hmmm -- maybe 1976?? Dinner with old friend Robert Ahr -- ummm, may we call him an Alice Cooper lookalike? It was winter and he picked me up with his white Volkswagen Thing. It was COLD! He had a place downtown, with an artist's studio above it, and all I can remember is that dinner consisted of stalks of celery dipped in Marzetti's Honey French Dressing, right out of the jar, as an hors d'oeuvre. The rest of the meal was something pasta-oriented, with the uneaten portion flushed down the toilet since there was no garbage disposal! Robert, never one to shirk his familial duties, had also earlier treated me to a visit with his elderly, shall we say, relatively infirm, grandmother. She was a real Hell-raiser, properly offering us itty-bitty drinks of wine in tiny communion-size glasses and yet inviting me to accompany her into her bathroom when she had to go, like Tallulah Bankhead supposedly used to do! While I found myself rather nonplussed at Granny Ahr's conversational habits, I really don't think it was the appropriate place to continue our conversation!