An Authentic Life v 1.2 - Universalist Radha-Krishnaism

was an artist who did psychedelic posters for rock
concerts. Wes and his wife were Lydia’s friends. They
let us spend the night in the living room. We made
love there. With her pleasant face, full body and long
brown hair, Lydia looked beautiful like one of Rubens’
voluptuous nudes.
Lydia was a social worker in Sacramento. We
drove there in her MG sports car to spend a few days
together. She played the piano and recorder. We listened
to Bach harpsichord fugues on the stereo. We
fell in love, and I wanted her to move to San Francisco
with me. She didn’t want to give up her job, and I
didn’t want to give up the San Francisco scene. We
spent weekends together.
One weekend in January 1966, when she came to
Frisco to visit me, we were going to the Trips Festival
put on by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters at the
Longshoreman’s Hall. In the afternoon while shopping
on Haight Street, we stopped at a shop that sold
hand crafted leather and earrings. There we met Carolyn
who ran the shop with her husband Richard. They
were also going to the Trips Festival, and we decided
to go together. This was a psychedelic extravaganza
with acid punch, Andy Warhol, and the Velvet Underground.
Since Carolyn and Richard’s shop was
only a couple of blocks from my room, I visited them
regularly, and we became friends. We were all from
New York.
❡
When the holiday season was over, I lost my job at the
deli. Paul moved to a girlfriend’s place, and I couldn’t
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