The Memory Project
Off the top of my head, natural (Johnny Ketchum)


Sixteen Magazine
Previous Entry :: Next Entry

Read/Post Comments (3)
Share on Facebook
It was the year of the eclipse of the moon, the first full eclipse of my conscious life, and the family was en route to Atlanta from Baltimore, a 700-mile trip we made up to twice a year to see all our relatives. Usually, we did it in one day -- Must Make Good Time is the Lippman credo -- but on this particular trip, this wasn't possible. A late start? Was it the Easter Sunday on which I learned it was unwise to eat a lot of milk chocolate before a long car trip? Somewhere in North Carolina, I assume, we checked into a Traveler's Inn, the one whose logo featured a bear in a nightshirt. And, somewhere along the way, my sister had purchased a copy of "16." I think was half the titular age, but I doubt that anyone over 13 ever read "16."

The pin-ups of the day were the Monkees, natch (I was a Mickey girl); the two younger Cowsill brothers, Barry and, well, the other one; Bobby Sherman; Jack Wilde; and -- most intriguingly -- a beautiful young Indian actor, Sajid Khan, although I might be mangling his name. As far as my sister and I could discern, his only acting credit was one appearance on "Bonanza." He wore Nehru jackets. He strummed a sitar. He soon disappeared.

We preferred "16" to Tiger Beat, although I can no longer remember why. Years later, I would find out that its editor, Gloria Stavers, was a huge Jim Morrison fan and had managed to inject him into the pages of "16," although he was the exact opposite of most of its pin-ups. Dangerous, brooding, Not Safe.

I don't think I have ever felt quite as grown-up as I did in the backseat of the family car, fighting motion sickness as I pored over the likes and dislikes of the Cowsill brothers. It seemed vital information, a key to something, but God knows what.


Read/Post Comments (3)

Previous Entry :: Next Entry

Back to Top

Powered by JournalScape © 2001-2010 JournalScape.com. All rights reserved.
All content rights reserved by the author.
custsupport@journalscape.com