I See You Everywhere...

Ch-3 (late summer 84)

Life and the beat goes on

Took some time off to deal with some issues in my life. Again if you don't like my stories, don't read them. If you want explicit sex, you won't find it here. If you expect happy endings, there are none. If you need violent retribution, seek mental help. Death threats don't impress me in the least. There are worse things than dying, I've seen some of them first hand...

Randy landed at MPLS international half expecting a crowd to be waiting for him. He was disappointed. Only his dad was there. They had little to say while they waited at the baggage carousel for Randy's duffle bags. Randy's dad never was close to Randy, slow to smile and damned fast with a crack to the back of Randy's head for something done wrong. He taught Randy his fractions in the garage working on vehicles or equipment. He'd tell Randy to fetch him a 9/16's wrench if Randy brought him the wrong one he would bounce it off Randy's skull and send him back for the right one. If Randy took "too long" he'd get a whack as well.

Once in the car, Frank did make small talk. Randy immediately noticed a change. Frank was talking to him almost like Randy was an equal, an adult. Frank had always treated Randy like he never got over being the 14-year-old, clumsy, lazy kid he had been. Frank didn't ask much about Korea, he had served there with Mark, Carol's dad and still had bouts of PTSD from his time there. It wasn't diagnosed, but that's what it was. He would periodically start drinking more and then go to the "shack" for a couple days alone. It wasn't really safe to go with him. Frank would come back with a haunted look about him and things would be fine for a while. As he got older these incidences dropped off to once or twice a year or less, but they never stopped altogether.

Randy came home to the first decent meal he'd had for a year. Pot roast and potatoes with carrots but as far as Randy was concerned it couldn't have been better. Later that night his mom, Mary, talked with him a bit. They discussed Carol, her passing, the funeral, how shocked and disappointed everyone was that Randy didn't come home for it, how not everyone believed that Randy's CO had withheld both his mail and the death notification. Carol's folks were amongst those expressing doubt about that and Mary thought it might be best if Randy called them in the morning rather than going there.

Randy honestly hadn't even thought about contacting Carol's folks. Facing them was going to bring back memories and feelings that Randy still hadn't faced. It took two days of nagging but Mary finally got him off his ass and he went to see the Zarudski's. To say the least it was all Randy feared it would be and worse. Carol's folks were almost angry with Randy. They felt that he should of been home for her service, felt he should of done more. Actually blamed him for doing what they had asked of him. By the end of the visit a nearly life long relationship with Carol's folks was rattling in the ash can.

Five days after Randy got home he got the call that his Sportster was ready for pick up. With the help of his brother David they drove to St. Cloud to pick it up. Once at the dealership, Randy was more than a bit disappointed. The blue bike he had ordered was black, the two up seat a single saddle. When Randy pointed this out the salesman tried a take it or leave it attitude, that didn't work so well. Randy had been given a 1-800 number to call if there were issues with the bike at pick up. Randy asked for access to a phone, to which the sales-rat said "what do you think that's going to do for you?"

Randy called, told them what was going on. They asked to speak to either the manager or the owner. When the sales-rat wouldn't go get one or the other, David did. The manager/owners son got on the line. He was told that his dealership would be cut out of the military sales program unless they made it right with Randy. Not much of a threat to the son but the owner was a veteran and he was proud of his association with the program. The manager got off the phone and that's when Randy got the real story. Randy's bike had been in the shop for nearly three months and they had been offered 800 over asking price to sell it to a local. They had reordered the bike but it was three weeks from being delivered. They had called Randy to tell him the bike was ready and tried to pass off the machine they had on the sales floor.

The dealership offered Randy 500 bucks of custom parts plus the two up seat he'd ordered or he could wait the three weeks. Randy took what was offered because he wanted to ride. He'd been waiting almost a year for that first ride and he wasn't waiting any longer. He got a good start on the break in procedure on the ride home.

That Saturday there was a street dance in Gary, one of the named neighborhoods of Duluth. Part of the festivities was a toy run, where the local bike and classic auto clubs organized a long ride followed by a big party. Bring a toy to donate, go for a nice cruise, eat a bunch of pulled pork and the keg beer was free.

Randy picked up a teddy bear, went for a nice ride, ate a good meal and was well on his way to being bombed when he ran into Tammy Whitehorse. (Randy knew her as Tammy Lentz.) Tammy had been part of the clique that Randy hung with in high school. They struck up a conversation and several non drinking hours later, they went for a ride on his bike. The ride was back to her place. They had been friends with benefits in school and they didn't get much sleep that night. The morning light brought more than a few revelations.

Tammy woke Randy up with "rise and shine lover", which he did. No offer of breakfast it was get out of here and call me later. Later indeed. It was early afternoon when Tammy called him. "I have a few things to tell you Randy. We need to talk. Meet me at the food court of the mall at 4?"

Randy was early. When he spotted Tammy she had two kids with her in a double stroller. The little boy was a toddler and the little girl wasn't walking yet. Tammy spotted Randy, waved and walked over. "Randy I'd like you to meet Joshua and Janet."

Seems that Tammy met Tom Whitehorse at a college party off campus at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. She dated him for two months when she came up pregnant. A quicky marriage followed. Tom wasn't a student at the U. He was a Marine Corps recruiter. As an E-5 life was a poverty level struggle. Shortly after their marriage, they were posted at Camp Lejeune where Tom worked in supply and Tammy worked at the BX. Tom's next assignment was in Okinawa. This was supposed to be an accompanied tour, meaning his wife and kids would be able to join him, but he had found an agreeable female Marine bedmate and never did have Tammy and the kids come. Tammy was not ok with this at all and her response was Randy.

Randy, once made aware of Tammy's marital situation was ok with banging her like a cheap drum every chance he got. He took her everywhere both in her apartment and on his bike. By the end of his leave time, Tammy had developed romantic feelings for Randy. Three nights before he had to head out to Ft. Campbell she told him that she was thinking of divorcing Tom and following Randy to Kentucky. Randy was also developing feelings for her.

For the past week, Randy had been dreaming of Carol again. In each of the dreams, she seemed further away and in the last one, the night before he left for Ft. Campbell, she was stopped facing him. Anger and disappointment on her face and in her body language and no matter how he tried he could not get closer to her.

The following morning he loaded the Sportster into the bed of his 68 dodge crew cab truck and headed out on HWY 53 south. On to new places and new faces. He stopped overnight in Joliet Illinois at his cousin's place and signed into headquarters company of the 311th MI bn the following evening.