Chapter 39
Thanksgiving, 2022, on the Road
Wednesday before Thanksgiving, a balmy low 80s-degree day, Huck arrived and without Sunshine and Peaches. “They know where we are, though,” he told Patty, “It’s just they wanted to go see some ol’ pals up in Georgia first. They dropped me off at a truck stop by the intersection with I-75 and headed north. Found a trucker right away heading south all the way down to Naples, but geez-Louise! It was quite a walk from the Sarasota exit to here.”
We asked Huck if there were any memorable times in Lafayette or New Orleans and where’s Big Sam? “Big Sam bought a bus ticket back to L.A. after having a falling-out with Peaches – apparently Sunshine was complaining that Sam was trying to pimp her for some cash – but I don’t believe it. I think Peaches was just getting jealous. Me and Sunshine are just best friends now.”
Meanwhile, Rocky and Skip went around the RV park inviting fellow dwellers to our “Thanksgiving Dinner,” where we promised entertainment as well as food. Patty and Sally followed behind asking if anybody had a good joke or story they wanted recorded to be part of the entertainment. Steve was off at Hazel and George’s to see if they wanted to come to “our place” for dinner instead of going downtown.
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Later on, Skip and Rocky were at poolside, off by themselves, trying to put “the jig saw puzzle” (Rocky’s term) together. They listed things they’d overlooked so far, like: What’s Gordy’s last name? What’s the name of Gordy’s cell mate? What was Abdul’s last name, or real name? What were his Canadian connections – had any of his family come forward? etc. And they talked about when would be the right time, if ever, to take what they knew to the authorities – maybe an opportunity back in Boulder to launch a Forward Party candidate for Jefferson County Sheriff . . . “or maybe embarrass Trump World about not having fought for a wall on our northern border,” Rocky joked.
When Max showed up, Rocky took off, leaving Max and Skip alone. Max said he had called Lisa right away with an early Thanksgiving Be-Well-wish and learned a lot:
- Lisa and Ken both had known some of the SLA crowd back in the 70s, when they were activists together in California. But Lisa said they went out of their way to condemn the SLA’s tactics.
- Nevertheless, Ken had struck up a friendship with a guy named Gordy Ettinger, while Gordy was doing time for that Sacramento bank robbery.
- Max was sure Lisa knew everything Ken was up to, including his latest thing, raising money in Hollywood to finance a “disengagement and de-radicalization” program in Vancouver to counter disaffected Somalis from joining – or aid them in disengaging from – terrorist groups.
Later that day, Skip found a private moment with Rocky and said, “Well, we know Gordy’s last name – it’s Ettinger. And we now know Ken is up to something in Vancouver. I think maybe we should clue Max in on the puzzle – sounds like Lisa, his-ex, could supply a whole lot of info about her brother Ken.”
“Why not get everybody on the bus into it?” Rocky joked. “Just tell Patty we’ve got a real-live murder mystery she can sell to Hollywood.” Next day we served a simple feast of turkey drum sticks, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce, and, by golly, a score or more of fellow RVers showed up bringing their lawn chairs, their pets, and something to share for the meal. And then Peaches and Sunshine showed up! Honking and waving, grinning and shouting, “Heard you guys were doin’ some Rainbow Family-Style dining.” Under a clear night, with just a sliver of a moon, we showed the Sun & Surf crowd our best videos, shared our fellow-travelers’ best jokes, and watched the Wizard of Oz on the big screen TV. Thinking about it the next day, we thought maybe half the crowd had ended up thinking being a Pirate was maybe the best way to go – more fun than being a Forward, and more understandable than being a Trumpeter.