Fried and lied to...



 August 8, 1974...It was a perfect Summer's day for taking LSD and looking at the beautiful Pacific Ocean for three young men named Sheehy, Creason and Smith. Kent was living on the seaside in Ventura county, as part of his putting down Ventura county roots (pronounced like soot). Greg had driven up to Church lane where I was in my second month of unemployment after getting canned by the Central Ticket Office. In my gloom I turned to drugs to treat my depression. In this case it worked.  There was some blotter acid floating around and we felt it would be ideal to drop and drive north where Smith and the sea awaited. The psychedelic day was everything you would want in a trip with sympathetic pals, sunshine, cigarettes and an ocean that was presented as a hundred different colors. The underrated drive up through the sun-splashed Conejo was thrilling and Smitty's beachfront pad was just the thing for hippy gents like us. There was laughter and music including a blasting "Black Water" by the then favorite Doobie Brothers and maybe some Steely Dan. The day passed in hallucinatory bliss until people started gathering around a TV around 6 as the newscasters said a special announcement was on the way. Stoned out, we joined the crowd and saw our serious looking president sit at his desk and say a jumble of words we hardly heard. Yet, one sentence came through loud and clear "Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office." There was a huge cheer that could be heard all up and down the coastline and across the country as our worst enemy was disgraced. Dick Nixon was done. It was the last time I took a trip on acid but a worthwhile event to celebrate the positive events of a very bad time in my life. I was just barely treading water but Nixon, Sheehy and Smith threw me a lifesaver.



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