As soon as the job was finished at church, I literally had nowhere to go. Since I still had keys to the church, I took to sleeping in the building across the parking lot where the College group met. I had a sleeping bag, but was once again as homeless as it gets. I decided to turn myself in at Ft. Ord in Monterey CA, because even jail was better than homelessness. So, in mid September of 1987, I took a bus to Ft. Ord and got the haircut and turned myself in.
The experience was considerably different than what I had assumed. First, we didn't do anything and we weren't thrown in the brig. 10,000 service members per year go AWOL and apparently there are not enough jails for all of us. We each had some light duty (cleaning, sweeping, KP) on one of the days and spent the rest playing basketball or processing. One of the days of processing, you have to go see the CO and he asks a few questions. Mine went like this:
Captain: Why did you go AWOL?
Me: For a girl, sir.
Captain: Ok, is she still around?
Me: No, sir.
Captain: They never are. What would you do if I sent you back to your unit?
Me: That could happen, sir? That would be great! It was the worst mistake of my life.
Captain: Ok, dismissed.
The next day, I went to see the less positive version of an officer...a JAG corps officer (defense attorneys who serve the Army, not you). My JAG Off. (yep, that's what they are called) let me know that opting to return to my unit opens me to court martial and though not a definite probability of action, there was a possibility that they would send me to jail. Well, a few nice nights in a barracks and I forgot all about how comfy jail might be. I accepted the deal proposed to me, which was a UOTH discharge (a general discharge given Under Other Than Honorable circumstances) and immediate terminal leave. In all, I was at Ft. Ord for all of 3 days.
Since I had nothing else to do, I took a bus to LA to visit with Darin and my Mom, who had moved to Marina del Rey with Ted that year (Who she had to marry twice also, because she had never divorced Bud...making Ted #6 & #7). Darin's girlfriend was buying a new car and offered to sell her old car, a 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo, to me. As I had no money, no job and no prospects of a job, I agreed to pay $600 in installments of $25 per month. I made a call to my step-brother John, who was stationed at a Naval Air Station in Hanford CA, and we agreed to meet up so I could meet his new baby girl. As I headed up the 5 (that's highway 5 for you non-Californians), Darin's girlfriend let me know that the car sometimes stalled. All one had to do was make sure to put it in park or it would not restart. I don't remember the turn off to get to Hanford, but I do remember I went the wrong way. Off on some two lane road, I realized my error and decided since I was in the middle of nowhere, with no one around, I would make a u-turn. The car stalled out sideways across the road. Remembering Suzy's words, I put the car in park and proceeded to flood the engine. Looking up, I could see a car coming in the far distance, I mean far, it could have been a mirage. I turned the key and the car tried to start, but didn't get there. The car was getting closer and I figured, of course he will stop. I tried to start up with a much more frantic move that probably ensured that it would not start. I reached my arm out to wave as if to say, "hello...I am here." Realizing that the car was not slowing, I pulled my hand in and leaped to the other side of the front seat. Unfortunately, I was seat-belted in so I didn't get far. The car hit me on the driver's side door going over 80 miles per hour. Later the police would tell me that the fact that you could read "Oldsmobile" across my door meant that he was accelerating into it. He was an old man and I think he hit the wrong pedal...it was either that or he was trying to kill me.
Luckily and un-luckily, my window was down. It was shattered inside the door instead of on my face, but since that was my new home and we were headed into colder months...it was a bummer. I got back to the bay area in the early hours of Saturday, September 26th, 1987. I felt a little free and not so worried. Yes, it sucks to live in your car, but the seats were pretty comfortable to sleep on until it started raining.
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