Vapor Lock

 I attended Officer Candidate School in Ft. Belvoir, VA which was located not far from Washington D.C. One weekend one of the other students, Roland, asked if my friend, Jake, and I could take him with us on our regular trips to D.C so he could visit his sister who lived in there. We were happy to oblige.

We dropped Roland off near his sister's apartment but when we went to leave, my car wouldn't start. It was a hot afternoon and my old Ford had a tendency to vapor lock when the engine was turned off on a hot day. The only thing that could be done was to just wait for the engine to cool down so the car would start.

Jake and I were standing next to the car trying to decide how to kill time until the car would start when we were approached by two prostitutes. They assumed that the only reason two young white guys would be in that all black neighborhood was to avail themselves of their services.

Jake and I explained we were just waiting for the car to cool down so we could leave after dropping our friend off at his sister's apartment. We chatted with these "working girls" for about a half hour and then said, "It looks like the car has cooled down so we can go now." They laughed and apologized for incorrectly assuming why we were and said, "Thanks for stopping by."

Walking

 I've enjoyed walking for most of my life. You see many things you would have missed otherwise and get to meet all sorts of interesting people.

In 1968 after I finished Officer Candidate School, I was attending Intelligence Officer's Training at Fort Holabird Maryland located on the outskirts of Baltimore. During my training I was staying in an apartment in Baltimore that was near downtown. One Monday evening around 9pm I decided to go for a walk around that part of town.

It was a warm night with a mild haze coming off of the Chesapeake Bay which gave the streetlights a slight halo effect. I hadn't been walking for very long when a young boy about 9 or 10 years old appeared out of the shadows and started walking beside me.

He looked up at me and said, "Hi mister. Is it OK if I walk with you?" I said, "Sure, I'd enjoy having some company. By the way, my name is Dave, what's yours?" He said, "Mathew."

Mathew and I walked together not saying much, just taking in the ambiance of a big city at night. After about a half hour Mathew said, "Thanks, mister. I gotto go now." and he faded back into the shadows.