As Cassia discovers in my novel What’s Left, her father’s photographic record includes some serious gaps.
One involves a side of the hippie era, especially his experiences going underground in New York City.
As Cassia comments in an earlier draft of the story:
From his photos, I have little to go on regarding the hitchhiking, much less the subways. Not that there aren’t images — they just don’t reveal anything. Maybe it was largely in his mind. Maybe mostly a pipe dream. Entertaining, all the same. And one or the other landed him here.
~*~
Looking back on the era, I wonder how I’d react seeing photos of the people I was with or the experiences we shared. The nude group swimming at the remote lake in the summer? Not nearly as sensuous as I remember? Former lovers? Half of the places I lived have been torn down, as I see from satellite maps. You get the idea.
The time seemed so full of promise.
Tell me about the biggest disappointment you’ve ever had.
~*~
~*~
