SATAN'S KINGDOM

I had eyeballed Lusious various times during our year at a Baltimore art school, but we never met until the very last day. We shared a cigarette and beer and went out on the town that night. A week later she moved in to the old farm house i shared with two hippies and their dog and kid. The dog was named Ananda and the kid Rama. They were vegetarians.
I had a job as a hotwalker at the local horseracing track Timonium and scored a job for Lucious. We drove our 1949 farm red pickup to work at 4am. By 10 am we were done. Five horses were excercised, groomed, walked, stalls mucked, the jockey was drunk and the nags ready for a day of leisure. Timonium was the second string track to the big time- Pimlico. When the Triple Crown was run we had finish line seats as Secretariet blew away the field. We may have made minimum wage and had horse shit on our boots, but come stakes day we had the best VIP seats in the house.
When the horses moved north after race season we decided to do the same. I built a flimsy plywood cap on the truck and we double clutched our way to Ct. Even though the social morals of the time were very understanding of two young people in love, cohabitating outside of marraige, my parents were not. We were forced to live in our truck. We found a beautiful spot along the Farmington river, pulled the truck in and set up camp in Satan's Kingdom. She got a job at the local Friendlys and I was painting a Dr.'s house. During the day we'd tie the dog to a tree close to the river and drive our home to work. It was a beautiful summer.
When the leaves changed we sold the truck, bought a jeep and headed for Woodstock. That's where and when we decided to get married. I was (and still am) very close to my family. Their cold shoulder towards us hurt. If a little ceremony in a Justice of the Peace's rec. room would make it all better- so be it. We had a bash at The Woodstock Pub and went back to our Bearsville house with a bunch of my friends and brother to continue the party. Stools were chopped up for firewood. Ritz crackers were peanutbuttered to our windows. My brother ended up asleep in the back of a car that left without his knowledge. He'd gotton lost and missed the wedding. Then he got drunk and missed breakfast. So far he wasn't much of a best man. I fell asleep drunk with out making love to my new bride. I've been married twice and both times I've let the wedding night pass without closing the deal. If I ever get hitched again I promise consumation. Married life should always begin with a little nookie. Like back in the Kingdom- the truck should rock before sleep.