March 2022

 I have a love/hate problem with my JP days, but it's time to put that away and try to see what value there was for me there and remember it in the best possible light. 

When I became aquainted with the cult, I was in a state of need. I was the kind of guy that did best with a girlfriend or wife. I didn't do good alone. So I was on the lookout and the cult was not a good place for that. Not for me. Not then.

But in the beginning, I had high hopes for that. And it wasn't working. So in time, I'd become depressed and I would leave town and go to Oregon to escape the cult. And myself I guess. I'd stay at the Salvation Army or some Rescue Mission. Work part-time jobs and rent cheap hotel rooms. And be alone. I didn't know anyone in Portland, Oregon, not a soul.  I read books about Franklin Jones, Bubba Free John and he reminded me of JP. 

Eventually, I got so lonely that I'd return to Santa Cruz. 1978. And drove an ice cream truck for many months. By spring of 1979, I was down again and split for Portland. Same cycle. Salvation Army in Eugene.  It was this long process of giving up the cult. I worked, had a fling for a few months, worked some more then got a car and went back to Santa Cruz. At that point, I was ready to move on. Met a nice lady, settled down, had a child, and went to work for the next 40 years basically.