This was almost two years ago, but today it seems like I've been go- ing out all my life. I only went around the block that night. There were a whole lot of, 'only around the blocks' before I went a little further. Then it was two blocks, then three. But I still kept on, not too well lighted streets and I always walked with traff- ic so that passing car lights would shine on my back instead of my face. So the walks got longer and longer and the further away from home I got the more little things happened to build up my confidence like passing people on the street, and noticing that they didn't even give me a second glance. A police car stopped at an intersect- ion to let me cross and drove on, a carload of young men went by and they whistled at me. All these little things and many more helped, so my walks got longer and before I knew it, I was right downtown window shopping, with people all around and I was just one of the crowd. No one paid any attention to me except some guy looking for a girlfriend might give me the eye once in a while. So I started feeling more at ease but I still dreaded thinking about having to speak to someone, sometime. Then it happened one night! I was on my way home and I had just passed a bar and a guy came out and turn- ed and walked the same direction I was going. I don't have eyes in the back of my head, but I could feel him looking at me and for some reason I just knew that he was going to speak to me, and he did. He got up along side of me and said, "Nice night, isn't it!"

Well what could I do, act insulted, pull the old sore throat act, or act like a stoop and say nothing. I could have done any of these but if I had, I'd still be doing it today. So I looked him right in the eye and said, "Yes, it's beautiful."

Well this left an opening for him, so next came the question

of "Where was I going?"

I said "Home".

And he made some wisecrack about "That's where you go when there's no place else to go."

But things were starting to get too deep for me, because after all this was the first time Loretta had ever spoken to anyone and besides I was on the other side of the fence now. I knew his lines but I'll be darned if I could think of anything to say or answer as a girl. So I kept my mouth shut, looked straight ahead and quick- ened my pace a little.

He kept on trying to get me to go have a drink somewhere with

39.