they didn't act like it, but the few cars following them must have spotted her. Lenny ignored them, figuring they were bored local kids or some of those damn reporters.
Something magical happened to Lenny on the road, like someone reached inside of her and fluffed up her heart as if it were nothing more than a goose down pillow. She was nineteen again and happy, and the entire world stretched out in front of her and glimmered, just like these women walkers glimmering on the road.
When she got close to them, Lenny smiled. She laughed too, a soft chuckle that moved up from the soles of her feet through her legs, past her thighs and stomach, through her soaring heart and into her fine white throat.
There was a woman about her age walking in front. She was over six feet tall, and she wore Nike tennis shoes, black jogging tights, a blue shirt and carried a white sweatshirt over her shoulder. When Lenny met up with her, the woman smiled and locked her arm inside of Lenny's. Together they strolled down the highway and into the front yard of the hog farm.
“Please come in.” Lenny held open the door. “The wine is on the kitchen table, the bathroom is upstairs and I've set out towels by the shower.”
When everyone was inside the house, Lenny went back out by herself to talk to the people in the cars. What she said was fairly simple. “Leave us the hell alone.”
Two reporters hopped out of their cars anyway, and Lenny bent down to pick up a stick, then headed toward them. “This is private, that's all,” she told them, pointing the stick toward the car doors.
The reporters saw the look in Lenny's eye, that same look Jackson had once seen, and they quickly returned to their cars and backed down the driveway.
Lenny threw the stick into the air and stood for a moment by herself right in the spot where she would eventually put the
For Sale
sign, then turned and walked into the house, wondering the entire time if her feet were really touching the earth.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
May 4, 1970
Waukesha, Wisconsin
HAMMES AWARDED SCHOLARSHIP
Jeffrey G. Hammes, 18, a senior at Johnson Hill High School, was awarded a full athletic scholarship to Notre Dame University where he will play middle linebacker for the Irish football team.
Hammes, an all-star player for the Hill team during the past four years, was actively recruited by numerous colleges and universities including the University of Wisconsin, Stanford, and Northwestern.
“I can't believe it,” said Hammes, the oldest son of John and Carol Hammes. “This is just the greatest thing that could ever happen to me, and I'm really excited.”
Bill Stoughten, Hammes's coach throughout his high school career, said Hammes is not only a superb athlete but also an outstanding student and team leader. “This scholarship comes as no surprise to me,” said Stoughten. “If I had more guys like Jeff, we'd probably win the state championship every year.”
Hammes won the Singelton Award for sportsman-like conduct this year and was chosen by his teammates as team captain for the last two years. He was also on the
Journal
's All-Conference team the last three years and was selected by his school to represent them at the National Sports Convention in Toledo last January.
Hammes plans to study business at the university and said he might consider a professional football career.
—30—
The Elegant Gathering: J.J.
This morning I could not take my eyes off of the skyline. I have never been out here like this to watch the sun rise, and now I am thinking that I may never, ever miss another one the rest of my life. When I watched the sky open up and change from dark to light, I felt as if I was exploding on the inside, like something burst open and I could feel whatever it was running through the veins in my body.
The girls call me J.J. because my name is Joanne Johnson. This is the first
Something magical happened to Lenny on the road, like someone reached inside of her and fluffed up her heart as if it were nothing more than a goose down pillow. She was nineteen again and happy, and the entire world stretched out in front of her and glimmered, just like these women walkers glimmering on the road.
When she got close to them, Lenny smiled. She laughed too, a soft chuckle that moved up from the soles of her feet through her legs, past her thighs and stomach, through her soaring heart and into her fine white throat.
There was a woman about her age walking in front. She was over six feet tall, and she wore Nike tennis shoes, black jogging tights, a blue shirt and carried a white sweatshirt over her shoulder. When Lenny met up with her, the woman smiled and locked her arm inside of Lenny's. Together they strolled down the highway and into the front yard of the hog farm.
“Please come in.” Lenny held open the door. “The wine is on the kitchen table, the bathroom is upstairs and I've set out towels by the shower.”
When everyone was inside the house, Lenny went back out by herself to talk to the people in the cars. What she said was fairly simple. “Leave us the hell alone.”
Two reporters hopped out of their cars anyway, and Lenny bent down to pick up a stick, then headed toward them. “This is private, that's all,” she told them, pointing the stick toward the car doors.
The reporters saw the look in Lenny's eye, that same look Jackson had once seen, and they quickly returned to their cars and backed down the driveway.
Lenny threw the stick into the air and stood for a moment by herself right in the spot where she would eventually put the
For Sale
sign, then turned and walked into the house, wondering the entire time if her feet were really touching the earth.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
May 4, 1970
Waukesha, Wisconsin
HAMMES AWARDED SCHOLARSHIP
Jeffrey G. Hammes, 18, a senior at Johnson Hill High School, was awarded a full athletic scholarship to Notre Dame University where he will play middle linebacker for the Irish football team.
Hammes, an all-star player for the Hill team during the past four years, was actively recruited by numerous colleges and universities including the University of Wisconsin, Stanford, and Northwestern.
“I can't believe it,” said Hammes, the oldest son of John and Carol Hammes. “This is just the greatest thing that could ever happen to me, and I'm really excited.”
Bill Stoughten, Hammes's coach throughout his high school career, said Hammes is not only a superb athlete but also an outstanding student and team leader. “This scholarship comes as no surprise to me,” said Stoughten. “If I had more guys like Jeff, we'd probably win the state championship every year.”
Hammes won the Singelton Award for sportsman-like conduct this year and was chosen by his teammates as team captain for the last two years. He was also on the
Journal
's All-Conference team the last three years and was selected by his school to represent them at the National Sports Convention in Toledo last January.
Hammes plans to study business at the university and said he might consider a professional football career.
—30—
The Elegant Gathering: J.J.
This morning I could not take my eyes off of the skyline. I have never been out here like this to watch the sun rise, and now I am thinking that I may never, ever miss another one the rest of my life. When I watched the sky open up and change from dark to light, I felt as if I was exploding on the inside, like something burst open and I could feel whatever it was running through the veins in my body.
The girls call me J.J. because my name is Joanne Johnson. This is the first
Similar Books
