FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES

While stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, I rented a one-room house in Bonnie Doone, between Fort Bragg and Fayetteville. I shared the rent and the house with three other G.I.'s, but it soon became a commune with up to twenty-five people living with us, many of them hippies we met at Rowan Park.

One night I went out for a walk, and while passing the front of the Fox Drive-In Theatre, I noticed three guys coming out of the theatre through a large hole in the high fence. Hey, cool, I thought, I can step in and watch a movie! But just after I stepped in, I realized why the three fellows had stepped out. Not twenty feet in front of me, a man approached and yelled, "Hey you! Stop right there!"

I had watched movies at this theatre before, by climbing a tree at the back of the facility and watching over the fence. I couldn't hear it, but could see it, and it was a pleasant pastime. Often others sat up in an adjacent tree. But this time I was inside, and I was in trouble.

The man took me by the arm and we began the depressing walk toward the office. I was very polite and contrite, and soon he released his grip and had me just walk beside him. Already making plans in my head, I made sure to be on his left side. When we were about to turn right to go to the office, I asked, "Is this serious?"

"It's trespassing!" he said. And as he turned right, I ran left. I was at least ten yards away from him before he realized I was running. He gave a yell and took off after me. This guy was indeed serious.

Having been to the back of the theatre before, I remember seeing a large drain pipe going under the fence, and while running full-speed I watched for this pipe. By the time I dropped down and scrambled through it, the man had probably stopped chasing me, but I never took the time to look.

Once out, I thought all was well, but glancing down Mullis Street I spotted a man in the middle of the street obviously tense and looking for someone. By the time I managed to get safely back to my place, I was thankful for all those chess games I had played growing up.

Nowadays the Fox Drive-In Theatre is closed and overgrown with trees, so I figure I can finally confess without getting into serious trouble.

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