First Love, Part 6

Thus fueled, we drove out to Princeton to visit Sid's brother who was studying mathematics, and to freak around in the snowy woods. In the spirit of the Magical Mystery Tour and the Electric Koolaid Acid Test, Arden videotaped the entire odyssey. Back on the road, we made it to Penn State by midnight. Sid's sister was a student there. In fact Sid seemed to have siblings and cousins spread out in various colleges and universities all across the country.


Inevitably we made the obligatory stop in Goshen. By this time the initial frenzy of adventure had worn off and I was on an hysterical down. Like the prodigal son I trooped back to my parent's house and had an emotional breakdown, wailing about my lost love, my nascent hippie life, and my confusion about my academic career. The parents sent me off to consult with Willard Krabill, the sympathetic white-haired campus doc. Pulling myself back together, I decided to at least finish the semester before choosing between poetic glory and a bachelor's degree from Goshen College.


A refuge during this emotionally overwrought time was my job as a dishwasher downtown at Minelli's steakhouse. Reputedly run by a mafia family from South Bend, Minelli's was exotic enough to provide a satisfying contrast to Mennonite campus life at GC. It was also a satisfying work routine. Every evening at five I'd report for work, smoke a cigarette, drink a cup of coffee, and wash up the lunch dishes. The chef was an old sailor named Eric who wore a tall white toque and swore like a navvy at the waitresses. He was a heavy drinker and by the end of the night was frequently passed out on the floor behind his stoves.

-- Amos Stoltzfus