On the bus #2: Further adventures of the Cassady kid
A plane missed, a bus chased
So of course, I missed my plane to Chicago after staying up all night with friends. When I finally got to O'Hare, I asked the desk clerk if she had seen a bunch of freaks in a colored bus. She said, ‘Oh, sure. They left three hours ago.’ Fine!
Naturally, I had to rent a car to chase them. I said, ‘Give me the smallest, cheapest one you've got.’ They said to me: ‘This one is all we have left.’ It was a Chrysler Cordoba. With fine Corinthian leather, as pitched by Ricardo Montelbaum on TV. OK (It WAS a nice car!)
That day was the worst rainstorm in the history of Chicago – just my luck. I was in the fast lane doing 80 on a 4-lane freeway with the windshield wipers on full, and I couldn't see shit. Everything was grey.
Suddenly I caught a glimpse of color out of my right eye, and sure enough, there was the bus, over in the slow lane. I squeezed through the 4 lanes with horns honking. There were about a dozen cars behind the bus – tourists – so I tried to squeeze in, but I lost it. The freeway was flooded, and I went up onto the right embankment, kicking up ice plant. Bummer. But I didn't roll it!
When I came back down, the cars let me in behind the bus. Walker didn't pull over for another 2 hours, when they finally stopped at a rest stop to pee. I pulled up beside him, and George said, ‘I saw you in the mirror. I knew it was you. That was a pure Cassady move!’ Thanks for stopping!
More stories to follow in Part III…
John Allen Cassady
Coming soon: ‘On the bus #3’, Cleveland and the Rock Hall beckon