I probably became aware of the War the same way everyone else did, from TV. I may have become a little more sensitive to it because of the time I spent in San Francisco. There wasn't a lot of anti-war activity in Medina in the late 60's, but there was some. And there was in Cleveland. And in Akron. And in Kent.

It was the week before the demonstration in Kent, the last weekend in April, 1970, when I first met up with the Merry Pranksters. I was down in Kent visiting some friends and meeting different people in the anti-war movement. This particular group of Pranksters was convinced that the day of the big demonstration had passed. People were getting used to seeing big rallies on TV. They were numb to them.

Well, the shootings proved there was still some impact in big demonstrations.

Regardless of that, I became involved with the group and other groups that performed Guerilla Theatre. The idea was to do dramatic small group theatrics to protest the war and other social ills. I did a number of different performances while I was in high school.

When I went to Cleveland State, I joined up with a group that called themselves simply the Folks.

I first met Satin during a Folks performance. She played the bride in a short satirical bit about the role of women in modern society.

"Satin" was a stage name. Her real name was Rebecca Cohen, though Satin was what she wanted to be called. She was a very interesting young woman. Very dramatic. Very open. Very energetic. Satin seemed to always be on the move, always doing something, always going. She lived on nicotine and caffeine.

I'm not really sure how it was that we actually started dating. We went somewhere, probably for coffee, after some street theatre we did in front of the Federal Building. I asked her out to a party, I think.

We started going to parties together. Then we'd get together to go to the Art Theatre on the East Side. Then we'd get together to just hang out in Coventry. Pretty soon we were together most of the time.

Satin was from upstate New York. She was an education major at Case Western Reserve on the East Side of Cleveland. Although she loved acting and performing, she said she thought being an elementary school teacher was more important. Satin was an only child and loved kids. We spent a lot of time going to parks and playgrounds, anywhere there were kids. We'd go to Disney movies just because there were kids there.

Under all the hyperactivity and constant motion, Satin was a very kind and gentle person. She hated to be called "sweet", but that's what most people that met her thought.

I fell in love with her almost instantly. Even Chrissy, who spent years telling me what was wrong with the girls I liked, thought Satin was right for me.

Satin was my "first", as they say. She'd come over to the apartment in Lakewood to cook me dinner, which was pretty funny since she was a terrible cook.

What was even funnier was that Chrissy was sleeping on the couch the next morning when we got up.

Satin had more or less moved in with me by the end of the term. We started spending more time "at home" than out at parties.

When summer started, Satin had gotten a job working at a small daycare center run by the county. Max was still sending me $200 a month, but I got a job at a local head shop to have a little more.

We still did things with the Folks, but seemed to spend more and more time alone together.

Summer seemed to end quickly. Before long, classes were beginning again. Satin going to one school and my going to another was a little strange. If we had to go to the "Library" for research material, we'd flip a coin on which campus to go to.

Max came up for Thanksgiving that year. It was really the first time he and Satin met. It all went quite well, or so I thought. They got along great, laughing and joking. Max said he'd love to paint her portrait, but I joked about how I knew about him and his models.

It was shortly after that visit that Satin started getting more and more moody. She seemed to be depressed. She got very quiet and didn't seem to want to do much of anything.

She decided she needed to go home for the "Christmas" holidays. I asked if she wanted me to come along, we had enough money for both of us to go. Satin didn't think it was the right time for me to meet Mom and Dad. Especially since they had no idea we were living together. (It seems she had told them she was sharing an apartment with Chrissy. Well, that wasn't really TOO MUCH of a lie, Chrissy was still showing up to sleep on the couch a few times a week.)

Satin didn't come back to Cleveland.

She wrote me a very nice letter and apologized a lot and told me she loved me but wasn't ready to be together.

About five years later I got a letter and picture from her. She wasn't calling herself Satin any more. She signed the letter "Reb". She was living in New York and performing off-Broadway. It was a short letter. She really didn't go into any details. She must have gone to a good deal of trouble to find me, life had moved me around a bit by then. I'd been married and divorced. Max had disappeared. But somehow she found my address.

It was another fifteen years before I'd hear from her again. This time I found her and quiet by accident. I was in Washington D.C. I was doing what I called my "Depression Tour". I went to the Vietnam Memorial and the Holocaust Museum. There she was with a class of school kids. Her hair was different, but she looked the same.

She went by Becky now. She married a guy named Jason Schiff. She taught fifth grade. Becky and Jason didn't have any kids, but were looking into adoption.

We see Becky and Jason a few times a year now. They still don't have any kids, but do foster care. Becky's still teaching. Jason is an architect.

Things worked out for the both of us. Satin may be long gone, but Becky's still a wonderful woman.

(Here's a picture of the two of us from this past spring.)