The Summer of '75 was a rough one. I was still licking my wounds after a bitter divorce at 23 and trying to regain my footing. I was staying at my childhood home while my parents were on an extended summer long European vacation. Barbara had lived across the street from us since I was in high school. She was the proverbial early 60's California surfer girl that the Beach Boys immortalized in song. Ironically when the Beach Boys played locally once there was a photo of her and Mike Love together in the local paper. When I was in high school, she was in her middle 20's and married. Barb would always do her gardening in a Gidget era bikini. She was now in her mid 30's and still gardening in a bikini and still looking great! And at 23 I am checking her out.
My mom had told me Barb had gotten a divorce several years before and kept the house. I remember her husband as being kind of a dork and never understood how they hooked up in the first place. I recall having only spoken to Barb just a handful times and decided maybe it was time to be a friendly neighbor now that I was a fully grown man. I had just returned from surfing and saw Barb outside her house. I figured what better time to break the ice than when I had my surfer baggies on, my board racked on top of my car and had my best beach look going on. I pulled in her driveway to reintroduce myself.
"Hey, Barb, remember me!"
"I sure do! Boy, you grew up to be a stud!" She said with a giggle. Barb was just what the doctor ordered right then!