I was a p. k. -- preacher's kid -- Actually, I lived with my grandparents and my grandfather was a preacher in Sioux City, Iowa. That meant that I went to church camp every summer even when I turned 18 which was back in '55. Except then, I was old enough to help out as a junior counselor for two months. A new sect had purchased the camp grounds at Lake Okoboji and I volunteered to help them out their first year. Okoboji was a natural lake in northern Iowa, about a hundred miles from Sioux City and had some great beaches with swimming and boating. It was an enjoyable way to spend a summer.
The headmaster was the founder of the new sect-- Church of the universal, natural truths -- and he called himself a prophet instead of a minister or preacher. He had telephoned my grandfather about my abilities and of course, grandfather bragged on me. So Prophet David asked me to come to camp a day early to help set up the cabins and lodge.
Getting there was going to be a problem since I didn't have a car but, I figured hitchhiking would be an acceptable way if I started off a day early. I packed my backpack with clothes, books and some candy bars for an emergency. I didn't pack my bed roll but I did put in a rain poncho and a new black bathing suit. Grandfather gave me ten dollars spending money and off I went. My buddy from across the street said that he would drive me to the edge of town on his way to work. That worked out rather well and I was on my way walking north on old highway 75. I had walked about twenty minutes and found a bumper sticker advertising Okoboji so I stuck that on my backpack to aid in snagging a ride. It worked. In less than five minutes, a car slowed down and a pretty blond sitting on the passenger side told me that if I wanted a lift to jump in so I did.
You may know this but if you don't, preacher's kids think a lot about sex. As soon as a p.k. is five, he is told that sex is forbidden and he is told that every day and night until he leaves home. A p.k. must swear that he will never look at or touch a person of the opposite gender until he gets married in a church. A p.k. must never think about sex or have any kind of 'dirty thoughts' -- which is very hard to do since that's all you ever hear about...
So as soon as I sat down in the back seat and lowered the back pack to the floor, I noticed that there was another blond driving! Two young blond females that were maybe 25 had stopped for me and were taking me to Okoboji. I sat up straight and smiled-- my lucky day!
"On vacation from school?" asked the driver.
"Yes, ma'am. I'm on my way to a church camp at Lake Okoboji for the summer. Then it's Iowa State in the Fall."
"What's your name? I'm Pat and the pretty blond is Marion."
"Hello, Pat and Marion. My name is Robert Kincaid and I want to thank you for giving me a lift."
Marion stared at me and finally said, "You know, Pat, little Bobby here is kind of cute. I bet you he has a million girl friends and that he screws every one of them."
I turned bright red. No one had EVER talked like that to me. "'Thank you, ma'am, but I don't even have one girlfriend."
"Hey, Pat, I think Bobby's a virgin! Bobby, are you a virgin? Yup, Pat -- he's a virgin! I think we should fix that, don't you, Pat?"
"Sounds like fun. Should I find a place to park, Marion?"
"I think so! You know, Bobby, I'd like to make out with you but I only like girls. Pat and I are a couple."
