Duke the Kook

1975.10.25

We went to Twin Peaks for breakfast this morning. It was clear and beautiful. Afterward we went downtown to the Civic Center. Peter and I paired up again and went flower selling in the immediate area until noon, when we met at the Civic Center for lunch. Peter and I then went witnessing together at Powell and Market.

We were to meet Poppy at the library steps at 4 o'clock. Sometime around 3:30 I was witnessing to a really good guy named Gary, who is into psychic healing. At that time a friend of Peter's from Detroit showed up, so he and Peter got into talking and we were late in getting to the library. Poppy wasn't there, nor was anyone else. We waited a few minutes and decided we were too late. Peter said goodbye to his friend and we headed toward Powell and Market. I said that I had to repent for being so late, since Poppy had made such a point of us meeting her.

Just then Grace's Falcon, driven by Dave Burroughs, showed up and we headed out to Third Street for a bar run. There was a guest, Duke, in the car.

My first run was in the Long Island Bar, where I sold some and then the bartender took a few but didn't pay for them. Instead he asked me for my license. He put the flowers in a glass and walked away. So I grabbed my flowers back, rescued them that is, and made tracks out of there. Did some more bar runs downtown and then went home to our big "spaghetti smash."

Holly came back for the weekend, so I took her as my responsibility, but Sarah and Teresa have more or less taken over. We are in Poppy's group, the first time since I came back from Big Sur after my first weekend back in August. Seems like a lifetime. Big Jim was her assistant that weekend, and Peter and Reid were also in the group. Peter and I were talking recently that it seemed rather significant that all of us were together with Poppy then. I remember being really love-bombed that weekend.

Reid was supposed to be in our group this weekend. His parents were supposed to come too and they didn't make it, so he is in "advanced" instead.

I have been love-bombed a lot lately it seems. It rained all day yesterday, but we played dodge ball anyway and even square danced in the Chicken Palace. Afterward I kept thinking, if people really knew what we were doing here, they would beg to stay. But of course we can't tell them, so they can make a free choice based on faith.

Our group meeting last night was unified suddenly. All the guests were positive. Ron, who had been having lunch with us at the Civic Center for the last two weeks and was really into Timothy Leary, was "overwhelmed." Unfortunately, he got negative today and left. Duke had a dream Friday night that he was skateboarding down a dirt hill, turned to the left and then he was in a bar, laughing and drinking. Then he woke up.

Noah's climax lecture on Sunday about the second coming was even more powerful than usual and the whole Chicken Palace got swept up in it, especially Duke. Right at the peak moment of the lecture, when everyone was just spellbound by the amazing things Noah had just said, Duke suddenly stood up on his stair and yelled, "Three cheers for Noah! Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip hooray!"

Everybody was just flabbergasted. No one joined in because it was not a cool thing to do. Duke was obviously trying to make himself the center of attention by being the leader of a group cheer. It sort of ruined the experience. His arrogance was really embarrassing.

But Duke wasn't done trying to take over. Afterward in our group meeting he kept trying to be the center of attention, make everyone look to him as the leader by espousing biblical quotes, which he claimed to understand. Even Poppy had difficulty trying to explain anything to him.