| OCR Text |
Show 126 then taken their time and had still come up with Chester Erasmus, I burned with rage. What I didn't do was rush down to the Ferry Building with that document; I didn't show it to Ross either. When I finally did go, standing there red with shame, I was told I needed a notarized statement from my father that indeed I had been named Chester Erasmus. When I got that, they let me take the physical, which I passed. Then I saw the psychologist, who asked me if I liked girls better than boys. They are obsessed by that out in San Francisco. "For what?" I asked, and he blushed. "Do you like to knit?" "I don't know. I don't know how." "Do you ever wear dresses?" "That's a funny question to ask a boy," I said, and he blushed again and passed me. But I wasn't about to go through with i t until I made sure they had my name properly on a l l the papers. "On a l l of them?" I asked the recruiting officer. "Sure." "Really? On every single one?" "Sure." "Really?" "Yes! Now shut up and get the hell out of here." So I was in, except the Navy had no place to send me, all the pre-flights full and with waiting lists. Ross and I kept on working at the shipyards, took a vacation to L.A., that paradise of clear air and palm trees, took another vacation to Carmel, all the while keeping our eyes out for girls But I was sour on nice girls, anxious all evening whether she would say Yes or No, worrying further how I would cope with a No, and worrying most how I |
