I lived in Prince George's County, Maryland for my first four years of my working life. Aaahhhhhh.  It was a wonderful place for a young single girl to live.  That was at the end of the LBJ administration and he beginning of the Nixon years.  1965-1969. 

 

Martin Luther King was killed during that time and I went through the city riots that went on for more than a week.  It was terrible to see parts of that beautiful city burning.  That was the same week as the Cherry Blossom Festival, so there were many visitors in the city.  I think they all quickly left town!

 

Then one Fourth of July I got caught in tear gas when I was down at the Washington Monument.  Thousands of people were there waiting for the fireworks.  Families and children - hundreds of us - were running in a mob trying to escape the fumes.  That was an amazing experience.

 

I used to park in the parking lot behind the Capitol Building and wait to see someone famous come out of the building.  One night Edward 'Teddy' Kennedy came out and walked over to a nearby car and drove off.  Well, I ran over to my car and decided to see where he was going.  Yes, I did.

 

The word stalking at that time only meant what a cat would do when it was closing up to a mouse.  I didn't think I was doing anything wrong.

 

So I followed that car as it went across a Potomac River bridge and into Northern Virginia.  I stayed with the car for more than 20 minutes until I started feeling guilty.  We were getting off the main highways and into some residential streets.  Yes, I felt guilty and I was by myself, so I turned off in another direction and let him go on his private way.

 

I often think of that night when I read articles today about a 'stalker.'  But I wasn't out to do anything melcious.  I just wanted to know where he was going. 

 

Life was so much easier back then.

                                                             A.J. Hall in KY