The University of Houston was one of the first to actively recruit black athletes in the nineteen sixties. It was also one of the first campuses to elect a black homecoming queen. The students often joined with Texas Southern University in protests aimed at integrating all of Houston. I was willing to participate as long as everything remained peaceful. I knew that if I ended up in big trouble it would be difficult for my mother, so I tended to leave any demonstrations that appeared to be getting out of hand. I joined a number of organizations with Claudia that used student marches to make a point about issues that were becoming more and more important at universities across the nation. Sometimes it was simply a protest over cutting down trees to erect a new building.
On one occasion Claudia and I learned that Muhammed Ali was coming to campus. He was already making waves by speaking out against the war in Vietnam. He had become a Muslim and had changed his name from Cassius Clay. While he was undoubtedly the best boxer in the world his stance on the war was not making friends with many who might otherwise have been his supporters. On college campuses he was much more warmly received because we actually appreciated his courage in voicing his beliefs no matter the cost.
Ali would be speaking in what was then the Cougar Den. It was a rather small building back then where students gathered between classes to get some food, meet friends, play cards and just relax a bit. At any given moment Purple Haze was playing on the jukebox that was never silent. Because it was such a cramped space only students with connections would be able to get inside to hear Ali speak. Claudia, who had become quite popular on campus, flirted with some male members of the Young Republicans Club and they gladly relinquished their admission tickets to her because they were not at all interested in hearing what the boxer would have to say. Furthermore they gave her access to the balcony area where their offices were located which meant that we would have a great view.
We excitedly stood along the balcony railing and waited for the Champ to arrive. As soon as he entered the crowd went wild. His charisma was palatable as he assumed his cocky attitude in the middle of the room. His speech was a clever mix of boasting and humility as he explained why he would never agree to fight in Vietnam. It was a credo worthy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. I thought that he was incredibly wonderful and brave. I have never forgotten how much he influenced my thinking about standing up for one’s beliefs.
I had begun to feel very much a part of the University of Houston. I managed to find a better professor for my second semester of German who was far more understanding that I was still mostly a novice German speaker. I learned how to prepare for long essay question history exams and began to feel confident again. I continued to really enjoy my English classes where I also encountered a girl whom I had known mostly from afar since my middle school days. One morning I arrived early for a class and sitting on the stairs was Linda, who had been dropped off at the campus by her sister. I was excited to see someone that I knew and for the rest of the semester Linda and I would meet up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. She was someone in whom I had been in awe, but I soon found her to be quite lovely and down to earth. We slid into a very comfortable relationship rather quickly and when she heard that I was paying someone to get me to school she insisted that her sister would be more than happy to pick me up on their way to the university each morning. It was a dream come true on so many levels.
My cousin, Ingrid, and I had continued attending parties and dances on weekends. We had met a couple of very nice young men at one of them and hoped to encounter them again at an upcoming function. As we plotted and planned we received an invitation for a surprise twenty first birthday party for our cousin, Alan, on the same night as the next fraternity event. We were torn about what to do when our mothers insisted that it would be quite rude to skip the special celebration for Alan to see people that we hardly knew. With great reluctance we agreed to celebrate our cousin’s milestone, hoping that our chances with the cute guys we had met would still be available at a later date.
The first couple of hours of the party felt a bit lame. We had already met most of Alan’s friends and while they were nice enough, we had little interest in pursuing them. Both of us were attempting to come up with an excuse to leave early when another of Alan’s friends arrived stylishly late. He was quite good looking and fashionable with his chambray shirt, madras pants and loafers. He dressed like the frat boys at UH but he was actually interesting because he had just come back to Houston from Loyola University in New Orleans. He had a polish that nobody else in the room had and he appeared to be quite interested in Ingrid.
We decided to stay at the party a bit longer because it seemed obvious that this guy named Mike was going to give Ingrid a call. That’s how we worked together only leaving as the party ended. On the way home we checked the dorms where our UH guys lived and when we saw their cars parked there we were reassured that they were still very much available. We chatted a bit about Mike and went home thinking that the party had not been so bad after all.
A few days later I was stunned when Mike called me. He told me that Alan had given him my number and he laughed when I asked him if he was sure that he had asked for the right cousin’s contact information. He described me down to everything that I wore, so I knew that he was not going to be disappointed when he saw whom he was asking for a date. We talked for a long time and I had to admit that I had never before felt so comfortable talking with anyone. I looked forward to getting to know this intriguing guy better.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 