Hef

 I am taking time out of my life stories timeline to talk about someone and something that shaped my life for many years:  Hugh M. Hefner and Playboy Magazine.
 I was born just six months before Playboy was introduced with Marilyn Monroe on the first cover.  It was 13 years later, when I saw my first issue of Playboy.  I found a copy in the woods near Five Points and Maxcy Gregg Park at the railroad trestle.  One of my favorite actresses, Sherry Jackson, was featured inside.  It was an eye-opening moment in more ways than one.  Whoever had left that magazine, continued to do so at that spot for me to find.  Some of them had gotten wet with the rain, but they were still viewable, and no I was not reading the articles.  As a big movie fan, I really liked seeing these pictures of actresses.  It became something of an obsession for me.  As stated in a previous blog, I did some shoplifting between the ages of 14-16.  One of my favorite things to steal was Playboy.  I didn't have to wait for the guy in the woods anymore.  I could steal new copies.  After looking at them, I left them in the woods near my house for someone else to find.  They did.  A kid in high school told me his father had all of the issues of Playboy locked in a shed behind his house.  He and I tried to figure out how to break into the shed, but it was a combination lock, so we failed.
 When I was 15, some boys from my church went on an outing to Atlanta.  Our hotel was next door to the Playboy Club.  We got to see bunnies swimming in the nude in the rooftop pool.  Our hotel room was a few floors higher than the club.
 Moving on to college, it was easier to get Playboys, because I could buy them at a local newsstand in Anderson.  One of the actresses featured was Susan Clark.  Shortly after her appearance, I found myself working with her on "The Midnight Man".  While I was "dancing" with her, and she was cussing me out, I could only think about seeing her naked in Playboy.  I even told her that I liked her pictures.  She smiled, but still threatened to walk off of the picture if I had to dance with her.  At PC, I had a centerfold tacked up on my dorm room wall of Playmate Martha Smith.  She went on to play Babs in "Animal House".  The centerfold stayed up until my father came to my room unannounced.
 When I was working at Sanger Harris in Ft. Worth, Hope Olson came to the store for a personal appearance.  She was a Playboy Playmate of the Month.  She was nice and signed a picture for me and one for my friend.
 Another thing Playboy did was to expose (no pun intended) to Americans about James Bond.  I was already watching the movies, but Playboy would publish excerpts from the Ian Fleming books.  So, I started reading those books, and I had complete sets in both US and UK pressings.  They also had their own record company, and I bought all of the Barbi Benton releases.
 There were times when I abandoned Playboy, especially as I got older.  It wasn't so taboo anymore.  But, I did have a close encounter with Hugh Hefner.  About 20 years ago, I got my first computer.  I was on it one night, going through chat rooms, and I found a chat hosted by Hefner.  It was a legitimate chat.  A lot of people were asking him questions about the Playmates, especially the more current ones.  He was polite, but gave one or two word answers.  I finally was able to ask a question, and I asked him about Marilyn Monroe.  He was more than happy to answer my question with a complete sentence.  I then called him "Hef", which was the name his friends called him, and we began a 10-minute chat of just him and me talking about old movies.  He loved film noir, so we talked about that.  I also told him about working with Burt Lancaster.  He was interested in that story.  I messed up though, when I asked Hef if he was going to put Amy Fisher in Playboy.  He got mad and sat absolutely not.  He then went on a rant about her, and he cut me off.  For a while, I had made a connection with Hef.  He was really a nice guy.
 Some people call him a pariah.  Others call him one who changed society.  I prefer now to think of him more of a guy who was one of a kind.  He did things his way.  Although I don't condone a lot of what he did, Playboy and me are the same age.  We are both a bit worse for wear.  Rest in Peace, Hef.