A Well Lived Life 2 Book 6 SamanthaChapter 56 Strange Advice
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August 1, 1992, Chicago, Illinois
“Why would Elyse ask her to have lunch with us?” Michelle whispered after we left Alli with Elyse.
I laughed almost as hard as I had outside, and Kara answered.
“Michelle, she didn’t invite Alli to have lunch with us, but to see if Steve wanted to HAVE Alli for lunch!”
“What?” she asked, then gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh!”
“Let’s just get our showers and have lunch,” I said.
“Wait! Would you do that? Just go to bed with her because she asked?”
“It has been known to happen,” Kara smirked.
“Michelle, we’ll talk about it later,” I said. “OK? Let’s get our showers and have lunch.”
My wives and I went up to our room and Michelle went to the basement.
“I’m going to KILL Elyse,” I chuckled as I got into the shower.
“You’re laughing. Why?” Kara asked.
“Because Elyse teased me, I teased her back, and now she’s escalated.”
“So what will you do?” Jessica asked.
I got out of the shower and Jessica got in.
“Well, I could simply invite Alli to have lunch with us, and send her on her way. I could flirt with her and do nothing. Or I could have her in the way she implied.”
“What about the rules?” Jessica asked.
“She’s no longer a NIKA employee. And Elyse surmised that because Jacqui talked to her, she knew about the testing rule. I guarantee you that Elyse would have verified that yesterday after I left the office.”
Jessica got out of the shower and Kara got in.
“So what’s your plan?” Kara smirked.
“To not disappoint Michelle,” I said.
“Wow,” Jessica said. “That’s not the answer I would have expected.”
“Why? Doesn’t that fit with how I’ve been thinking and behaving?”
“Actually, it does,” she agreed. “And it shows Elyse you can exercise self-control.”
I chuckled, “See, that’s where the mind games start. Elyse expects me to turn it down. If I wanted to mess with Elyse, I’d actually do it!”
“Expects you to turn her down?”
“Sure. After our conversation yesterday, I teased Elyse about having Alli for breakfast. When that didn’t happen, Elyse obviously decided to have some fun and called Alli and told her I was interested, expecting me to refuse. I suppose the only real issue is that Alli is being used as a pawn and might be expecting the same treatment I gave Jacqui. But if I have to disappoint someone, it has to be Alli.”
“Who are you and what have you done with our husband?” Kara giggled, getting out of the shower.
“I’m trying to be calm, rational, and under control. I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“We want you to be happy,” Kara said. “You aren’t out of control and haven’t been in a long time. You actually approached this in a reasonable way. So whatever your decision is, I support it.”
“And what do you think?” I asked.
Kara smirked, “I’m only going to answer that if you agree to follow a majority vote.”
“And why would I do that?” I asked.
“It depends on how badly you want my opinion!” she giggled.
She finished drying off and we went to get dressed.
“The thing is,” I chuckled. “You two are just silly enough to both tell me to go for it just to see if I’d actually do it.”
“You’re right,” Jessica said. “I propose you ask Michelle and follow her guidance!”
I laughed, “I’m not sure what you think THAT is going to accomplish! I did say I’d talk to her, but you saw her reaction!”
“Yes, and I’d say she’ll confirm your decision.”
“I think so too,” Kara said. “And you know we’re just teasing you. Make your decision. I won’t object either way.”
“Me either,” Jessica said. “If it falls within the rules, you have the freedom to decide. We haven’t made any deals with Samantha yet, and it’s not clear that we will.”
“That’s an interesting way to put it,” I said. “We instead of me.”
“That is what it has to be if we go down the long-term route, don’t you think?”
“Yes, I do. Let’s head downstairs. I’ll talk to Michelle while you guys get lunch ready. OK?”
“Yes,” they both said.
We headed downstairs and I asked Michelle to come to my study while Jessica and Kara went to the kitchen to help Abbie, Elyse, and Bethany get lunch for the kids.
“I’m sorry about Elyse’s little game. But I was also a bit surprised that you were surprised that I would go to bed with a girl who asked me to. That is my history. We’ve talked about it fairly extensively.”
“Yes, but I was thinking that you’d changed. That you didn’t do that now.”
“Things are a bit in flux,” I said. “Given everything that went down with Lisa Glass, Jeri, and Samantha, I’m carefully evaluating what I should do. And do you know what my main criteria for making the decision about Alli is?”
“No.”
“Not disappointing you.”
“What? Disappointing me?”
“We’ve developed a wonderful friendship and the last thing I want to do is disappoint you. You know I’m promiscuous. But you know I’m rethinking things, at least to a point.”
“So you actually considered it?”
I smiled, “She’s cute, available, and obviously wants me. So yes, I considered it.”
“And decided not to because I would be upset or disappointed?”
“Yes.”
“And if I wasn’t a factor? How would you decide?”
“In this case? Whether or not I wanted to mess with Elyse. She doesn’t expect me to do it, based on our mutual teasing yesterday and this morning. So doing it would mess with her.”
“The girl doesn’t matter?”
“The girl always matters. But Alli came here with an expectation that she’d probably have sex. It’s not like I’m tricking her into it or anything.”
“What did your wives say?”
“At first, to make my own decision. Then, they offered to give their opinion if I abided by it, but I know them well enough that they’d tell me to do it just to mess with me.”
“Seriously? They really don’t care?”
“If it was a problem, they wouldn’t have married me.”
“True. So did you ask?”
“No, because they’d just tell me to do it. I told them why I made my decision and that I was going to talk to you. Jessica proposed I talk to you and follow your guidance. I agreed because I know what your guidance will be!”
Michelle smiled, “Interesting.”
“Why?”
“My guidance is that you take her to bed. But on one condition.”
“Hang on! You’re telling me that?”
“Yes. But there’s a condition. If you take HER to bed, you have to take ME to bed.”
I started laughing; one of those huge belly laughs you’d expect from a mall Santa. Michelle had made her point succinctly and perfectly. If I’d sleep with Alli, I’d sleep with anyone who asked, and if I’d sleep with anyone who asked, I’d sleep with Michelle. Only I wouldn’t. So working the logic backwards, if I wouldn’t sleep with Michelle, then I wouldn’t sleep with just anyone who asked. And if I wouldn’t sleep with just anyone who asked, I SHOULDN’T sleep with Alli.
“Nicely done,” I said after a minute or so when I caught my breath.
“You found that amusing?” she asked with a sly grin.
“Yes. It perfectly conveyed your opinion in a very direct way, with an offer you would never make and one I would never accept. You got your point across quite succinctly.”
“So you won’t go to bed with just any girl who asks, then?”
“Old Steve’ probably, no, definitely, would have. ‘New Steve’ has other considerations.”
“Yes, he appears to be thoughtful, introspective, and wouldn’t sleep with a girl on a whim.”
“I RARELY slept with a girl on a whim. In fact, I had a reputation for being frustrating and difficult about it. In fact, despite the ‘body count’, I can only think of a couple of occasions of going to bed with someone the first day I met them.”
Elyse was one of those, but that was in the distant past. Thirteen years distant to be exact, as she and I had discussed. The most recent was Grace, Melanie’s paralegal. The others that had been opportunities for ‘first date’ or ‘first day’ encounters, such as Vera Olegovna or Tara Brooks, I’d put off for various reasons. Working backwards, probably Jenna Thiele, Melody’s friend whom I’d been with at the ‘Truth or Dare’ game would probably be the most recent before Grace. And that was over four years ago.
“‘Body count’?” Michelle laughed. “That’s probably more apt than you realize. Though I don’t think you’re exaggerating the way they did in Vietnam to pump up their reports.”
“Sometimes in the heat of battle, you make reports which are later proved to be inaccurate, but aren’t exaggerations. The Japanese reported destroying three American carriers at Midway, and yet, the Yorktown, which was successfully attacked three times, remained afloat until after the battle was over and was in the process of being towed back to Pearl Harbor when she sank.”
“I know! My grandfather was on the USS Hammann. He was a gunner’s mate. He was 19.”
Her grandfather was younger than my dad! Her grandfather had been 19 in 1942. My dad had been 25! Damn!
“My dad fought in World War II,” I said. “But he married late in life. And no,” I sighed, returning to the original conversation, “I’m not exaggerating about the number.”
“Well, I suppose you have your advice. What are you going to do?”
“I think it’s obvious,” I chuckled. “Don’t you? I mean, I’m certainly not going to take you to bed!”
“And why is that?”
“Because, all teasing and kidding aside, I respect your wishes. Completely and fully.”
She smiled, “So in your thinking, even if I actually made the offer, you wouldn’t ever accept it, giving me a second line of defense, if you will.”
“Yes, precisely. It was as safe a comment as if you had just said your advice was not to do it.”
“You’ve always been truthful with me, at least as far as I can tell.”
“I don’t believe I’ve lied or purposefully misled you.”
“You do choose your words very carefully!”
“So I’ve been told. But then again, so do you. You just did that with your advice.”
She smiled, “Yes, we both do it. I’m curious about something, and you won’t hurt my feelings or offend me with your answer. At any point, since we first met, have you wanted to go to bed with me?”
That had been an internal struggle since the Rap Session when Kara’d had us all strip naked. Keeping THOSE thoughts under control and out of my mind had been difficult, but I’d finally reached a point where it wasn’t a struggle. And now, she was asking me to verbalize those thoughts. I could simply lie or demur, but I didn’t want to lie and I didn’t think she’d let me get away with not answering. And not answering would, I was sure, give away the information anyway. I’d had far too many deep, philosophical, heart-to-heart talks with her for her not to infer an answer.
“Yes. At the Rap Session and for several days afterwards. But I got control of those desires.”
“So your answer was easy, then. If you had no desire for me, you could easily sidestep the implication of the advice.”
I smiled ruefully and shook my head, “It’s not quite that simple. The desire is there, but it’s tempered and controlled by what I know about you and how I feel about you.”
“Feel about me?” she asked.
“I love you too much to hurt you that way.”
“Hurt me?”
“Yes, hurt you. Given everything you’ve told me, it would hurt you.”
“More than reading Lossky? Or the Bhagavad Gita? Or the Norse myths?”
I chuckled, “The only person who would think THOSE would hurt you would be Father McGraw. Well, and perhaps your parents and other priests. Those didn’t hurt you in the least. Maybe they made you think, or challenged you in some way, but that’s not harm any more than all the conversations we’ve had.”
“May I confess something?” she asked quietly.
“I’m no priest, but you know I’ll listen to anything you have to say. And do my best to help you with it.”
“You remember I told you I was curious to see you and that I liked what I saw?”
“Sure,” I said warily.
“I wanted you then. And I thought about you that way. I struggled with it.”
“Physiology is like that,” I said. “Elizabeth would say you were a victim of a biological function, an electro-chemical reaction to external stimuli. The Roman Catholic Church would call it ‘concupiscence’. I’d call it sexual attraction or lust. But whatever you call it, it’s a natural reaction. To deny that, is to deny our humanity. It’s our response to those kind of stimuli which matters. Our ability to respond in ways other than rutting like animals is the very definition of what it means to be human.”
“Hang on!” Michelle objected. “You just said that controlling your urges is the definition of what it means to be human, and you are the LAST person I’d say was controlling their urges!”
“Indeed. And what you just described is the very definition of sin - «ἁμαρτία» or ‘missing the mark’. It’s not that humans are completely corrupt as Luther and Calvin would teach, but wounded, struggling, and in need of, as Lossky and others call it, the ‘medicine of immortality’ which comes to us through the Eucharist.”
“But you can’t partake of the Eucharist. And, I don’t think you want to.”
I smiled, “I do want to, but my deep-seated belief in, what shall we call it? Non-conforming sexual relationships? That excludes me. The only way I could participate would be to deny what I believe to be true or to lie about it. And I daresay if I lie, what’s in that chalice becomes deadly poison.”
“But you’re agnostic!”
“Indeed I am. And you’ve said I have more faith than I admit. Perhaps I just admitted it!”
“So you think Elizabeth is correct, but you think our humanity somehow tamps down the lust?”
I chuckled, “For some of you, to a simmer; I think mine’s always on low boil. But Elizabeth is wrong, and even SHE knows it.”
“What am I missing?” Michelle asked.
“When the offer to talk about having sex arose, what happened?”
“You aren’t particularly interested in her. She’s not exactly sexy.”
I smirked, “Sexy is WAY more than just physical appearance. Yes, that’s the first thing we notice, but if we take just a bit of time, we discover other things. There’s a saying - ‘All cats look the same in the dark’ - which applies here.”
“So what did I miss?” she asked again.
“Why did Elizabeth decline my offer to discuss it?”
“Oh! Because she doesn’t ‘do’ married guys! Her ‘animal instinct’ is overridden by a moral precept! One that animals can’t have!”
“Exactly. So even our esteemed Elizabeth doesn’t REALLY believe that everything is biology, chemistry, and physics.”
There was a soft knock at the door.
“Steve,” Kara called out, “lunch has been ready for ten minutes.”
“OK. We’ll be right there,” I replied.
“So you don’t think I was wrong to have those feelings?”
“No. It’s what you do about them that matters. Temptation will always be there.”
Michelle nodded and we stood up. I reached for the handle to open the door but she put her hand on my arm.
“The advice was meant exactly as I said,” Michelle said softly. “If you take her to bed, you have to take me to bed.”
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August, 1983, Chicago, Illinois I walked in the near 90°F heat to Carla’s place. I was grateful that the humidity of the morning had dropped significantly; otherwise the heat would have been unbearable. By the time I walked up the steps to the apartment over the photography studio and knocked on her door, I had broken into a light sweat. Carla answered almost immediately and invited me inside her studio apartment. The air was moderately cool, and the window air conditioner was running full...
July 1982, Milford, Ohio On Tuesday morning, I kissed Kara goodbye and headed to my parents’ house for my usual morning routine with my little sister. She was happy that I could spend the morning with her and asked to take a walk, so we weren’t in the house with my mom. “Let me guess — this walk will end in the clearing,” I said with a smile. “Yes,” she said, taking my hand as we walked down Overlook towards Klondyke. As usual, we turned around and walked back, taking the path to the...
March 13, 1994, Chicago, Illinois “Hi, Steve!” Ailea said when she opened the door. “Hi,” I replied, accepting the offered hug. There was no touching of lips, just of cheeks, and I wondered if I’d misread her intentions at her birthday lunch, or if, perhaps, she detected my reluctance to return the offered affection. “Lunch is ready, so go ahead and sit. I’ll bring it in from the kitchen.” I went to the low table, sat down, and a minute later, Ailea brought miso soup and sushi, our usual...
April 3, 1997, Dallas, Texas “Remember what I said about drinking too much,” I said, as I poured bourbon into three cups. We’d stopped at a liquor store, bought a bottle of Blanton’s, and then returned to the small suite I’d reserved at the Westin. Deborah’s room was down the hall, and Krissy’s was two floors below. Krissy’s comment had caught me a bit off guard, but I hadn’t reacted visibly. I didn’t know her quite well enough to know if she’d been teasing with Deborah, so I was being...
March 28, 1991, Chicago, Illinois “This day belongs to you, Kara!” I said when the three of us woke on Thursday morning. “Happy birthday!” Jessica said. “Thanks,” Kara replied happily. “I think I’d like an amazing birthday fuck from our husband, and then a nice loving shower with my wife!” Kara said. “Do we have enough time?” I asked. Jessica giggled, “I set the alarm for thirty minutes earlier!” “Then let’s not waste any of it!” I said pulling Kara to me. Kara’s squeals as I plunged...
September 4, 2000, Chicago, Illinois On Monday morning I went to my study to make a surreptitious call to ensure that the surprise I’d planned for Kara was still going to happen, and after confirming that it was, Jesse, Matthew, Michael, and I began preparing for the Labor Day party by getting beer and soda into coolers, getting the grill ready, setting up tables and chairs in the backyard, and ensuring the liquor cabinets were stocked while my wives and daughters worked on food prep in the...
September 1, 1987, Chicago, Illinois “I heard that you have some kind of plan to help Ed,” I said to Connie. “There’s no plan,” she replied. “A witness who saw the shopkeeper alive after Ed left came forward.” That sounded convenient, and I wondered if the witness was real or someone that Anthony had put forward to solve the problem. Certainly, the videotape was real, because I couldn’t imagine how Anthony could have faked that, but the witness? Who knew? “So is he being released? Or is...
August 17, 1997, Chicago, Illinois We finished lunch and Marissa and the younger kids went to play, but Natalie sat with the adults to talk, with coffee, tea, or soft drinks. The Sarcus were very comfortable, but the Heaths were still struggling. But, vitally, they hadn’t left and hadn’t insisted Natalie leave the group. “Can you explain how you developed this attitude and approach?” Chris asked. I nodded, “It started when I was just a bit younger than Natalie. My mom was a total control...
July 1979 — Falkenberg, Sweden On Friday, when I got back from my run, Pam was in her bra and panties again. I whistled at her, she giggled, then finished dressing. I showered, and we went to breakfast and finished up our last day. Once class was done, we were pretty much free. On Saturday, we’d have several optional activities and then on Sunday we’d head back to our host families. After dinner on Friday, I took Pam’s hand and we walked towards the river. It was quiet and peaceful, and...
July 1980, Over the North Atlantic We reached cruising altitude, and I settled back to read my book. Pam raised the armrest between us, snuggled close to me and read as well. The cabin crew offered drinks, and I had my first Coke in a year! Meal service began about an hour and a half into the flight. After the cabin crew picked up the trays and offered drinks again, they passed once more, offering headsets for the movie. Trevor and Maria took them, but Pam and I didn’t, instead we turned on...
July 8, 1997, Chicago, Illinois “Is it really that surprising?” Leah asked. “I suppose not,” I replied. “I just didn’t read too much into the kiss on the cheek.” “I didn’t think it was a good idea to kiss you on the lips with all those people around, because I had no idea who they were or what they would think. You were VERY careful with our dance, so I kind of followed your lead.” Which showed very mature thinking on her part. Both of these girls were exactly the kind of students I...
November 8, 1993, Chicago, Illinois A dark fog swirled before my eyes as I tried to take stock. My head hurt, badly. I felt something on my face and realized, dimly, it was an oxygen mask. My right hand was uncomfortable and I recognized the feeling of an IV and pulse-oximeter. My left arm ached fiercely. On my chest I felt the pads and wires of an EKG. I didn’t feel anything else wrong as I continued taking inventory. I tried to open my eyes, but the fog didn’t clear. I tried to speak, but...
August, 1983, Chicago, Illinois In the morning Anala and I ran as we had the previous time, then showered together, carefully washing each other’s bodies in an intimate but non-sexual way. After our shower we went to the kitchen and I made breakfast and we sat down to eat. “Steve, may I make a suggestion?” she asked. “Sure.” “Broaden your circle of friends. Other than me, all of you are white, nominally Christian, 20-year-old Americans. And you don’t invite me to your Sunday...
June 23, 2000, Chicago, Illinois “Steve,” Kimmy said over the intercom, “I have a Suzanne Aavik for you.” “Thanks,” I replied. “Put her through, please.” A few seconds later, Suzanne was on the line. “Hi!” she exclaimed when I greeted her. “I’m in Chicago for three weeks. Can I still run away and join the circus?” I chuckled, “You might want to find out what the circus is actually like before you join! If you’re free, you’re welcome to come to the house tomorrow or Sunday and meet the...
March 1979 Monday was back to the normal routine of school. Debbie Courtney, who lived across the street and had turned fourteen the last week in February, started flirting more with me on the bus each day. Debbie Vaughn, who lived just down the street, would turn fourteen on March 16th and invited me to her birthday party. And Donna Woody, who lived just down the street in the other direction, would turn fourteen on March 20th. She had made it clear what she wanted for her birthday, and in...
June 2, 1990, Chicago, Illinois “My office, please,” Sensei Jim said after class on Saturday. I followed him to his office and waited for him to bid me to sit. He did, and I sat in the usual chair across from him. “She has a real problem, you know that, right?” he asked. “I do. That’s why I insisted she start seeing a counselor.” “I run a huge risk having her here with that kind of temper and her violent acts.” I nodded, “I understand. May I ask what you intend to do?” “I really don’t...
February 21, 1991, Chicago, Illinois “Hi, Sweetheart!” I said, greeting Bethany at the door. “Uncle Steve!” Nicholas exclaimed. I took him from his mom and he hugged me tightly. “Is Jesse with his moms?” Bethany asked. “Yes. They won’t bring him back over tonight so you and Nicholas can surprise him in the morning.” “Perfect!” “How was the drive up?” “The same as usual. Just a bit of traffic in Northern Indiana. Otherwise, smooth sailing. It was driving the other direction that was a...
November 4, 2000, Chicago, Illinois “Good morning, Sensei,” Miyu said when Kara, the girls, and I walked into the dojo on Saturday morning. “Good morning, Miyu.” “Do you have a moment, please?” I nodded and we went to the small practice room for privacy, as Sensei Jim had a family in his office. “What can I do for you?” “I need you to meet a young man,” she said. “I think you might be taking this ‘not do anything without permission’ a bit too far!” Miyu shook her head, “No, I’m not....
May 1979 The limo dropped me at home about 9:00pm. I took my stuff to my room, stripped, and hung up the tux. The rest of the things went into the hamper. I took a shower, put on shorts and a t-shirt, and walked down the hall into my dad’s office. I saw no reason to put this off any longer. “Stephen, you need to explain yourself!” my mom demanded. “I was in Mrs. McGrath’s, well, Mrs. Sanders’ now, wedding, as I said.” “You walked her down the aisle! You’re sixteen and not even related to...
November 3, 1990, Chicago, Illinois “I still don’t understand why you told everyone to leave Katy alone last night,” Elyse said on Saturday morning. “Because we weren’t going to talk her out of it. I could tell by the way she told us. I hoped letting her sleep on it would allow her to hear what we had to say. Obviously I was wrong.” “I was surprised that she wouldn’t talk to Jennifer at all,” Kara said. “I thought Jennifer would be the one to get her to listen to reason this morning.” I...
February, 1983, Chicago, Illinois Our first joining since the previous summer was slow and sweet, trying to express our deep love for each other through the motions of our bodies. When we finished, Karin held me tight and refused to let me move off of her. “Sleep there, please,” she whispered. I kissed her once more then adjusted my pillow so that I could rest my head next to hers. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it was what Karin wanted. The feel of her firm body under mine,...
July 3, 1996, Chicago, Illinois I blinked several times and took a breath before responding. It didn’t help. The best I could do was contain my visceral reaction at her completely out-of-line request and her wrong-headed assumptions when she had NO idea what had happened in my life the previous eight months. “What makes you think you can make that request after refusing to talk to me for nearly eight months? And equally importantly, without explaining Alexi? And without giving me the first...
August 12, 1994, Chicago, Illinois “Fuck ‘em all,” I sighed. “Especially Donald Fehr. Running to Federal Court, the NLRB, and Congress? I’m really tired of the government putting its thumb so heavily on the scale.” “Well, we’re not going to resolve that problem today,” Elyse said. “Jackie and Jeremiah want to come over.” I chuckled, “Why am I not surprised? I bet you anything he had a rough sketch done ten minutes after they hung up the phone.” “They want to discuss options. Kimmy felt...
July 1983, Milford, Ohio My drive to Ohio was filled with wild swings of emotion. After quickly driving Anala home I had set out for Milford, driving as fast as I thought I could get away with, slowing only when warned to do so by my radar detector. I’d told Nancy that I’d come straight to her house and asked her to call my dad and let him know so that Stephanie wasn’t worried. I pulled into the Blanchards’ driveway at 3:30pm, having managed to avoid any run-ins with the Indiana State Police...
June 1980, On the Train, and in Abisko, Sweden As the train sped across the Swedish countryside towards Stockholm, I reflected on the fact that there were less than three weeks to go until I had to be in Copenhagen to board a flight home. I was torn between wanting to go home and wanting to stay, but in the end, I didn’t have a choice. I really liked my life here, the freedom I was given, the friends I had and, the respect I had from adults. I hadn’t run into a single adult who had treated...
May 18, 1997, Chicago, Illinois “As I said last time, today we’re going to talk about decision making and how to make good decisions. I think we’ll start with what I think has to be the easiest decision with the least controversy - is it ever OK to drive drunk?” “No!” came a chorus from several of the students. “And yet, people do that every day,” I replied. “And they die or kill people because of that bad decision. You have to ask yourself why people would drive drunk; and often it’s...
March 6, 1987, Chicago, Illinois “This is a big improvement,” I said as the green flag dropped for the Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Bill had taken the pole, and when the flag dropped, led the field into turn one. “His car seems fast,” Kara said. It was. Bill led the first 89 laps, most of them under green, though there had been a yellow flag for seven laps when Richard Petty had wrecked in Turn 1 on lap 19. From lap 90 to 143, the lead shifted a few times, mostly...