"The now abandoned Hardesty place was considered a small mansion back when it was built by her great-great grandfather Hardesty in 1859. It was described as a “large stately summer home,” in the 1950’s when Sally, Franklin, and Pam had gone to stay with her grandparents in the summers. On the way to Austin, on Thursday, August 16th, as Pam and Sally were tooling up I-35, singing to their favorite Rod Stewart hits, they were laughing and giggling, between lyrics. “Oh, Maggie I couldn’t have tried anymore…” They knew each and every lyric of every song, “Reason To Believe,” “Maggie May,” “You Wear It Well,” “I Know, I’m Losin’ You.” Stopping off at their old friend, Missie’s house in Buda, 20 miles south of Austin, they arrived around 7:30 and went out for some Mexican food at a little cafe nearby. After using Missie’s phone earlier to call Kirk and Jerry to arrange their weekend plans to visit the Hardesty property, the girls missed getting together and sat around chatting, going to sleep around 1 AM.
On Thursday, they synced plans for meeting Kirk and Jerry on Friday. Kirk and Jerry were both in classes at UT until around 2 PM, so after they had breakfast with, Missie, Pam and Sally had plans to go for a swim and spend the day at Barton Springs. It was one of their favorite places in Austin. Pam lived in Zilker, just above the springs. They’d take the shortcut, the back way, only a 10-minute walk that led right down to the entrance. It was another scorcher, so the water would be a welcome relief.
The guys would join them after class. They’d fill the van up with gas before they went to the springs. Rationing was a bitch. Jerry and Sally would be picking up Franklin around 9 Saturday morning, then swing by to pick up Pam’s to get Pam and Kirk around 11. Jerry lived near the springs, in Travis Heights in South Austin. It’s always considered one of the grooviest places to hang your hat. So popular today, its become too crowded, loaded with traffic bumper to bumper, but still one of the coolest parts of the city. Kirk’s cozy garage apartment was near campus in central Austin. His car was in the shop so he was without wheels, but no problem because Pam would have her VW bus. Jerry’s van was big enough to hold Franklin and his wheel chair. Sally had promised Franklin, and there was no way she could disappoint him. Jerry was a good guy, maybe a saint, especially when it came to Sally, and whatever Sally wanted, Sally usually got."
Excerpt from "Pam Lives: What Really Happened To Pam"
By Yours Truly
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