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Losing Momma Delores booked me on a series of “hillbilly park” dates, four or five in succession in and aroundWestVirginia.She had also booked a band I’d never heard of to accompany me on all the dates and arranged for me to ride the circuit in one of their cars, since I was alone and flying in to begin the tour. It was the most vulgar band I ever saw.They were not only bad pickers, they dressed sloppy and smelled like a brewery.They drank constantly from one date to the next. I didn’t want to travel with them and tried every way to get out of it. But there were no planes or buses traveling that route.We got through the first two shows and began the long trip to the next park. It was obvious we would have to drive all night. We hadn’t gone many miles when those geeks started making suggestive and insulting remarks to me.“Hey Maxine, when are you gonna cut loose and show us your stuff?”“Baby,I’ll give you the ride of your life.”“Come on, woman, you’ve been on the road, you’re an old pro, you can take us all on.” Then one of them started running his hands over me,really getting fresh.They were drunk as coots,and I began to get scared.I could tell what they had in mind, and they were not kidding.All of a sudden , the drummer, who was driving, pulled the car off the road. It was dark, and all I could hear were those SOBs laughing and whispering .The guy next to me tried to take hold of my knees.I rammed my fist into his gut and jumped out of the car, yelling and screaming . I started running back down the road as fast as I could. “Come on back, Maxine!” they yelled.“We was just kidding!” I ran on.I prayed for a car or truck to come along so I could get away.The road was dark as pitch.I ran until I was out of breath.I just 241 24 stood there trembling and crying.This is it,I thought.I was going to get raped and beat up and left in some ditch in WestVirginia. Their car came cruising along slowly. I was exhausted by now, and all I could do was limp along. One guy leaned out the window and tried to smooth things over.“We were just kidding with you.We only wanted to see how far you’d go.” I’d rather have died than get back in that car with them, but they had my guitar, all my costumes, and my purse with all my money in it. So I got back in.They didn’t try anything else the rest of the trip, but I didn’t close an eye either. Hap Peebles, one of the biggest concert promoters in the country , was at the next park. He came up to me and said,“Your brother and his band are playing about twenty miles down the road.” I was never so happy to hear anything in my life.I told Hap what had happened to me and that I wasn’t going to work the next date with that bunch of creeps.I called J.E.and told him to pick me up.He said he had a new girl singer, Jamie Ryan, on the bus and that there wasn’t room for me. I told him I’d sit on the floor if I had to. So he agreed to pick me up as soon as they finished their last show. I had to tell J. E. what happened to me. I was a physical and an emotional wreck by the time his bus pulled in that night.I prayed to God all those miles back and vowed that if I got back home to my babies and family I’d never do another show by myself as long as I lived.My children needed me and I needed them.I would find some other way to make a living;I’d done it before,and I could do it again. I came home and it was like crawling into a hollow log. I didn’t want to see anybody or anyone to see me.I felt like my life was over. I know now that I was in dire need of professional help...

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