If you searched for "Carl Winslow" you should probably Click Here.
Looking north from Northpark Drive in Winslow,
Arizona, on a lonely stretch way out past the landfill at the
edge of the road where the pavement ends (hey! this is starting to sound like a country song!) When Carl took this
photo on that fateful day in 1996, little did he know that this
was a picture of the future of the Saga.)
It all began in the middle of 1981 when a guy named Carl stumbled on an article in a weekly tabloid about a nice young lady with a disorder who lived in Winslow, Arizona. For quite some time, Carl's biggest dream was to be Prince Charming for a girl. After reading this article, he thought he saw his golden opportunity. Unfortunately, because he didn't know anybody in Winslow, he lacked a decent plan for meeting her.
On October 30, 1997, one year to the day after it all ended, Carl's story was put on this website, so anyone could read about his odyssey and the people he came in contact with.
JUNE 2: Carl walks to Jan & Joe's Liquor Store at the Santa Monica/West L.A. city line, and buys a snack and the new Weekly Inquisitor. It's been a long work day at the KALT Corporation (his summer job) and when he gets home he sits down to enjoy good food and fiction.
On page five of the Inquisitor is a story about a young lady named Denise Gottlieb. Born with a rare disorder and not expected to live past the age of five, she has defied doctors' predictions and is now 17. In a 1967 article, the Inquisitor dubbed her "America's Little Princess".
The article gives her home town as Winslow, Arizona -- near a route Carl will take on a July trip to Canada with two friends, Craig Martin and David Henry.
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Captivated by her story, Carl immediately begins devising
a plan to meet her. From the sound of the article, she's a girl who might genuinely appreciate his company.
JULY 24:
Carl sets out on the Canada trip with Craig Martin and David Henry,
in Craig's yellow 1981 Toyota Starlet. The trip is scheduled to include three
stops in Arizona: Tucson, Prescott and the Grand Canyon. Then it's on to Four Corners; Colorado, Wyoming and Banff National Park. They arrive at
the Tucson home of author Morgan Fredericks late in the afternoon.
JULY 25:
The trio arrive in Prescott, where both Craig's uncle and David's
grandparents live. Winslow is 147 miles away. Carl has told them about
Denise Gottlieb weeks in advance but they think that trying to meet her
would be a foolish idea.
JULY 26:
After the Grand Canyon, Carl again requests to be taken to Winslow, but
Craig persists. Even though the town is towards the general direction of
Four Corners (from where they are), Craig insists that it's too far out of
the way. They skip Winslow (but do, curiously enough, stop in
Kayenta.)
AUGUST 9:
The trio arrive back in Santa Monica. Carl is no closer to meeting
Denise, but keeps the Inquisitor article on his wall as a reminder.
SEPTEMBER 5:
Carl begins his junior year at Ichabod College. At a meeting nine days
later, he officially becomes Music Director of the college's radio station,
KRCL.
SEPTEMBER 18:
Sitting in the lounge at the college's Beta Hall, Carl meets up with
a friend of his and two girls. The four go out to eat at Denny's in Agoura.
Later they return to the campus and listen to music in the KRCL studio.
One of the girls takes a shine to him. Her name is Jennifer Appling,
and she is the daughter of a Lutheran minister. A fair-haired girl, she instills in Carl a confidence like he never had before. His life reaches a pinnacle during this time. The two hit it off and become very
close, and for the next five days Carl is on cloud nine. All this is coming
too fast for Jennifer, and the afternoon of the 23rd she informs him that
she just wants to be friends. Carl is devastated. He spends the next seven
weeks trying to patch things up.
NOVEMBER 7:
Carl calls Jennifer's room and learns from her roommate that Jennifer now
has a boyfriend. Hurt and bitterness overwhelm him, and he vows not to speak
to her for the rest of the year.
JANUARY 28:
In the Student Union Building, Carl meets somebody he can rebel with:
a freshman drama major from Hawaii with the unlikely name of Hercules
Simpson. He, too, has had his share of problems. The two become buddies.
APRIL:
Around this time, Carl is reflecting on a failed Christmas date and
Jennifer's flake out. His thoughts begin to turn once again to Denise
Gottlieb. Craig and David come up with an idea. They invite Carl to go
on their next Prescott trip, and he can take a bus from there to Winslow (his only means of transportation is a beat up, unpredictable 1965 Rambler -- and he's not about to take that across the desert!)
Carl goes to the AAA office and picks up a Tour Book for Arizona. He pins
the Inquisitor article up on his dorm room wall.
MAY 28-30:
Carl, Craig and David go to Prescott with David's mother in Craig's
new 1982 Isuzu I-Mark. The following day, Craig takes Carl to the bus
station. A ticket to Winslow costs $14.95, but Carl is so tight on funds that
he can't afford a room at any of the motels listed in the tour book. He does
not buy a ticket.
Stopping by the Prescott Library immediately afterward, Carl gets hold
of a Winslow phone book and finds several other motels not listed in the
tour book --- among them, a Motel 6.
JULY 2-5: Having earned some money working a temporary job in Santa Monica, Carl tags along for another trip to Prescott with Craig Martin, David Henry and David's mother. On Saturday, July 3, Craig drives him to the bus station. This time, Carl decides to follow through. He buys a ticket to Winslow and gets on the bus...
CONTINUED...
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