Free Sisterhood Of Lake Alice by Mari M. Osmon Page B

house when things got too wild. She would go back to the quiet of her dorm room, where she still felt safe. Her parents sent her an occasional letter from their latest vacation spot but never talked about coming for a visit.
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    During her second semester at UW, the Mifflin gang decided it would be fun to become activists. After a lively discussion, they decided that their cause would be protesting the Vietnam War. It started with small rallies held on Beacon Hill and in the nearby parks. After several months of carrying banners and homemade posters, they decided it was time to get more serious. They had all come to enjoy the attention they received at rallies.
    A local man named Danny Driscoll was invited to the house to speak to the group. As Emily sat on the floor listening to his passionate speech, she was intrigued. He was handsome in a rugged, unkempt way, with curly red hair and deep blue eyes. Throughout his talk, his eyes often drifted toward Emily. Even with her new style, she still stood out from the crowd. There were moments when he seemed to be talking only to her. In that instant, she became his follower. She had fallen under the spell of a radical man with a radical way of life.
    Within weeks, Emily and Danny became a couple. They spent hours sitting on the front porch discussing all the injustice of the world. They talked about how they had the power to change things. At the large rallies, Emily always stood at Danny’s side. She was proud to be there. She added her voice to his many causes. He introduced her to sex, drugs, and the life of a radical. He told her how important she could be in leading a women’s group. Danny talked her into selling her TV, stereo, and eventually most of her furniture and expensive clothes to support the latest cause. Emily was now spending all of her money to support the Mifflin gang. She had earned the respect of others because of her relationship with Danny. She had even led some successful sit-ins on her own. With Danny’s coaching, she was also becoming a powerful leader. She vowed to be fearless. She dedicated herself to causes that Danny told her were important.
    With strong encouragement from Danny, Emily became a spokesperson for their women’s group. She boldly stood in the front of a picket line at a local coffee shop that had refused them service because of their wild behavior. When a police officer confronted the group, without thinking, Emily picked up a chair and threw it, breaking the large plate-glass window. She was immediately arrested. After three days, she was released and paid the $1,000 fine plus damages. Her story quickly spread throughout the campus. Emily became a celebrity. She had a reputation for being a woman who was not afraid of anything. Danny enjoyed her newfound status. He continued to teach her how to get a crowd worked up and how to get them to follow her every wish. Emily became very comfortable with the power she felt.
    She wrote a few letters to her parents, but they had no idea how Emily had transformed. When she wrote to tell them that she felt it was time for her to leave the noisy dorm life for a more suitable small apartment, her father agreed. She also told them that she had enrolled in summer classes and would not be coming home. The letters from her Fergus Falls girlfriends sat unopened. She had moved on.
    In August, she received a letter from her father telling her that due to her mother’s poor health, they had purchased a home in Scottsdale, Arizona. They would be living there during the winter months, and he hoped that she would come for a visit sometime. He closed by telling her that he was proud of how hard she was studying; he knew she would continue to do well. He also informed her that he had deposited another $15,000 into her bank account, which she could use for her upcoming school expenses and new clothes. For some strange reason, Emily decided that she did not want anyone to read the letter. She burned it in the