The Day I Peaked into Jane Fonda’s Cleavage

 

Jane Fonda toured college campuses in 1969 explaining what she learned behind enemy lines in Vietnam.

At the time I was not a huge Willie Nelson fan. I liked him, though not as much as I do today. He had recently released his 1980 lp Honeysuckle Rose with his hit song “On the Road Again.” Which I found comforting, especially the phrases, “like a band of gypsies we go down the highway… making music with our friends.”

He and his band were scheduled to play at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in nearby Watsonville. The concert was billed as a Benefit for Farmworkers and being an ag-town, Watsonville was the perfect setting. I had heard that Willie had family there, and you just never know who might show up. So I got tickets for the cause. 

I had no idea that Jane Fonda would be there. I had asked Barbara, my girlfriend at the time, to join me. She happened to also be a major fan of Ms. Fonda.

Daughter of big time movie star Henry Fonda, Jane had begun her career as the sexy plaything of French film director Roger Vadim known for producing and directing the sultry film, And God Created Woman (1956), that launched the movie career of Brigitte Bardot, whom he had married when she was 18. Bardot died recently at age 91.

The name Brigitte Bardot had the same sexy cachet as Marylin Monroe during late 1950s. Vadim likely had designs that Jane Fonda would be the next sexpot star. She and Vadim were wed in 1965 and three years later he directed her in the science fiction sex comedy Barbarella, which was a silly movie shown in art house theaters. It typecast Fonda a sex symbol.

Shortly after, in a 360-dgree turnaround, Jane Fonda became politicized during the heat of the Vietnam War which was tearing apart the United States, in many ways similar to what is occurring today in the U.S. Early protestors to this conflict were summarily told to Love it or Leave it! This referred to our country and its red, white and blue flag. Many young men did go to Canada to avoid the draft which was a surefire ticket to Vietnam.

Fonda chose go to Vietnam. But her trip took her to North Vietnam into the heart of our enemy. She was seeking truth but no doubt was indoctrinated with propaganda as well. She returned to tell her story and was vilified by the war hawks who called her Hanoi Jane. She had won enemies in her own country.

She spoke out at receptive locations, including Santa Clara University in 1969, where I saw the former sexpot-turned-pinko activist. She wore her hair in a shag cut and her mere presence lit up the room. She was on fire: We had no business in Vietnam. We were being played. And as we would soon learn in the published Pentagon Papers, our own government knew it was a lost cause yet continued to send draftees to the fight.

She and Vadim divorced in 1973 and that same year she married Tom Hayden, who had been one of the famed, or infamous, members of the Chicago Seven, defendants who went to trial in 1969 facing conspiracy and inciting a riot charges during the Democratic Convention held there. Their story is played out in the excellent 2020 dramatic film, The Chicago Seven. 

Hayden was elected to and served in the California Legislature in from 1982-2000. He and Ms. Fonda ended their marriage in 1990 over personal issues including her time spent developing her fitness empire. They were still married and both attended the aforementioned Willie Nelson Farmworkers Benefit in 1980 in Watsonville. I should know, since I had unexpected personal inter-actions with each of them separately.

I provide this background as one might prepare for a big party or reception, to give the reader a little history of the players. My role is absolutely minor here, yet personal since I did protest in the streets of San Francisco, with my family, against the war in Vietnam. I did attend Hanoi Jane's appearance at Santa Clara University. I did have the great fortune of not being drafted and sent to Vietnam based on a clerical error by he Pasadena Draft Board. I had a low lottery number and had taken my pre-induction physical. I was one step away.

Vietnam was a major issue during a key period in my, and many of my contemporaries' lives.

That Saturday at Willie's gig in Watsonville the band had finished a great show and left the stage. There was much milling about. Many attendees wore the mandatory cowboy hat that is not only a favorite of country western fans but also donned by the outfitted charos, simulating Mexican vaqueros. Male farmworkers dress up like this for special events. The women wear colorful dresses with lace.

In a moment of unexpected awe, I spotted Jane in front of the stage with a small entourage. She was wearing a full skirt and low-cut top. Her auburn-colored hair fell to her shoulders. I was wearing a white tee with printing but I don't remember what it said. I was too nervous. When I approached her, face-to-face, I didn't know what to say. Up close she stood shorter and more petite than I had realized. Her skin was tanned and clear. Her mouth and chin formed a Fonda-esque shape I remembered from her father.  I had some sort of pen or marker that I handed to her.

"Will you sign my shirt, please. I would love that." A crazy request when I look back.

She smiled and said, "Sure big boy." She didn't really say that. She did accept the writing instrument. She did stand very close to me and begin to write on the cotton fabric. I looked down. I had to, she was much shorter than I. While she scrawled her name on my shirt, I peaked. It wasn't as if I heard angels singing but it felt wonderfully intimate being so near the movie star activist.

I was still flushed as Barbara and I made our way to the exit gate. She was laughing. Then I saw Tom (Hayden) forming a circle of folks on the nearby grass. I ran over and found a place to sit amongst them, hoping to join the political discussion.

He gazed at me: "This is a private meeting," he said.

"Oh, of course," I answered. I stumbled to my feet and looked for Barbara, who was still laughing. I had had a big day.

I was ready to join that band of gypsies as they rolled down the highway making music with their friends.

Jane Fonda has continued to evolve, most recently having reincarnated as the martini-drinking straight woman in the hit comedy series Grace and Frankie with Lily Tomlin. In three years she will have reached the same age, 91, as Brigitte Bardot.