My Best Old Friend…”Dutch”

I met “Dutch” (Roy L. Brungard Jr.) in San Diego, when we were both in the Navy in 1971. We were room mates. I don’t think he was called Dutch before his navy days, a nickname he got because he was from Harrisburg, PA. He was one of the best friends I ever had and our bond was very deep.

We hit if off, right away. We would go and hang out on Coronado Beach and find weed or go to concerts….Cat Stevens on LSD was “interesting”…..

He was tougher than me. He enjoyed a good fight. Once I made him so mad he got very close to kicking my ass. (I hid under the covers and pretended to be asleep.) One time another room mate was about to do the same thing when Dutch came flying across the room and nailed him, upside the head. I separated that one. Funny, those guys became  friends, too. You just get Submarine Fever in a small room with 4 bunks in it.

When I was younger I loved guns and cowboy stuff. I was a target shooter but Dutch was a hunter. He carried a gun when he went out. That being said, he was a sweetheart, no kind of trouble maker. He loved people. He loved being a “Cowboy”. He loved motorcycles. He was funny as hell. Our sense of humor was the same. We laughed all the time.

We decided to move to Santa Fe from Baltimore, at one point, and we just got in his car and went. I remember changing places, to switch drivers, somewhere in Kansas, either because we didn’t want to stop or because of all the beer we drank. I remember, on that trip, we stopped in a Holiday Inn bar and because we were both long haired hippies, no one would wait on us. When a waitress finally did, she was so nice that Dutch left her a $40 tip…and this was in 1974! He had a sense of pride and right and wrong.

We drank all the time. (One day he and Hammond Brown, our 3rd part, drank a case, of beer, each in an 18 hour stint.) Eventually, he quit drinking and so did I. We also smoked weed, all the time but as we both realized how badly alcohol affected us, we eventually let it win…..game over.

We lived off of Falls Road, Hampden, in Baltimore for 2 years and shared 3 pre Civic War Row Houses in the back side of Druid Hill. We had about 15 hippies living in 3 houses that my mother and step-dad owned. That was a glorious time, really. That is where he met Penny,

After trying to make it in Santa Fe we moved to Baytown, Texas. Dutch found good jobs and stared his family.

He and his wife, Penny  were a pretty perfect match. She is smart and very funny, herself and, also, loved the “Cowboy” thing. They did lot of reenacting group event. Dutch had an amazing outfit, very authentic. My first reggae band “Steady” practiced in his garage. A houseful of Trinidadian Rasta men never phased him or his wife Penny, one bit.

Durung our time in Baytown, we went and played “Cowboys at Alamo Village, where Joh  Wayne had filmed. “THE ALAMO”.  Look at the entry, here in the blog.

At one point we went our separate ways, we just drifted apart.

One day Penny contacted me to let me know Dutch had passed away. He had Hep C from early days of shooting up, before we had met. Even though we had not spoken, in years, I miss Dutch to this day.

The lesson I learned in that one should not lose track of dear friends. You will find out they are gone and spend the rest of your life saying “I should have stayed in touch.” He was a great, life long friend.

From my sister, Margaret….

“Here’s my most vivid ??? memory of Dutch. I had just given birth toAbbe the cord was cut and I was still wide open. Looked up and there was Dutch looking square into the bloody mass. He turned away quickly. Mother got a ride to the birth from Dutch, which means he heard a good part of my labor. And got a sight I bet he didn’t forget.”

ALAMO VILLAGE< Brackettville, Texas…now closed.

L to R. Top: Hammond Brown, Terry White, Steve Carter. Bottom: Jamie Zemarel, Larry Shaprio, Dutch Brungard

Me-n-Dutch and Stella

Dutch and Gail Hedlund, my 1st serious girlfriend and still best friend.