If there's one thing that likely sets Eastern New Mexico University apart from a lot of other colleges, it's the number of older students who attend and become part of the youth culture on campus. This was especially true in the Theatre Department, in which a lot of our productions looked a lot more professional with the presence of older actors.
My junior year saw the arrival of Hud. He was around 35 years old, but was a freshman. He was a Vietnam war veteran. He was in Dr. R's Beginning Acting class. Everybody thought he was pretty cool. Our Technical Director Mr. H (who was also a Vietnam veteran) became good friends with him as well, and they would sometimes hang out at the local VFW. A couple of weeks after I met him, I remember he complimented on how I sounded at the radio station.
Somehow, he managed to get into the work-study program at the Theatre Department. When I was designing the lighting for "Charley's Aunt," I got into a little fight with Mr. H about some details. He told me he wasn't going to help me anymore and forbid Hud (who was the only one in the shop at the time) from being of any assistance me. Hud wouldn't even hand me as much as a tool. I really didn't like Hud much after that.
A few weeks into the semester, some of the other students started hanging out with Hud and they would smoke pot. During these sessions, Hud told everyone things about himself. He said that he was worth $14 million and that there were people out to get him. He also told them that if he didn't feel comfortable with the surroundings, he might just up and disappear without ever coming back. Because marijuana can appear to act as a sort of truth serum, no one ever questioned him.
I never went to these gatherings because I didn't smoke pot. Everyone was telling these incredible stories about Hud. I never openly questioned them, but I knew something wasn't right. (I mean, if I was worth that much money and there were people out to get me, I just wouldn't decide out of the blue that NOW is the right time to get a college degree. AND go on work-study so I can pay my way through college.) Just a few weeks later, Hud disappeared, just like he warned everyone he would. This was really bad, because it left his Beginning Acting partner in the lurch. I don't even remember what she did for her presentation.
However, he had left his jacket in the Theatre. Mr. H went out to the VFW and told the other vets there that if any of them ever heard from Hud, he would like to send him his jacket back. The other vets started laughing. They told Mr. H that Hud was an undercover narcotics agent, so it was very unlikely they were going to hear from him again. Mr H was stunned.
Mr. H only told a handful of people the truth about Hud. He likely told his wife, Dr. R and Dr. W. I know he told Chud, because Chud told me. But he asked me not to spread it around. I guess Mr. H didn't want the students to have a bad impression of Vietnam vets, because goodness knows they certainly got a bad impression from him.
I guess the thing that got to me about it was that the Theatre Department was specifically targeted to gather information on local drug dealers. I don't know why, but I guess law enforcement figured we were the ones who were doing the most pot, so we would be a good source for weeding out the suppliers.
At the time, I don't think that anyone would have believed Hud was a narc if we'd told them. I'm certain that everyone at those sessions would swear that he was actually smoking the weed and not simulating. This is a concept that wouldn't become very clear for a lot of people for at least five years. In the 1991 film "Rush," Jason Patric explains to Jennifer Jason Leigh that she is going to have to actually smoke the weed because everybody knows what simulation looks like. "Simulation is what you tell the jury."
However, that didn't keep people from finding out that there had been a narc among us. I guess it became apparent when the marijuana supply suddenly got cut off. One of the other students went on rants about how mad he was that there had been a narc hanging around. He actually thought Lid was the narc. I guess Lid had been at those gatherings and since he was a freshman, he was automatically the one person no one could fully trust. (He probably also didn't really smoke pot and just did some kind of simulation so that he would fit in.)
I also don't think people at the time were clear on what narcotics officers do. People who smoke weed can get paranoid that they're going to get arrested, but they don't understand that the narcs aren't after them. They just want to find out who they're getting the stuff from and go after them. (I know I wasn't aware of that, but once I realized that no one who smoked with Hud got arrested, I figured out who the real targets were.)
Up until now, I have not told anyone what I know about Hud. I keep hoping that the few students that I keep in touch with will say something about him and how they wish they knew how to get a hold of him. I would love to tell them the truth and how ridiculous they are for holding onto that fantasy for 30 years.
But I don't think I'm ever going to get to do that.
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