For almost a year I lived by an intense shooting schedule with the very continental, charming, warm, famous and wonderful Mr. Pompeo Posar. Does it sound like I was impressed with him, and still am? You bet! He has to be the most wonderful man on the planet, and of course I will always be in his debt, because he is responsible for my becoming a Playmate. After the Centerfold was chosen, Pompeo and I traveled to the Illinois campus to shoot the rest of the story, and my friends even got to appear in some photos! What a blast!

Suddenly my life felt like a dream. I was the scheduled Centerfold for the September 1966 issue, plus I was going to be on the cover! What an honor! Very few Playmates have appeared on the cover and as the Centerfold of the same issue. I was so proud of myself I could hardly stand it!

To accommodate my Playmate promotional schedule, I had to drop out of school for a while, because Playboy had me booked almost every weekend for the next five years. That was one of the big benefits of living in Chicago: Most of the Playmates lived in LA, so the few of us living in Chicago (Patti Reynolds, Linda Gamble, Eleanor Bradley and me) were kept very busy making special appearances. I was caught up in my newfound success, doing photo shoots and appearing at trade shows and conventions (some of which I still do today).

Hef was always very generous with me: He let me stay in the Blue Room of the Chicago Mansion until I could find my own apartment. Living at Hef's Mansion and being a hippie was an interesting combination of lifestyles to keep up. I had many crazy experiences while staying there. Shel Silverstein lived in the Red Room, and we shared a bathroom. He had quite the reputation for being a ladies' man. Some would say he was a bigger flirt than Hef! Indeed, it was hard to say no to Shel because he could have you laughing so hard you could barely talk! He was one of the funniest and most good-hearted men I have ever met. We became good friends and even dated off and on for a few years.

I also had another huge honor related to Playboy. I was selected to accompany PMOY 1965 Jo Collins on her second Playboy tour of Vietnam with Bob Hope. What a thrill! I got my vaccinations and my tickets, but then came the Tet Offensive, and the military kicked into high gear. Security was tightened and the whole tour (even Bob Hope!) was canceled. I was terribly disappointed. I had done many volunteer appearances at veterans hospitals and had heard from so many guys about how much the shows meant to them. I had really wanted to go. I wasn't at all afraid, though perhaps I should have been. But you're fearless when you're 18 years old.