Michele Drake stands near the shore line of Venice Beach in California, her faded jeans rolled up to her knees, her long blonde hair rising gently with the breeze, her bright-red Hawaiian shirt fluttering against her body; she doesn't seem to have anything on underneath. Michele skims a stone off the crest of a wave and, eyes glittering with the reflection of the warm California sun, clears a strand of hair from her face. "The beach is the best place for me to think," she says, skimming another pebble. "Believe it or not, I'm a native Californian, born in La Jolla in a hospital by the beach. I'm what you might call your basic California girl, as basic as they come." A station wagon pulls up in the lot and a lone surfer, carrying a polished red surfboard, heads toward the water. Michele watches nostalgically. "There was a big surfer scene when I went to high school," she says, "Everybody wore Hawaiian shirts and if the girls didn't have blonde hair, they'd bleach it. I was into body surfing, but my boyfriend was a great surfer. On Saturday mornings, we'd get up at six to get to the beach around seven--surfers always get up early, because the waves are better. The girls would sit around, watching the guys surf. I used to drive a gigantic Dodge Coronet and on Saturday nights, I'd stuff eight girls into it. There was always a beach party or a house party or a pool party to go to then." The lone surfer, lying on his board some distance from shore, is waiting for a big one. Michele counts the waves to herself. "Do you know I'm a direct descendant of Sir Francis Drake?" she says, stuffing her hands into her jeans pockets. "Once, when I was in Mexico, I was at a certain beach and I got this very strange feeling about the place--almost mystical. Later, someone told me that Sir Francis Drake had landed there. Maybe that's why I felt so good at that spot." Wistfully, she gazes at the water. Then, suddenly, she sheds her jeans and shirt, revealing a tiny black bikini underneath. Without a word, she runs into the surf. Thigh-deep in salt water, she turns to wave, her tanned body glistening in the spray. Yes, indeed, the Beach Boys were right.
Playmate Data Sheet
Name: Michele Drake
Bust: 34
Waist: 24
Hips: 34
Heights: 5'5"
Weight: 108
Sign: Aquarills
Birth Date: 2-7-58
Birthplace: La Golla, California
Goals: Acting, singing, dancing professionally
Favorite Musicians: Badmoon, Heart, Yes, Cheap Trick
Favorite Entertainers: Steve Martin, John Belushi, Bill Cosby, Gonnny Carson, Hilda Radner
Favorite Movies: High Anviety, Wizard of Og
Favorite TV Programs: Soap, Saturday night Live
Ideal Evening: a strvll along the beach with my favorite man culminating in a passilnate interlude
Fantasies: To be a female Hugh Hefner
Favorite Pastimes: Bicycle riding, dancing, cake decirating, listening to music
Great Escapes: Taking a Gacubbi by candlelight
Ideal Man: My ideal man is also my best friend He has tremedous sex appeal, yet is not machd. He motivates me but does not control me.
