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Andy Morrison in Arlington, VA, 1967


I lived in Arlington, VA in the Summer of 1967, having just graduated from High School. I was dating a "Navy Brat" girl at the time. My girlfriend's younger brother was hanging out with a guy named Andy Morrison, also a navy brat. 
The first time that "Light My Fire" played on the radio while Andy and I were in the same place, Andy proudly stated that, "that's my brother singing; he lives in California.” My reaction was that Andy might be a bullsh—er, or it might be true, but it really wasn't a big deal to me. 
Years later, my younger sister said that a guy named Andy Morrison tried to hit on her at the local swimming pool (in 1967) with the pickup line "my brother is Jim Morrison, lead singer for the Doors.” Her reaction was also to suspect that the guy might be a pathological liar, and she was definitely not impressed! 
Of course, the biographers of Jim Morrison do place the Admiral Steve Morrison family in Arlington VA in 1967, so it appears that our Andy Morrison was the genuine article! 
A group of us (mostly navy brats) went swimming in a reservoir in western Fairfax County that summer. It must have been a weekday, because we were consuming large quantities of beer without getting caught. Andy Morrison got the bright idea that he was going to slide down the algae-covered spillway of the concrete reservoir dam. I think I remember the spillway being about fifteen to twenty feet high, terminating in a concrete trough. I tried to warn Andy that there might be exposed rebar or sharp rock at the bottom, but he went anyway, suffering minor abrasions on the center of his back, because he wasn't wearing a t-shirt. After that, the rest of us took turns sliding down the spillway numerous times, without getting injured or caught! 
In those days, Northern Virginia teenagers generally raised hell while drinking beer; other recreational drugs had not become common, at least among my acquaintances. 
I would rate the 1967 Northern Virginia Andy Morrison as a little bit wilder than the average navy brat, but a generally nice and fairly normal guy. 
Addendum: This was once posted to a Doors Fan messageboard. It appeared and was quickly taken down! I suspect Doors fans did not like the suggestion that Andy Morrison might seem to be a normal teenager.

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