Memory Lane
12/23/2005
I used to live in Independence, KS. I spent several of my formulative years there, going through puberty, hitting the 'girl-crazy' phase of my pre-teenage existence (what, that's not normal, you say?)
When I found out I was moving away from Independence, my best friend David planned a big going-away party. His family was living on food stamps. But he saved up enough to buy lots of cereal, milk, and frozen pizzas for about 20-30 kids and teenagers. We had a big sleepover at his house. It was the best night of my life up to that point.
Part of the evening was spent piling everybody we could into his mothers car. It was an old station wagon. We fit about 20 people in the car, and then his mother (who was normally one of the grouchiest people I have ever met) drove us quite gleefully to the cemetary. We were all laying on top of each other... all the way out to the cemetary at night. It was a foggy, full-moon night too.
We spent about an hour running around the cemetay scaring each other. I think a few 'couples' went away to neck or whatever. I just hung with my best friend the whole time. We were so close; I didn't want to say goodbye, but I knew we didn't have much time left to be friends in the flesh.
Eventually, we made it back to the house. At some point, all the power went out. Here we were, a bunch of loud kids hanging out in the single-room upstairs level of the big, creaking, scary house, and the lights went out everywhere. Yelps and screams ensued - some were more exaggerated than others. David found some candles and a couple of flashlights, and we all sat around telling ghost stories.
At some point, somebody mentioned that they heard footsteps on the roof! We all were very frightened, probaby more scared than we'd ever been in our lives. David said "Nobody leave the room. Everybody stick together." This only helped to solidify the 'danger' we were facing.
Then a couple of kids mentioned that they had to pee.... so I grabbed a big can and told them to pee in it. They passed it around, trying to be discreet about it in the dark, but there were a few giggles. It was actually kind of gross; the ammonia smell was filling the room from all these boys peeing in this big can. And yes - I had to pee in it, too.
David said... "Hey, we could climb out on the roof and check it out." I agreed, very reluctantly. I thought I was going on a mission to save everybody, lol. Or get myself killed one way or another. Really don't know what compelled me to agree; maybe it was the trust I saw in his eyes. Maybe I just knew there really wasn't anything out there, but it might be a fun adventure anyhow.
So we grabbed flashlights and crept through the window out onto the roof. We scoped out the roof on one side, then climbed very slowly to the top to check out the other side. It wasn't too steep, but it was still quite scary. Maybe it was the fear that drove us, the feeling of dread....
What we discovered was that nobody was on the roof but us! The kids were apparently still very hyped up from the trip to the cemetary, and everybody knows how wild the imaginations of 11/12 year old boys and girls can be.
Then David and I got the same great idea...... :)
We started stomping around the roof and moaning to scare all the kids... LOL We could hear them yelping outside - like helpless little creatures! It was a classic moment of pure genius, though I do admit there was a streak of genuine cruelty in what we did. Still, it was great fun to scare them. And it was an excellent way to top off the last night we'd have together.
That was the last night I spent with my friend David. (did I mention that he had a sister I had a 'thing' for?). My parents drove me back to see him about a year later, but that would be the very last time I would see him. I have photographs of that day, the only pictures of David in my possession. I lost touch, and I have no idea where he is now or what kind of person he has become.
It might be nice to find out.
As I get older, I notice how people become more complicated as they 'become an adult.' In some ways, they become more interesting, but in many ways they also become more guarded, less genuine, a lot harder to get to know. It's no surprise that adults find it hard to have real friendships like they had when they were children.
People seem to think that the more they learn about the world, the more clever and likeable they become. Look at me, a big box of trivia and a brain full of useless information about movies, actors, producers, directors, musicians, politics, all the unimportant things about the experience of living. The distractions.
What makes life real is not what we know, or what we think we know. What makes life real is what we put into it. Life, no matter how miserable or happy or sad or nauseating, is only as real as the sweat, blood, tears, feelings, thoughts and actions that we express. Nobody can do it for us. And nobody can stop us.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Friday, December 23, 2005,
1 Comments:
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