Dave and I go back many years. There were thousands of times of getting stoned, playing darts, and having a drink or two. However, there were two nights that were memorable because instead of being stoned on pot, we were taking hallucinogens.
Dean and Bob joined us on the mushroom adventure. We went to the new Stadium Bowl that got washed away. We got what we needed and got out of there so we wouldn't get caught with our haul. It was off to J Street where we added 'shrooms to some cheap frozen pizza and made some terrible tasting tea. We weren't after the taste, and soon we were tripping.
We made our way to Bob's Java Jive, which is a bar and grill that was made to look like a coffee pot. They had a pool table in a room with two monkeys who were kept in a cage that was faced with Plexiglas. It was cruel housing in hind sight, but this night both they and the cage would be huge part of our trip.
If we looked at them, they would slam the Plexiglas front. It was our charge to see if we could hold back the flinch that is reflexive to our natures. It was a fun night.
Some dozen years later, I happened to score some acid. I was honestly a bit afraid to take it after so many years, but I was going through some tough times and just needed to relax. Dave said he'd like to take it with me, and we set it up for a night the girls would be with their mother. For some reason, the phrase that had us cracking up was, "You hold him down; I'll tie it to him." It seemed to fit into many scenarios.
The biggest trip happened when we decided to get something to eat. I lived in a small home with my daughters. It was on the edge of a green zone. It felt remote and woodsy, but it was just behind some businesses and down the hill from a really busy corner that separates Lakewood from University Place. Our intention was to walk up the hill and get something from up on the corner, and most likely pizza.
We finished up our dart game, finished our beers, and found a few more situations that "you hold him down; I'll tie it to him" cracked us up. We put on our coats and went out the door. There to the left of us, less than fifty feet away, was a buck deer grazing on a shrub in the yard.
We looked at each other, our eyes opened up wide, and we said in unison, "Do you see that huge deer?" Not really, we said, "You hold him down; I'll tie it to him," and we fucking cracked up knowing we didn't both have the same hallucination!
That was one of the best nights ever shared with one of my favorite people of all time. I think about that night often, and I smile every time I do.
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