| The Last Party (Part 2) A night in the Creek was always a good release for me. The chance to be with my friends and share ideas and stories always made me feel better no matter how things were going at work or college. Over the years I had built up a considerable amount of anger towards a lot of different facets of my life (my parents, financial situations, and life in general), but I could erase it all from my mind temporarily with the help of my comrades (and not to mention a little alcohol). I had only recently learned to enjoy the gifts and pleasures of booze; I had not touched a drop until I was 18 and had graduated from high school. I have spent everyday of my life since trying to catch up. I�m making great time. I don�t think the odometer has dropped below 60 since I passed the Gray�s Creek Restaurant. The country roads that I traveled were always fairly empty and allowed me to travel at the highest speed that my Sweet Buick could produce. Occasionally you would run into a farmer driving a tractor returning home from plowing his fields around dusk, but nothing major. There was no moon in the sky tonight and my headlights were shining into the blanket of darkness and briefly turned the night into day. The eyes of the occasional raccoon and rabbit glowed as if some sinister force possessed them as I pass by. After about 15 or 20 minutes of driving I would usually roll up my window and listen to some music before I reached my destination. Sometimes I kept my window down just to keep me awake but tonight the air was a little cooler than what I was used to and I was starting to get chills, so I opted to turn on the heat instead. The radio was on now and the two speakers that still worked in my car were belting out a very melodic tune. A sad sounding but distinctive male voice momentarily broke the strumming of an acoustic guitar. �What is this song? It sounds so familiar but I know I haven�t heard it in years.� This is the springtime of my loving. The second season I am toknow. You are the sunlight in my growing, so little warmth I felt before. It isn't hard to feel me glowing. I watched the fire that grew so low. �I know what this is! �The Rain Song� by Led Zeppelin.� Hearing the songs of Led Zeppelin on the radio was nothing out of the ordinary especially on this station, however this particular song was never played. Probably because of it�s length of 8 minutes but I always thought that this would be the perfect song to travel to. A slight shift in my seat and now sitting comfortably, my mind started to wonder. I am always moved by the shear power of music and the effect that it has on one�s body and soul. Tonight, the words of the song were flowing through me like a raging torrent of hate, fear, sadness, and joy. My consciousness seemed to float and swirl above me. All my emotions were blending into one and my body and mind became so fully involved in the rhythm that I soon reached an emotional level that is not of this earth and cannot be accurately explained. My senses became heightened and dulled simultaneously. It was an out of body experience only comparable to���death or�sex. It is the summer of my smiles. Flee from the Keepers of Gloom. Speak to me only with your eyes; it is to you I give this tune. It isn�t hard to recognize, these things are clear to all from time to time. The High School that I graduated from was behind me now. I always passed by it on my way to my present destination. I don�t know why I always chose to drive by the old building because there was a faster route I could take but very rarely chose to. It never really was a happy place for me and you couldn�t pay me to go back. Anyone that enjoyed going to high school and being a teenager needs to be shot and dragged behind a moving vehicle, but I think I just wanted to see how the place was holding up and maybe recapture a little part of my youth, when life seemed so simple and full of promise. The final stretch of road was before me now. A little knot of nervousness and excitement began to form in my stomach. I knew that as soon as I got there, I would be welcomed with exalted salutations (or drunken greetings). Either one was perfectly fine with me. This really is the summer of my smiles. And tonight, with the help of my closest friends and a little alcoholic refreshment, I will be fleeing from the �Keepers of Gloom.� The �gloom� is old age and isolation. The �keepers� are all those who will try to stop you from living your life the way you want to live it. Find joy in the most irrelevant tasks, value your youth, and just �live� every single day. That is the true meaning of life and nothing more. I can see the aged white farmhouse in the distance. Trucks and cars lined the road and the grass along the ditch was starting to resemble a badly planned parking lot. Their taillights were reflecting back to me like a lighthouse. It wasn�t a lighthouse warning me of danger, but it was a beacon of lighted hope that was showing me the way. I had a little stiffness in my back as I parked my car in my usual spot beside the mailbox. I opened the door and stepped out onto the moist grass. The smell of the country filled my lungs once again and the sound of country music chimed in my ears. One last check of my black attire and I�m ready. The night had finally begun. |
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