Chapter 22

the sound: The Shocking Blues – Venus, Little Feat – Rock n Roll Dr, Edwin Starr – War, Bad Company – Bad Company, Black Oak Arkansas – Jim Dandy, Bob Seger – Against the Wind, The Doobie Brothers – China Grove, Foghat – Slow Ride, Heart – Magic Man, Kansas – Dust in the Wind

“Goin somewhere?” Robert says to my back.

“Uhmmm just to get my jacket”. I pride myself on my quick thinking. Robert makes some kind of non committal noise in his throat as I race back into the bedroom, grab my jacket off the foot of the bed and run back to the door.

“I don’t like to be kept waiting” he says.

“Like he’s the grand pooh bah”, I think, and then think “Oh my gawd, he is!” and again I am overcome with wonder at the abject stupidity of this not so tenable situation. “The things I agree to when I’m hung over…” I think.

I follow Robert out the door cos even at only 126 lbs there is no way that I am going to fit past him in this hallway.

I step out the door and the sites and sounds of an outdoor party assail me. It’s well past dark and there are stars in the sky. There are strings of light bulbs like they use at Christmas only with larger and all white bulbs strung from tree to tree…so the area I’m in is brightly lit while just past the light line there is true dark like you can only find in the country.

There’s a large bonfire in the cleared area by the garage and there’s probably 50 people sitting around it at picnic tables and on chairs or on the ground. There’s a pile of firewood easily the size of a small truck on the ground between the house and the fire and there’s even a couple of drunks dancing around like they are doing a war dance. There’s more people near the camps and I see another smaller fire over there as well.

“Jeezuz…I wonder what time it is?...er better yet..what day it is? Just how long did I sleep?”

As Robert and I approach the garage BarnYard walks up proffering a rather large glass of beer and when I look at Robert he nods. I sigh, “one of many methinks” and take the glass and drink till its empty. “hmmmmm not too bad for beer… really a gin drinker.”

Old Rosie sidles over and asks if I am hungry, “there’s pig n buns” she says as I watch Robert, out of the corner of my eye, settle in a very large but very obviously home made Adirondack chair. And then watch in puzzlement as people from around the fire seem to gravitate to this huge man.

Rosie pulls me towards the garage to get me something to eat and I can’t help but ask “Rosie?”

“hmmmm?”

“uhmmmm Rosie?...can I ask you some questions?”

“you can ask away little girl, but I ain’t sayin I’ll answer em all”

“fair enough…first and foremost…where the fuck am I? I’m not in Minneapolis or Saint Paul am I? what is this place? Who are these people? How long will I be here? How long have they been here? How long have you been here? Is it safe? Am I in trouble?” all tumble out of my mouth almost in one breath.

When I finally stop to breath Rosie says “whoa…that’s a lot of questions!...ok…first off…you are in Elko, outside of the twins and you are safe…as long as yer good”

“what the hell does that mean? Good? I can’t be good…I don’t know how!” I panic.

“Jezuz Baby…breathe” she replies and smiles again as Boomer wanders towards us. “Boomer, I was just telling Baby how you got hit by lightning!”

[ it think maybe that it's kinda weirding me out that I'm still remembering all the words to the songs some 30 odd years later.....Wyz]