Completion pt. 2
As overdue as this post may be, this blog has been neglected long enough. Now, to finish the story...
After San Francisco everyone flew/drove home and Dylan, Emily, and I went down the west coast so I could drop them off at Ontario airport to fly home. I would then drive home from there in one straight shot. We came down the coast on historic highway 1. One thing I remember about the summer was that I was constantly being flattened on my face with how beautiful things were and how desensitized I maybe felt. Hwy 1 did everything to cure that. The best of the sky and the ocean and land come together. We stopped somewhere and found a plastic football on the ground and threw it around and played guitar. There was a small wall and it felt like something on a Greek island; the ocean and rocks were foaming and cars were zipping by. And we threw rocks into the ocean and climbed down the ravine on a steep trail that led out the a bluff where we didn't say anything. I imagined jumping off. I also cut my fut on the way down there and so I limped for an entire day after that. We kept listening to Arcade Fire's Funeral and it seemed like "Crown of Love" was written by a former self for being unworthy of seeing so much beauty and being lucky enough to be alive. We stopped as the sun set and watched it sink into the water and screamed our heads off just to make noise at it and let it know that we were able to be strong just like it and maybe we couldn't sink like that but we could scream.
We drove all night and passed through San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz. We saw the Hollywood letters on the mountain at 7:30 in the morning. We got to Loma Linda where Emily had friends. We found out that we were filthy and needed a shower. Emily's friend let us use her shower and it reminded me of the time Emily and I snuck into a Holiday Inn in Seaside, OR to "bathe" in the pool. In the shower the water got into my cut foot and that hurt very very much. I got out and it was time to say goodbye; Dylan had to get to the airport and Emily would get a ride later. This was the last picture we took together. (You can see my feet are positioned funny because the pavement was really really hot.)
After leaving Dylan, I went to stay at a friend's house in Riverside. We went to high school together and it was good to see each other. However he wasn't there when I arrived. His girlfriend's sister let me in and I was sticky and smelly and limping and I asked if I could use her bathroom. I'm sure I looked homeless. That night they came home and it was lovely to see him and his girlfriend. Later my good friend Alex Adams came up from San Diego and took me out to eat with his girlfriend and her parents. Her dad laughed when I told him I was an English major. "What are you going to do with that?"
That night I watched "Shawn of the Dead" with Matthew and he explained all the jokes to me. I went to sleep and woke up early in the morning and left. I got my oil changed and then I was off. Now, driving from Riverside, CA to Siloam Springs, AR is not enjoyable. I had a little money left over from tips and food money that I barely made it. Nothing too interesting happened until Albuquerque where I slept in another parking lot. I only napped for a few hours but I set off again. I knew my money was running out and I needed to get home in time to pack for school.
Later I stopped to get my last little sip of gas before I made it home. After pumping I began to look for my wallet. This set off a chain of events. Something didn't feel right. I pulled over and kept looking for it. Nothing. I had seen it last when pumping gas. I drove back to the gas station and there was nothing near the pump. Maybe I forgot it on my car. So I decided to retrace my steps. I pulled out of the gas station and as I was waiting on a red light at an intersection I spotted a little black thing in the road. Almost as soon as I spotted it a black SUV stopped in front of it and a teenager got out and picked it up. Just as the teenager was getting out the SUV was rear-ended by a white subcompact which was then also rear-ended by another car driven by a jittery young girl. I couldn't believe anything I had seen. I had to keep going because they were blocking traffic and by the time I turned around and got there the police had arrived. People were crying and the police were taking information. I asked someone if they had seen what the black thing was. It was a wallet. An elderly man from the middle car took me by the arm and brought me to a police officer who said I should stay there in case of a discrepancy. In the end I got my wallet back and the woman who was driving the first car handed it to me with a little bit of sarcasm. The police didn't need anything from me so I left.
When I was within 200 miles from my house I got a speeding ticket. I was so eager to go home that I broke the law. Sorry officer. $200.
Then I got home. My mother was proved wrong. I actually made it. There were many great and simple things about that summer but nothing was simpler than coming home. I drove in and walked up to my house and said hello to my father who was typing in his office. I kept thinking about the monomyth and how one of phase of that myth is the hero's return home and the improvement of his/her community because of the adventure. I can't exactly what it was that I learned concretely except for one thing: people are inherently good. Invest in the goodness of the universe and the universe will invest its goodness into you.
After San Francisco everyone flew/drove home and Dylan, Emily, and I went down the west coast so I could drop them off at Ontario airport to fly home. I would then drive home from there in one straight shot. We came down the coast on historic highway 1. One thing I remember about the summer was that I was constantly being flattened on my face with how beautiful things were and how desensitized I maybe felt. Hwy 1 did everything to cure that. The best of the sky and the ocean and land come together. We stopped somewhere and found a plastic football on the ground and threw it around and played guitar. There was a small wall and it felt like something on a Greek island; the ocean and rocks were foaming and cars were zipping by. And we threw rocks into the ocean and climbed down the ravine on a steep trail that led out the a bluff where we didn't say anything. I imagined jumping off. I also cut my fut on the way down there and so I limped for an entire day after that. We kept listening to Arcade Fire's Funeral and it seemed like "Crown of Love" was written by a former self for being unworthy of seeing so much beauty and being lucky enough to be alive. We stopped as the sun set and watched it sink into the water and screamed our heads off just to make noise at it and let it know that we were able to be strong just like it and maybe we couldn't sink like that but we could scream.
We drove all night and passed through San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz. We saw the Hollywood letters on the mountain at 7:30 in the morning. We got to Loma Linda where Emily had friends. We found out that we were filthy and needed a shower. Emily's friend let us use her shower and it reminded me of the time Emily and I snuck into a Holiday Inn in Seaside, OR to "bathe" in the pool. In the shower the water got into my cut foot and that hurt very very much. I got out and it was time to say goodbye; Dylan had to get to the airport and Emily would get a ride later. This was the last picture we took together. (You can see my feet are positioned funny because the pavement was really really hot.)
After leaving Dylan, I went to stay at a friend's house in Riverside. We went to high school together and it was good to see each other. However he wasn't there when I arrived. His girlfriend's sister let me in and I was sticky and smelly and limping and I asked if I could use her bathroom. I'm sure I looked homeless. That night they came home and it was lovely to see him and his girlfriend. Later my good friend Alex Adams came up from San Diego and took me out to eat with his girlfriend and her parents. Her dad laughed when I told him I was an English major. "What are you going to do with that?"
That night I watched "Shawn of the Dead" with Matthew and he explained all the jokes to me. I went to sleep and woke up early in the morning and left. I got my oil changed and then I was off. Now, driving from Riverside, CA to Siloam Springs, AR is not enjoyable. I had a little money left over from tips and food money that I barely made it. Nothing too interesting happened until Albuquerque where I slept in another parking lot. I only napped for a few hours but I set off again. I knew my money was running out and I needed to get home in time to pack for school.
Later I stopped to get my last little sip of gas before I made it home. After pumping I began to look for my wallet. This set off a chain of events. Something didn't feel right. I pulled over and kept looking for it. Nothing. I had seen it last when pumping gas. I drove back to the gas station and there was nothing near the pump. Maybe I forgot it on my car. So I decided to retrace my steps. I pulled out of the gas station and as I was waiting on a red light at an intersection I spotted a little black thing in the road. Almost as soon as I spotted it a black SUV stopped in front of it and a teenager got out and picked it up. Just as the teenager was getting out the SUV was rear-ended by a white subcompact which was then also rear-ended by another car driven by a jittery young girl. I couldn't believe anything I had seen. I had to keep going because they were blocking traffic and by the time I turned around and got there the police had arrived. People were crying and the police were taking information. I asked someone if they had seen what the black thing was. It was a wallet. An elderly man from the middle car took me by the arm and brought me to a police officer who said I should stay there in case of a discrepancy. In the end I got my wallet back and the woman who was driving the first car handed it to me with a little bit of sarcasm. The police didn't need anything from me so I left.
When I was within 200 miles from my house I got a speeding ticket. I was so eager to go home that I broke the law. Sorry officer. $200.
Then I got home. My mother was proved wrong. I actually made it. There were many great and simple things about that summer but nothing was simpler than coming home. I drove in and walked up to my house and said hello to my father who was typing in his office. I kept thinking about the monomyth and how one of phase of that myth is the hero's return home and the improvement of his/her community because of the adventure. I can't exactly what it was that I learned concretely except for one thing: people are inherently good. Invest in the goodness of the universe and the universe will invest its goodness into you.
posted by wagner israel cilio iii | 9:17 AM
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