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November 10, 2004
Midnight and the long awaited point of no return
When I turned nineteen I left sunny San Diego for the Pacific Northwest and never looked back. Soon after settling in a little college town I made friends with Geoff. I first saw him in the basement of McDonald's, sleeping in the standing position with the aid of a broom handle. We didn't speak, although I did note that, he too wore his monkeyshit brown polyester uniform buttoned all the way up. I remember thinking how happy this lad looked, dreaming and standing idle while a steady stream of drool made its leisurely way down his chin and collar. A few weeks later we happened upon each other at the college raquetball courts and engaged in a few rounds of cut throat. I won two out of three... The result of our meeting was the establishment of the singularly most formative and rewarding friendship of my life. A deep hunger for exploration and a mutual disdain for the commonplace was the hallmark of our endeavors together. "Danger" was our watchword and "adventure", physical, psycological and spiritual, became our primary objective. Not enough space here to catalogue the all successes and failures inherent in this pursuit of "illumination", suffice it to say we had more than our share of both.
20 years later... we stand on the precipice of a new adventure. In less than ten hours I will take flight from my all too familiar life and embark on an open ended free-for-all of sheer sensory overload. What could possibly be more rewarding for experience junkies such as we? I know not...
For those who find the trappings of a traditional religious experience too constricting and potentially fatal, following the relentless and dogmatic directives of control-freak deities run amok to be soul suicide, and the indignities of the daily grind to be downright debasing , "Looking for Lao" is our only option. We will search high. We will search low.
And all the while the "searching" itself will be our highest goal. In this you have our solemn word...
NOTE:
I didn't get innoculated against dengue fever or typhoid...
I don't have an itinerary...
I didn't bother to check the travel advisories...
But I've got a secret weapon....
- My best friend speaks Thai like a mother grabber!
So hold onto your helmets ladies, it looks like wev'e got a live one!
Posted by Ken Graves at November 10, 2004 4:09 PM
Bill Norris sez:
Hey Bushido23 sould blade dude, perhaps those adolescent targeted video games have left you a tad bit uninspired. Sure this lad may sound like one of Geoff's imaginary friends, but I can assure you this cat is legit. I know because I was with them when they first met. You see, they both got it wrong. Geoff and I first met Ken after he failed miserably to get down a dear, dear friends pants. First impression, who the hell does this guy think he is. 2nd impression. Dude's got heart. And he's the only one I knew who would even try to get with miss Wright. IT WAS FORBIDDEN!
Forward in all directions guys.
-Bill
p.s.
Isn't Lao Thai for whiskey?
Hassenfefah Overundah sez:
That Gravy sure is a bonafied wanker! I don't believe one word that a-hole says!!! Why he sounds right like a red herring to me! Ya sure! n You betcha!