forever young

these days i'm trying to remember, thirty something years later always take on an almost mythic sheen. in the telling and retelling even the most common everyday occurence takes on an added importance. we were all of ninrteen that year, one year removed from highschool, with no plans, no money but charged with dreams of better things. from my present life nineteen doesn't seem that far away but i know it is. on the third day of our trip, october 3rd to be exact, we cruised through the carolinas, stopping in batesburg, a small south carolina outpost to wet our whistle. phil, our current chauffer, since picking us up one day earlier, seemed in no hurry to finish his trip and we were just there for the ride. we stopped at a small, kinda rundown looking establishment and went inside to enjoy a cold one. there was a lone pool table in the back and me and mr. stu decided to play a game or two. as i was racking the table a young lady came out to us wearing a t-shirt and panties and asked if we had any quarters for the jukebox. we smiled and said sure. we had heard about southern hospitality and reckoned this was it. i'm younger than stu, about a month so when he got shot down while ordering a beer and i didn't, well i had to laugh. we went out to the front of the bar after he kicked my ass in pool and saw the young lady who had inquried about quarters dancing on the bar. a thousand miles from home and we were in a strip bar. heehawwww. we didn;t stay long, money was tight but i couldn't help but notice six or seven little shacks, no bigger than some doghouses iv'e seen, about fifty yards behind the bar. yes, this was a brothel, deep in the heart of dixie. a very conservative dixie. we took off that afternoon

and headed into georgia. we had no idea how are fellow traveling companions were doing. these were the days before cell phones, text messaging and all the other modern conveniences. yes,these were the days we remember.how did we ever survive? more, more, more...jc