ch. 7
(its my party cont. )
around 7 i texted lee i was ready to leave. the river was starting to freeze in and we were stating to see some submerged trees as well as floating tires and propane tanks as the water started to intensify from recent heavy rains that blanketed the area. now it was turning cold. my pontoon was up on land and was covered against the harsh ohio winter. i thought to myself dang , how nice it would be take a leisurely trip down the river as cold as it is.pontoons are not known for their speed, so best you will get is a slow fast ride. still i would much rather go by boat as early settlers did only i am not going to row either. so it was out to the garage and i grabbed the old vw van as this qualified as a chance to check it out since the remodel job.
ann came out of the guest house and met me on the walk to the garage. we walked past statues i carved and we talked about tonight and what we were going to do. we entered the garage and in the corner was the old vw van . looking much better with a paint job and sounding much better with the engine job. lee and ann did a great job reforming the old van. and i told them so and i was not about to let anything happen to it. it was lee who suggested we take it as they had planned on sitting in the bench seat behind the driver. of course that would be me. all i can say to them is i hope you guys have any dirty deeds thoroughly planned for the little house when you come home tonight. lee chimes back as we start to get in the van "dont worry about us old man just drive" i laughed and faked a stroke as we headed down 60 to matietta. they laughed nervously.
the old vw van sounded like george jetsons briefcase spacemobile as the new muffler whispered into the cold night. propelling us past my old memories where my family used to have river lots years ago. a wide spot on the turn below coal run indicated the spot where we would dive over the edge with our cars and land at wide grassy shaded spot on the river overhung with huge sycamores. it could hardly be seen from the road , and yet the traffic noise constantly reminded you it was there. you would have enough room to turn you car around and sometimes you didnt. i can remember my dad on occasion nearly ended up in the river due to slick grass and one time due to much drainage from a slick bottle . he slept off that one and finally made it out to get a tow truck to pull himself out. i spent many a night at that lot sitting on the river bank and listening to the big cats flop on the water. it sounded as if someone had taken a log an threw it in the river. from this lot we would take the boat and head up stream or down , fishing and putting in trout lines. dad landed a 43 pound catfish from this spot on a trout line he had set out. its head was the size of the bottom of a five gallon bucket and over five foot in length. dad is gone along with the river lots as we were just renting them , but the memories remain.
this i also where i was arrested one time for not paying fines after i set up a yard sale to make a few bucks when a detective from washington co, stopped looking for stolen items and asked who i was and then ran my license although i was doing nothing wrong, he found out i had not paid a dui ticket and arrested me for non payment of a fine and took me to jail. i had a family that i was trying to feed and had my stepsons there to witness me being placed in handcuffs and stuffed in cruiser. i managed to get out of jail a day later after i talked to the judge and promised to make restitution as soon as possible. oh the memories this particular stretch of highway carried for me. flat tires , broke down vehicles and places i lived and people i met flood to my mind every time i drive down this stretch of roadway.
ann and lee had started partying in the back of the van as they started to sing along to old tunes playing on the radio as they were smoking a doobie. trying to offer it to me as i was driving. i refused to smoke as i needed to keep my stuff together in the event we were stopped. over the long hill and into marietta we went . windows open to keep the smell of the pot from permeating the interior of he van. it was cold but necessary reminder to be vigilant in the face of being pulled over by the law.
on the flat stretch heading into marietta surfaced another particularly ugly memory of the night my family and i became ill from food poisoning and was on our way to the hospital when we had to stop for a puke break alongside the road. a state highway patrolman pulled in behind us. my plates were expired and i was driving on a suspended license , and everyone was sick and yakking. the state highway patrolman was sympathetic and allowed my ex-wife to drive us on to the hospital after we had things under control from all the sickness. was thankful he didn't arrest me but figured he just didn't want or like to smell puke in his car. the food poisoning was from a grocer located along that same road. if there was ever a memory lane then this at times was my bad memory lane.
we headed to the strip of restaurants that flanked rt.7 heading out of town east and found a steakhouse to grab a\ bite at before heading down town to have fun. ann had thought i was going to surprise lee with a complimentary birthday cupcake and a song from the waiters clapping and singing in procession to our table. but instead i told them it was anns birthday and they started singing to her as lee and myself just laughed at how funny that was. ann red faced, but a trooper swore she would get me for that one , but still never let on to the restaurant staff any different idea it wasn't. having ate we made our way downtown to let the partying begin.
"where first ?"i asked ann and lee .
" lets head to that jim and jimmy's bar on front street, we always have a blast in there." lee said and ann added .
" its okay with me also. so how did you find out about this bar again? "
" well i was kinda feeling a little blue and down on my luck as i was drinking way to much and ended up in jim and jimmy's bar . jim the owner was a golden gloves champ who owned the bar and named it for himself and his son. i believe jim would be gone by now as he was older in his late 40's when i was 22 , he would be pushing 90 but doubt that would be the case as much as him pushing daisies by now. but still he was a great guy and offered me a room to rent on his third floor. well the last thing an alcoholic needs is a third floor room above a bar for sure. but i also had my dog . now jimmy liked tuck real well as tuck never barked hardly. he was a strong german shepherd -elkhound mix. his tail curled up over his back nd he had brownish red coat that shined .he was a constant loyal companion to me at times watching over me like an angel over the fallen as i lay in a drunken stupor. he loved to hunt, and could hold his own in a fight. well jimmy would allow old tuck to come in the bar and just hangout under the booths. at that time he was allowed in 5 bars in downtown marietta, as it seemed this stupid drunk owner of his, being me,thought it was cool to drag your dog all over town like it was nothing. never had a leash on him and he was well trained to say the least. he was the best. he would sit and wait on you without a leash for hours on end. all you had to do was point and say 'stay' and he was there till you came back. and sometimes i didn't . i would have to send people to pick him up. once i sent a taxicab t pick him up when i was still married to my first wife. the taxicab driver pulled up in front of the house and tuck ran and went for the open door of the cab when the babysitter told him to go as people kept asking where he was. he arrived at the bar and when the cab driver opened the door cheers from over 20 bar patrons clapped his arrival. as he had become a star for his ability to be controlled. he was the ultimate dog and i had him. this is why jimmy rent me a room . he felt sorry for my dog. old tuck couldn't help it that i was a drunk. "
" there is no way you could have been that bad. "said lee.
" you didn't know me then , i had moved to marietta because i was partying to much and becoming more like my real dad . a drunk who had nothing and died with nothing. he had no one to say a thing at his funeral despite military honors for time served in world war 2. he was nothing but a sperm donor to me and kind of feel the same way now as i did then. i have made peace with myself as i have forgave him. this is who i was fast becoming. i needed to stop and would have fleeting moments of sensibility where i would seem to be making progress and finding direction but i was still binge drinking myself to an early grave after a slow walk through hell. so anyhow i stayed up there for about 4 mos . till i found my first and only wife in a bar.she too liked my dog. well it seemed as if i should have owned a bar instead,as my life revolved around bars. i would have been rich. i thought all the time the only friends i had were in bars. well it was killing me slowly and eventually it caught up with me. i finally managed to give it the slip but it was hard. now i can go to bars and it doesn't really bother me much. life is a matter of choices and mine was to live or die. and chose to live. so drinking is over for me. " then i pulled into the parking lot at jim and jimmys and turned off the engine and said to them ,"lets head in what do you say?"
lee said ," lets go. "
and with that the swoosh of the side door opened into a brisk cold night, swirling vapors from our mouths as the rose up into the streams of streetlight coming down from above and made it appear as if one was steaming. we headed inside over the fresh wet snow, being careful not to slip. we opened the door.( to be cont. )
the old vw van sounded like george jetsons briefcase spacemobile as the new muffler whispered into the cold night. propelling us past my old memories where my family used to have river lots years ago. a wide spot on the turn below coal run indicated the spot where we would dive over the edge with our cars and land at wide grassy shaded spot on the river overhung with huge sycamores. it could hardly be seen from the road , and yet the traffic noise constantly reminded you it was there. you would have enough room to turn you car around and sometimes you didnt. i can remember my dad on occasion nearly ended up in the river due to slick grass and one time due to much drainage from a slick bottle . he slept off that one and finally made it out to get a tow truck to pull himself out. i spent many a night at that lot sitting on the river bank and listening to the big cats flop on the water. it sounded as if someone had taken a log an threw it in the river. from this lot we would take the boat and head up stream or down , fishing and putting in trout lines. dad landed a 43 pound catfish from this spot on a trout line he had set out. its head was the size of the bottom of a five gallon bucket and over five foot in length. dad is gone along with the river lots as we were just renting them , but the memories remain.
this i also where i was arrested one time for not paying fines after i set up a yard sale to make a few bucks when a detective from washington co, stopped looking for stolen items and asked who i was and then ran my license although i was doing nothing wrong, he found out i had not paid a dui ticket and arrested me for non payment of a fine and took me to jail. i had a family that i was trying to feed and had my stepsons there to witness me being placed in handcuffs and stuffed in cruiser. i managed to get out of jail a day later after i talked to the judge and promised to make restitution as soon as possible. oh the memories this particular stretch of highway carried for me. flat tires , broke down vehicles and places i lived and people i met flood to my mind every time i drive down this stretch of roadway.
ann and lee had started partying in the back of the van as they started to sing along to old tunes playing on the radio as they were smoking a doobie. trying to offer it to me as i was driving. i refused to smoke as i needed to keep my stuff together in the event we were stopped. over the long hill and into marietta we went . windows open to keep the smell of the pot from permeating the interior of he van. it was cold but necessary reminder to be vigilant in the face of being pulled over by the law.
on the flat stretch heading into marietta surfaced another particularly ugly memory of the night my family and i became ill from food poisoning and was on our way to the hospital when we had to stop for a puke break alongside the road. a state highway patrolman pulled in behind us. my plates were expired and i was driving on a suspended license , and everyone was sick and yakking. the state highway patrolman was sympathetic and allowed my ex-wife to drive us on to the hospital after we had things under control from all the sickness. was thankful he didn't arrest me but figured he just didn't want or like to smell puke in his car. the food poisoning was from a grocer located along that same road. if there was ever a memory lane then this at times was my bad memory lane.
we headed to the strip of restaurants that flanked rt.7 heading out of town east and found a steakhouse to grab a\ bite at before heading down town to have fun. ann had thought i was going to surprise lee with a complimentary birthday cupcake and a song from the waiters clapping and singing in procession to our table. but instead i told them it was anns birthday and they started singing to her as lee and myself just laughed at how funny that was. ann red faced, but a trooper swore she would get me for that one , but still never let on to the restaurant staff any different idea it wasn't. having ate we made our way downtown to let the partying begin.
"where first ?"i asked ann and lee .
" lets head to that jim and jimmy's bar on front street, we always have a blast in there." lee said and ann added .
" its okay with me also. so how did you find out about this bar again? "
" well i was kinda feeling a little blue and down on my luck as i was drinking way to much and ended up in jim and jimmy's bar . jim the owner was a golden gloves champ who owned the bar and named it for himself and his son. i believe jim would be gone by now as he was older in his late 40's when i was 22 , he would be pushing 90 but doubt that would be the case as much as him pushing daisies by now. but still he was a great guy and offered me a room to rent on his third floor. well the last thing an alcoholic needs is a third floor room above a bar for sure. but i also had my dog . now jimmy liked tuck real well as tuck never barked hardly. he was a strong german shepherd -elkhound mix. his tail curled up over his back nd he had brownish red coat that shined .he was a constant loyal companion to me at times watching over me like an angel over the fallen as i lay in a drunken stupor. he loved to hunt, and could hold his own in a fight. well jimmy would allow old tuck to come in the bar and just hangout under the booths. at that time he was allowed in 5 bars in downtown marietta, as it seemed this stupid drunk owner of his, being me,thought it was cool to drag your dog all over town like it was nothing. never had a leash on him and he was well trained to say the least. he was the best. he would sit and wait on you without a leash for hours on end. all you had to do was point and say 'stay' and he was there till you came back. and sometimes i didn't . i would have to send people to pick him up. once i sent a taxicab t pick him up when i was still married to my first wife. the taxicab driver pulled up in front of the house and tuck ran and went for the open door of the cab when the babysitter told him to go as people kept asking where he was. he arrived at the bar and when the cab driver opened the door cheers from over 20 bar patrons clapped his arrival. as he had become a star for his ability to be controlled. he was the ultimate dog and i had him. this is why jimmy rent me a room . he felt sorry for my dog. old tuck couldn't help it that i was a drunk. "
" there is no way you could have been that bad. "said lee.
" you didn't know me then , i had moved to marietta because i was partying to much and becoming more like my real dad . a drunk who had nothing and died with nothing. he had no one to say a thing at his funeral despite military honors for time served in world war 2. he was nothing but a sperm donor to me and kind of feel the same way now as i did then. i have made peace with myself as i have forgave him. this is who i was fast becoming. i needed to stop and would have fleeting moments of sensibility where i would seem to be making progress and finding direction but i was still binge drinking myself to an early grave after a slow walk through hell. so anyhow i stayed up there for about 4 mos . till i found my first and only wife in a bar.she too liked my dog. well it seemed as if i should have owned a bar instead,as my life revolved around bars. i would have been rich. i thought all the time the only friends i had were in bars. well it was killing me slowly and eventually it caught up with me. i finally managed to give it the slip but it was hard. now i can go to bars and it doesn't really bother me much. life is a matter of choices and mine was to live or die. and chose to live. so drinking is over for me. " then i pulled into the parking lot at jim and jimmys and turned off the engine and said to them ,"lets head in what do you say?"
lee said ," lets go. "
and with that the swoosh of the side door opened into a brisk cold night, swirling vapors from our mouths as the rose up into the streams of streetlight coming down from above and made it appear as if one was steaming. we headed inside over the fresh wet snow, being careful not to slip. we opened the door.( to be cont. )
14.
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