A Short Story

[J0nny Ling0]

First of all, when I pasted this here, I lost all of my "italicization". Bummer, that. Anyway, I just polished this up and thought you might like it...

Too Crowded On The Concrete

Or,

Delusions Of Grandeur Denied!

There I was. I was in a high rise hotel in Ocean City, Maryland, partying with a bunch of Walter Johnson High School friends. It was during the summer after our sophomore year, and we were on the 12th floor of some high rise hotel that some senior girls had rented for the week. There was Patty and Elise, June and Susan, and four of us guys who thought we were going to "get some". As it turned out, none of us guys were able to get into either of the two queen sized beds with the girls, but rather, were relegated to the outside balcony when we finally crashed. But before we crashed, we smoked outrageous amounts of marijuana, passed around a couple of bottles of Southern Comfort, and worked on the three cases of Miller High Life that we had on ice in the bath tub. Man, we were livin’ large! So, we laughed, talked, tried to impress the girls, but as time went on, none of us boys achieved our main goal. Oh sure we could have been satisfied with just having the girls be happy that we were there, allowing us to laugh and talk with them, but, being guys, we were bummed that none of them "begged us" to "bag them". Oh the illusions from which we boys do suffer. "Delusions of grandeur" as I call it...

And so, when we were finally and completely wasted, us guys went out onto the concrete balcony 12 stories above the parking lot. Nobody had a sleeping bag but me, but the cold, damp, night air blowing in off the Atlantic didn't seem to bother us (especially me), because, we were way hammered. And so, we crashed, 12 stories up with the sound of the heavy breakers seeping into our numbed heads. Just before I fell off to sleep, I remember looking through the sliding glass doors at the girls in their comfy beds, getting ready to sleep in such nice and cozy comfort. How nice to have been to be in there with them. But then, my lights went out as I zoned into that pickled state of alcoholic stupor...

I am guessing that it must have been hours later when I woke up on that cold, damp, concrete balcony. As my eyes opened, I wasn’t sure as to what it was I was seeing, nor did I quite know where I was. I was very cold, and my left cheek was on the bare cold concrete, and in my line of site at eye level was the horizontal plain of the balcony deck, bordered by the bars of the balcony. If there had been an ant crawling in front of me, it would have looked like a giant prehistoric creature. The concrete had dew upon it, and the faint hint of morning gray was ghosting in from beyond the crashing waves breaking on the Atlantic shoreline. As I sat up and looked around, I could see in the distance the dim outline of another beach front high rise hotel. As the tiny neurons in my brain began to crackle and dutifully make their connections, I began to become aware of the previous evenings’ events: the girls, my buddies, the booze, the reefer, and all of the funny things we did and talked about. I chuckled lightly at the thought of it all, and thought of myself as some kind of “big time party animal”, a real “man of the world”. But then, looking around the balcony deck, my heart thudded heavily in my chest as I realized that all was not well at all. I was alone on the bare concrete, and all but me were gone! There had been four of us who crashed together "too close for comfort" on that cold hard slab. But now all of the sudden, every one was gone! And, what happened to my sleeping bag? Unbelievingly, I looked around the balcony again and I was still the only one there! Where in the hell had they gone? Why had they ditched me like that?! And how could they have ditched me like that? We were all way too drunk for them to have packed off in the wee hours to leave me like that! And so, I thought; "Well, are the girls still here?" And I looked through the sliding glass doors to see Elise, Patty, June, and Susan, but they weren't there either! Instead of the girls, I saw an old man and his old wife on the bed nearest the sliding glass doors. They lay there, half covered up, and sleeping soundly. The old man had his mouth wide open, and even though I couldn't hear through that glass, I am sure he was snoring. Silently and incredulously, I mouthed the word; “What?” It was surreal man, it was weird and I was scared. The music from the Twi-Light Zone began to course through my thoughts as I continued thinking; "WTF? What is going on? Where were the girls? Where was Ronny, Jimmy, and Kenny The Buel?" I really had no idea as to what it had happened to me. An ominous feeling welled within me as I shuddered and looked to the parking lot, 12 stories below. I looked out to the ocean where the breakers broke and the phosphorous glowed with each breaking crash. And then, I looked to my left to the next balcony....

And there, snuggled up to my sleeping bag and sleeping on the balcony deck, was Ronnie, Jimmy, and Kenny The Buel. I looked into the sliding glass doors of their balcony, and I could see Elise and Patty in blissful slumber, as well as two lumps in the far bed- June and Susan. As my fogged out mind began to clear, I looked down between the two balconies that were but four feet apart, and thought about what a plunge like that would do to a body, crashing to the sidewalk after having dreamt a very short dream about “flying”. What had happened hit me very hard. I realized at that moment, that while sleeping but still drunk, I had "sleep walked" and climbed the rail of our balcony in exchange for the unpopulated balcony of the other! "Oh-My God!" I thought. There was but four feet between the balconies, and I had done it in my sleep! I could have fallen and never known why I was dead. It was deep. It was heavy, and I was way freaked out by it all. I sat there stunned as I took it all in.

And so, I decided that I'd better get over to "my" balcony so that the old couple, should they detect me, didn't call the cops and have me arrested for "peeping Tom-ism". And so, with shaking hands, and with out looking down, I grabbed the rail and slung a leg over to begin my traverse across the abyss. Four feet may not be very far, but when an open drop of 100 feet or more is below that four foot span, four feet can be a very long way! Halfway across, I heard a voice. It was Ronnie Taylor saying with that customary half a chuckle in his voice asking; "Hey Nye! What the f u ck are you doing?" And I remember replying; "I don't know man, I really don't know. But help me if I start to fall...." But before he could get up, somehow I was over and on the deck with my pals. But only Ronnie was awake, and he was as amazed as I was when I told him what had apparently happened. And then, I crawled into my bag and seriously considered perhaps for the first time, that there is a Kind and Friendly God who watches after us, even when we are fools doing incredibly stupid things. A God who cared about the lowly likes of even me. And yet, as history tells the tale, apparently God does not, or is not able to help everybody who does stupid things like that, and many pass on into History. Then why me? I asked myself. Why had He taken my hand while I, in such an oblivious state of mind stumbled across the abyss of certain death had I fallen? I didn’t know the answer to that question there on that cold balcony, but I was certain that He had spared me. And so, in an awkward prayer under my breath, I thanked God for saving me and went back to sleep.

Later that day, I talked one of my friends into going fishing with me, something I had used to like to do when I would go to the beach with my Family. It had dawned on me at The Beach that week that I had abandoned so many of the things that I liked to do and replaced those things with “partying”. And so, my friend Jimmy and I went fishing with some rented poles, and that was cool because I had canned the afternoon “brewfest” and began to re-discover something that had at one time been my passion-fishing. I think that that time was the beginning of an awakening for me, a wake up call to search and try to get back to the things that mattered. Ultimately, that search culminated with me on my knees asking God to forgive me and to send a Christian to teach me about God and His Ways. The day after that request, God answered my prayer, and a whole new life for me began...

Edited June 30, 2008 by Jonny Lingo

[GrouchoMarxJr]

Ultimately, that search culminated with me on my knees asking God to forgive me and to send a Christian to teach me about God and His Ways. The day after that request, God answered my prayer, and a whole new life for me began...[/font][/color]

Really?...and I thought you were in twi.

[Oakspear]

Well written Lingus.

I hope I don't come across as negating your experience before and during TWI, but I think it's sad that so many of us had a desire to learn and experience the biblical god and got TWI instead.

I didn't have the shocking experience that you did, but I came to a point in life where I really wanted answers and to know God, but I got TWI. Because the biblical god sent TWI people my way? I believe it was more like I was vulnerable enough to settle for the fast talking arrogance and doubletalk.

I was just telling my wife the other day how being involved in TWI got me away from harmful behaviors, but at what price?

That being said, you do have a way with words and our differences in our view of Wierwille, PFAL & TWI aside, you can spin a yarn.

[Jim]

Great story man.

As it turned out, none of us guys were able to get into either of the two queen sized beds with the girls, but rather, were relegated to the outside balcony when we finally crashed.

Had the same thing happen to me at ROA '75

[J0nny Ling0]

Thanks Jim and Oak...

Great story man.

Had the same thing happen to me at ROA '75