Surrealistic Pillow

1970 was the summer of discovery for me, the Sun shined through my window and my friends would come around.  Yes I had missed the summer of love, which occurred in 1967 with the flower children, but people were still protesting the Vietnam war and still burning the flag.  This was an enigmatic time for me, because I just got my driver’s license and next year I would have to register for the draft.  I would have went if I was selected because my father served, and I would never dishonor him, but this war was very unpopular.  My grandmother, my dad’s mom had just died and she left me $1,000 in her will which I used to buy a stereo, speakers, amplifier and turntable.  I missed out on Woodstock, but music became my life in the summer before I would become a High School senior.

I discovered music before I discovered drugs, but that followed closely behind.  At this age, music and my friends meant everything to me and what my friends did, I wanted to do.  Most of my friends had Corvettes and Camaros, but I was not able to afford that.  I had a nicer stereo system than most of them, so that was my way of keeping up with the Joneses.  Once I tried pot, there was no exit, as I wanted to get high all the time.  Eventually I would resort to doing coke and taking pills, which always made the music sound more surreal.  I am not here to sanctify the use of drugs, but they never caused any problems for me, other than getting arrested.

I had a close relationship with my brother at this time as he was just a year younger than I was and we had a lot of the same friends.  I guess I could call him my confidant, as we shared things and we trusted each other.  I never had any fear that he would rat me out for anything that I did which was wrong and I was always treading lightly on the things that he did.  I wore bell bottom pants and love beads, but I was not a subversive member of the counterculture and I would certainly not counter the burn your bra movement, which has sadly faded into a remnant of the past, as it was exciting for me to see women not wearing bras.

I remember one day when my parents were at work and my friends were over listening to my albums and we smoked at lot of weed, the doorbell rang.  I walked downstairs and there were two cops there and they told me that I was under arrest for an unpaid parking ticket.  I told them that I had friends upstairs that I had to let out and I needed to turn my music off and they allowed me to do that.  I told my friends that I had to leave, which made them sad, but they did get with the program.  The police handcuffed me and made me ride in the back seat of the police car to the headquarters.  I had just cashed my paycheck from the job I had as a bagger at the supermarket, so I had enough money to pay the parking ticket and the late fee fines and then they let me go.  I asked them if they were going to give me a ride back home and they laughed and said that I could walk or take the bus.  In review, I guess I was lucky that they did not smell the weed we were smoking.

Written for Sheryl’s Daily Word Prompt – Enigmatic, for Roger Shipp’s Daily Addictions prompt – Program, for Mathew’s Daily Inkling prompt – No exit, for the Daily Spur prompt – Resort, for FOWC with Fandango – Surreal, for August Monthly Writing Prompts – Treading lightly, for Nova’s Daily Random Word prompt – Remnant, for Ragtag Community – Fear, for Paula’s Three Things Challenge prompt words – Counter Flag Review, for GC and Sue W Weekly Prompts – Confidant and for Word of the Day Challenge Prompt – Sanctify.