As we were driving through Illinois we got a radio call from Party in the Suburban.
“Hey, we’re making a quick stop up here.” He said, startling me a little because I was sleeping.
“Alright.” Kobra told him. “We’re following you.”
We followed the Suburban down a few streets into a housing development. It looked like BL/ind had no use for this particular town. The whole thing was in ruins. Many of the houses had been knocked down, and the streets was cracked like an earthquake had been through the area. We pulled up to a house that was still standing, but barely.
One of the back doors to the Suburban flew open, and Flash Drive jumped out, and ran to the house. She pulled the door open which I assumed was unlocked because she got in so easily.
“What’s this all about?” I asked.
“No clue.” Kobra answered me.
As soon as he said that Flash came running back out of the house and jumped back into the car with Party and Jet. I had barely noticed it, but she was carrying a photograph in one of her hands.
“Let’s roll.” Party’s voice crackled over the radio, and we started driving again.
I managed to fall back asleep for awhile. I hadn’t realized how long I had been out, but it must have been a long time. I didn’t wake up until Fun Ghoul was shaking me up.
“What?” I mumbled, slowly opening my eyes.
“You said you lived in Pennsylvania, right?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“We just passed the welcome to Pennsylvania sign.”
“I lived in eastern PA.”
“Oh.”
“It’s alright.”
“What county was it? I know it’s been forever since living in Jersey, but when I did I knew a lot of the county in PA.”
“Northampton. Right next to Allentown.”
“I remember Allentown. Good memories there.” Fun looked out into the distance as he relived those memories.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going back to sleep.” I waved my hand in front of his face to get his attention, before I closed my eyes, and fell back asleep.
This time when I woke up (Not to someone shaking me, thank God) I saw a sign for ‘Lenhartsville’. I sighed remembering that’s where my Aunt and Uncle had a farm. I wonder if they got out.
“We’ve got about an hour until we get to being around where I lived.” I told Fun and Kobra in case they actually cared.
“Cool. I can’t believe we get to be back in the area. What’s it been, like 18 years since our first time here with the band, Kobra?” Fun ruminated.
“Yeah, it has been something like that.” Kobra confirmed.
“Slightly random question, but you guys are always mentioning that band you were in. What band was it?”
“Well, you don’t strike me as the person to have listened to us, but the band was called My Chemical Romance.” Fun told me.
Holy Shit! How in the hell did I not notice it? It was so obvious. Party Poison was Gerard, the lead singer. His brother, Kobra Kid, was Mikey, the bassist. Fun Ghoul would have been Frank, rhythm guitarist and back-up vocals. And Jet Star was Ray, the lead guitarists and other back-up vocalist.
“You’re joking? I love MCR! You guys were one of the bands that inspired me to start writing poetry.”
“Really?” Mikey, I mean Kobra, asked me. “I’ve never seen you write. Do you still have your work with you?”
“I barely ever let my notebooks out of my sight, and I could never stop writing.” I smiled. I still couldn’t believe that I had been living with some of my biggest heros.
“You should share it with us sometime.” Fun Ghoul suggested.
I thought about for a moment. I had written some poems about them, and how much they inspired me, but I thought they were really sappy. There was no way I was showing them those poems. I suppose I could just omit those from the ones I share. In the end I nodded to tell him that I would let them read my poetry sometime.
“Get it out now then.” Fun encouraged me.
I sighed and dived into the back of the car to find my bag. At last I found and retrieved my first notebook that filled with my original poems. I sat back in my seat again and opened it up to the first page.
I spent the next hour reading poem after poem. It had been so long since I’d read of any of these, let alone read them aloud for someone. Fun kept listening to each one with more and more intent. Nodding to let me know that he liked them.
I was constantly looking out the window too so I knew where we were. It had been so long since I’d seen Pennsylvania, I didn’t realize how much I missed it.
One time when I lifted my head to take a look at the scenery I gasped.
To be continued...
Don't let the bed bugs bite,
Sleep tight, and sweet dreams.
-Waterfall Bomb
