Day 7 and 8: Funny and Storage

Hey ya'll! I just got back from southern Missouri helping a friend of mine prepare his ranch for a summer event that is supposed to be attended by over 100,000 people! You can check out what is going on out there by checking out this website: http://www.wildernessoutcry.com/

Anyways, I haven't been able to keep the blog updated while I was down there because of poor internet connection. So, the next couple of days I'm going to do two entries at a time until I am able to catch back up with most of you all :)

This weeks topics: Funny and Storage

Funny

Tell me about a funny or odd thing that has happened in or around your car. Go. Ten minutes.

A funny thing that has happened around or in my car?

There was this one time, a funny/odd thing happened. I had just moved to Colorado Springs and was attending a local church in town called "Freedom". I was out with a few of my friends that I had made one night.

We were driving around downtown in the middle of this night; myself driving, one of my friends to the right of me, the other two seated behind me.

As we drove one of the guys from the back spoke up, "Hey, let's play a game!"

The one sitting to my right turned around and said, "I'm game, what are we playing?"

The one behind me responded, "Well, you can't really play, but you can participate. Eric, are you up for playing?"

At this question, I immediately became nervous. For the two in the back were whispering to themselves back and forth. One, had the reputation of being a bit of a prankster and creator of other imaginative games.

I had a little ground from the stories I had heard about what was going on, but it turned out that I had no idea...

"I'll play," I said with some reluctance, " will I like this game?"

The two behind me looked at each other, "Yea, you'll like it."

Shortly after, I turned onto a side street that was devoid of other moving vehicles that night.

Presently, the two behind me looked at each other, gave a nod of confirmation, and as I caught glimpses in my review mirror, one began to stand up in his seat and leaned towards me.

I felt one hand overcome my eyes turning the street lights and all other things into black... another hand grabbed my steering wheel...

Times up!

Storage

Tell me about a storage unit or someplace you stored things. Write for ten minutes.

My parents had just recently bought a restaurant that had closed down, they went on a bit of a shopping spree looking for things to equip this place: Booths from a pizza hut, stove hoods and air ventilation pipes from a local shop. They also bought these large, square metal box frames for something that was to be installed in the kitchen, but the edges of this thing were sharp and when you moved it you made sure your hands were never grasping it too hard.

All these things began to accumulating in storage sheds; mounds of carpet for the floor, spare pieces of wood to help with the renovation or to simply build a form for the cement trucks, piles of tables and chairs, sometimes stacked so delicately that the simplest touch would send it over, other times they would be thrown together so thick and randomly that it was like a unmovable steel forest that refused to give entrance to the back of the shed.

Having given life to four boys, my parents had a ready made moving force by the time this venture came around.

I remember several a hot, summer afternoon spent, crawling between and into these storage sheds, looking for pieces that were needed.

Each stop carefully placed, each footing tested for wobble and the possibility of collapse.

When you got towards the back, it was often mired in shadow and darkness, the only light source shinning from the open garage door, being scattered through the backs of chairs and the isolation of depth.

Often, back into the recess of these sheds, my quests would often be accompanied by the cobwebs picked up from along the nook and crannies of furniture forgotten...

Times Up!

Tomorrow's topics are: Third and Steve Almond

See you guys then!

Note: I have just used up another moleskin journal... tomorrow I must get myself a new one, as my roommate Daniel says, "Many a great thing has come from the minds of those who write in a Moleskin."

-Eric Alan