July 5, 2007

July 4th, 1983

I remember a 4th of July somewhere in the middle of Texas out near the hills of Burnet. Bug trucks were running slowly up the lake spraying a fine chemical mist into the air. Sixteen and without wheels my friend Jack, his girlfriend Helen, and I ran alongside the truck jumping up behind the tanks covering our faces for the 10 minute ride up the hill to the dam. Helen kept pointing up at the petroleum rainbow created by the spray and laughing. She was already a little tipsy having had two peach wine coolers down at the lake.

At the top of the hill we hopped off and followed a dirt road up to where all the pickups were parked. Jack and Helen didn't waste any time and told me to go ahead as they climbed into the back of a random pickup truck and started laying out blankets from their backpacks. I headed over the fence and up the path to the clearing where the other kids were hanging out on the rocks overlooking the dam and the two lakes below. Someone put a beer in my hand, but not having much experience with beer I mainly held it, fiddling with the label and trying to look like I belonged.

I didn't know anyone so I sat on some rocks off to the side and watched the sky turn dark and the lightning come up in the clouds and all the kids shooting off bottle rockets and running around with sparklers. I sat there for a very long time thinking about the shape of things until I noticed Helen standing with her arms crossed nearby. "Hey," I said.

"Hey" she said.

"Where's Jack?" I asked.

"I hate Jack," she mumbled.

Then she came over and sat down right up next to me and I held her hand and listened to her cry. "I smell like gasoline," she told me.

"I do too," I replied and we left it at that.

posted at 02:17 AM by raul

Filed under: personal history

TAGS: 1983 (1) july 4th (2) texas (9) the hill country (2)

Comments:

07/05/07 04:42 PM

Thank you, great reading!

07/05/07 11:00 PM

I just discovered your personal history archive. Wow. What a great collection of stories well told. If you ever find yourself in Istanbul please look me up. My roommate and I would love to take you out for drinks.

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