The first night the girls took me out to a couple of the local establishments t help get a feel for the area. The second day Stacy introduced me to another Wisconsin ex-pat that everyone called ‘Packer Mike’, obviously he was a big Packer’s fan and at this point in history he was a very happy man because the Packer’s were the current Superbowl champs. Him and I hit it off straight away and he asked if I wanted to go down to a big party at the river? I was certainly up for that so we took a drive about ten miles up the river to where about 30 people were camping and partying together. It was the local scene of people who hung out at a sports bar back in Mt. Vernon called Draft Pic’s, a nice place downtown with a pool table and a restaurant. Mike introduced me to the owner of the bar, Lance, a guy about my age and very cool, the first thing he asked after we met was if I wanted to smoke a bowl? We spent the night drinking and smoking by the campfire as I continued to meet new, cool folks. We ended up staying the night and partying through the whole next day as well. By the third day, it was time to get back to reality, I had made a good impression on Lance and before we left he told me to come down to the bar to talk about a job. This was the first good news on that front since I had left, I was sure going to make the best out of this opportunity.
When I returned home to the girls place I found that they had been worried that I had been busted and were close to calling the cops to see if they had me, a very bad decision for sure but I understood their plight, back in those days, no one had a cell phone in their pocket unless they were a high-roller. I assured them that in the future I would be more considerate. The following day I went across the river to see about that job, Lance was willing to give me a job straight away but that was when I found out that he was only the manager of the place and that his father was the top dog. I would have to interview with him as well. He was the complete opposite of Lance, very high-strung and mean-spirited but I was able to show enough humility to get the job. I had an uneasy feeling that dealing with him would be a challenge for me. I had never been very good at dealing with pricks for bosses and had been through many jobs as a result but this time was different and I would have to bury my pride if I wanted to stay employed. The first crossroad I came to was when Lance was filling out the paperwork and handed me the government forms to fill out. I knew i could not lie and get away with just making up a social security number, I figured that they would catch me that way for sure. So I filled in my real name and s.s number knowing that this would also be a lead to where I was but I thought with it just being weed that they would not be actively searching and I would be okay for a while at least.
The first few weeks working at the bar were great, I was getting to know all the regulars and felt like I was fitting in very well. Things were going so well that within a month I was making some good money, ( the pay was good and the tips were even better ) so Packer Mike and I went over to The Gorge to see a weekend of shows. Friday night was Live and Saturday night was Rage Against The Machine. It was a particularly fired up crowd at the Rage show because the small town sheriff with the small town mind tried to get the show cancelled on the grounds that they might start a riot. It was touch and go right up until the end where a Judge ruled that there was no evidence that there would be trouble and allowed it to proceed. The sheriff did not like this and made it a militarized zone around the grounds. You could feel the tense energy in the air when Zach ( the lead singer ) came on stage, grabbed the mike and scanned the crowd saying “fuck the police”, then they kicked into the NWA song of the same name and the place erupted. The entire floor turned into a mosh-pit and Mike and I had no choice but to join in the festivities. The show was high energy all the way and when it was over, no riots, no fights, I didn’t even hear angry words exchanged just some good old fashioned fun. we spent the trip back talking about what a great time we had and how cool the Gorge was, an amphitheater on the high banks of the Snake River where the sun sets behind the stage, one of the coolest places to see a show in the world!
The next few weeks went well at work and I was starting to hang out with more of my co-workers and the regulars, finding out who the bud smokers were and what not. It seemed that just about everyone there smoked which was good for me as it gave me plenty of new connections to score through, and I would not have to go without again. During this time things started to get a little tense around the house, I could tell that staying on the couch was cramping the girls style and it was starting to show with little things. I tried to make myself useful by doing the yard and housework but the tension was increasing. Stacy had her brother coming to town and I hoped that would ease things for a while. Little did I know that Stacy and her brother had a very tenuous relationship and within a few hours of him being there, they were arguing about something trivial. Him and I hit it off straight away and the next time Stacy wanted to argue with him, I decided to go to the bar and he came with. That was totally unacceptable and now I was in her crosshairs. The next few days were very tense with Stacy screaming and yelling at both of us for the most unimportant things. I didn’t know what to do, I could not argue back with the fact that she could kick me out so I would leave and her brother would usually follow which would only piss her off more. It came to a head one day when we were sitting around the house with nothing to do and I casually asked her brother if he wanted to go throw the frisbee at the park? He was up for it and I asked Stacy if she would like to come along as well? She said no and off we went, when we returned, Stacy was waiting to tear us a new one. She went into a tirade about how her brother was supposed to be there to hang out with her and he was hanging out with me, he told her she was no fun and complained all the time ( which was true but only made her more upset ), she started throwing things around saying how she hated us both. Her brother decided he’d had enough, he packed up his bag and took off. leaving me there to take the abuse, she blamed me for things falling apart between them and that I had better watch myself or else. I was frozen with shock, in all the years I had known her, I had never seen her act this way, she had always been very laid back and relaxed, this was a side I had never seen. I took what she said to be a threat to kick me out or worse, to turn me in and I had nowhere to go so I took it all not saying anything and apologizing on top. She mellowed out and by the next day was even sorry about her outburst, but I now knew what she was capable of and I would have to tread lightly.
Things had been going very well at work until one night a scheduling error caused a rift between me and the big boss. I had been scheduled to work in the afternoon and when I got to work the boss’s wife had changed it to a night shift. For me it was no problem because there were some of the regulars going down the street to have some drinks there and I decided to join them, big mistake. The bars I had worked at in Wisconsin all had a very liberal policy on drinking while working, you could drink all you want just don’t screw up the money. This bar was completely different and they had a strict no drinking policy, but I figured I could have a couple and no one would know and it was at a different bar so I felt safe. I returned to Draft Pic’s and relieved the day bartender, things seemed fine and I took over. I felt great, I wasn’t drunk but I had a nice buzz that would make the evening a breeze. The first hour zipped by without a snag and then the phone rang… It was the boss’s wife calling to inquire if I was drunk on the job? What? How did she know? I was not sure but decided to go at it aggressively, I told her that I had been drinking and that it was because she did not take the time to call and let me know the schedule had changed. She acknowledged it was a mistake not to call but that it gave me no excuse to drink before work. I told her that maybe it was poor judgement and that I would not do it again, we ended the call cordially but I was now on the radar of the big boss and I had sewn the seeds of my downfall there.
A Continuing Story About Life On The Run