It was Friday night and everyone was in a good mood. We chatted outside our cars for awhile and confirmed the location of the party, including any landmarks, or the nearest mile marker in case someone became separated. After we left our rendezvous point, I flipped through my friends cassettes and finally landed on the newest Boston album. We drove on the west side of town towards the river, past the fairgrounds then left past my brother-in-law’s Dads gas station and garage while More Than a Feeling and Peace of Mind played. We passed the refinery and turned north on Highway 87 at dusk. We were behind Matt and two of his friends in his pristine black truck, and six or seven vehicles behind us, from trucks to Volkswagen Beetles.
The third song on that album is Foreplay/Long Time and it was perfect because as soon as we approached the top of the hill and began to exit the highway, the faint transition began. We slowed down to make the gentle turn onto Bootlegger Trail and then the song exploded into the best part. As soon as every car in the convoy centered themselves in the lane, we all accelerated in sync like our cars were linked. We were in my friends red and white four-door sedan, with white leather upholstery, brand new tires, and an expensive sound system. We couldn’t hear each other speak and we didn’t really want to because who talks when that song is playing. I wasn’t interested in the rest of the album, so I searched for the next one to keep the momentum going — songs by The Outlaws, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, or Pure Prairie League were always good candidates, but I landed on the Tres Hombres album by ZZ Top. I was surprised because we were both aware of each other’s music collection and I didn’t know he had that one. I fast forwarded through the first seven songs to La Grange which was perfect for our convoy speeding north.
Eventually Matt signaled his turn onto a two-track dirt road on the south end of a classmates family ranch. The people in our convoy would only be a portion that would arrive that night because word spreads quickly on Friday nights. It was late October and chilly, even with a big fire on the edge of the coulee, and a hill on one side to help break the wind. After hours of milling about and talking with everyone next to the heat of the bonfire, and in nearby cars, we said our goodbyes. Then we connected with two friends who’d asked for a ride home. As we left the orange glow, dark silhouettes, and sparks streaming up, I flipped though his tapes again. We turned south from the dirt road onto pavement and accelerated. I leaned forward, turned the volume up and we all settled into Night Moves and drove back to the hazy light of town.
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Community :: A group of living things with something in common like beliefs, customs, or identity. Communities might share a sense of place in a geographic area, or a virtual space.
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For S. S.
Songs :: Foreplay/Long Time by Boston, Green Grass and High Tides by The Outlaws, Sure Feels Good by Elvin Bishop, La Grange by ZZ Top, and Night Moves by Bob Seger
© C. Davidson