My Jersey Boys: Sometimes…

Disaster strikes when you least expect it. It usually happens on the nicest of days when you’ve let your guard down and the thought of anything bad happening is the furthest thing from your mind. At least, that’s how it felt the other day…

For me, the day started off peacefully. I drove down to Sandy Hook and walked along the waters edge for a little while, eventually turning back when I hit the nude beach. I’m brave, but not that brave! Plus there’s usually a ton of old people that hang out on those beaches and losing my eye sight was the last thing I needed. So I shoved off and grabbed a bite to eat when I got a text from C who wanted to check out that new movie Horrible Bosses. Being in the middle of a vicious heat wave right now, hanging out indoors and watching a movie didn’t seem like a bad idea at all. So I met up with C and CD at the newly christened Rave Cinema (I still call it the Hazlet Multiplex) and we checked out the flick. It started off kind of slow but it soon picked up with Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny…) stealing the show and then there was Jennifer Aniston playing an oversexed dental hygienist (good lord).

After the movie, the three of us marched out into the heat and stood in the parking lot as we tried to formulate some kind of game plan. CD and I were both off work for a change and C was very adamant about going to his class up at Montclair. Finally, C looks up at us and says “So, who wants to get wasted?” Never being opposed to the idea (and not really looking to go home yet) I was all for it! So the three of us drove to the liquor store and bought a ton of beer. Now, we needed a place to go. Out of the three of us, my house seemed to be the most likely choice (C couldn’t go back to his place cause he’s supposed to be in class) but we figured we would give Char a call and see if we could hang out on his sprawling patio. Lucky for us, Char was home early from work and the three of us headed over. However, I went home for a minute and grabbed a bottle of Sailor Jerry’s Rum (I know better now) that we’d been working on for quite some time.

I got to Char’s and the four of us jumped into a few games of two on two beer pong and indulged in a few shots of the Sailor Jerry’s. We obviously weren’t interested in pacing ourselves as the wins and losses bounced back and forth (there’s a BETTER reason why I don’t remember who won the series) but a good time was being had by all. Soon enough, B joined the festivities and the two of us took on C and CD in a few games. At one point, one of the balls bounced off my foot and went underneath a nearby counter. I knelt down and grabbed the ball but I completely misjudged where the counter top was and as I came up I whacked my forehead on the edge of the counter! Already drunk, I can tell you that it didn’t hurt that much as I shook off the hit and kept on playing. We must’ve gone through four or five more volleys before I reached up to push my hair out of my face and noticed that something was different.

My fingertips brushed away more than hair, but something moist. My first thought was “Fuck, that’s a lot of sweat,” but when I looked at my fingers that thought quickly turned in “Fuck, that’s a lot of blood!” I had completely busted my forehead open on the counter top and had continued playing despite the fact that I was bleeding profusely! What surprised me even more was that none of the other four people even noticed as I quickly turned around and went inside to use the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed that I had a deep, inch long cut just below my hairline. I washed my face and applied a tissue as I came back outside where I asked Char for a band-aid. Now everyone was aware of what I had done to myself as I slapped on the band-aid and… continued playing pong.

As the sun finally started going down a few more people arrived including R, T, D, and J. I showed off my battle scar as I continued to sip my beer and tried to stay off my feet. Suddenly, my world started spinning. Not that goofy drunk spinning either, something was wrong! I walked off to the edge of the patio and leaned against the railing where I had a hard time keeping my head upright. At times I found myself leaning precariously too far over and figured that this was probably not the best place to be. I stumbled backwards and just kind of flopped onto the couch, the world still spinning and even though my eyes were open I would sometimes only see darkness. My ears still worked and every so often I would hear a voice calling out from the side to see if I was ok only for me to wave about two minutes after the fact.

The sounds of everyone’s voices (which brought a certain level of comfort to my damaged brain) soon faded out and I sat up in a panic before noticing that everyone was gone. Char encouraged me to come inside and lie down (I think I was mumbling incoherently at this point) as I stumbled across the patio on my own strength and followed the sound of Char’s voice, keeping my eyes fixed on my feet out of fear of tripping over something. This is where time ceases to exist as I rested on an unoccupied bed that was upstairs. My head was still spinning and all I could think about was going back outside where the air was cooler and fresher. Once again, I rose from the bed and wandered downstairs at some hour of the night and made my way outside. Missing my phone and cigarettes, I looked around for my stuff and eventually found everything. Then I sat by the unlit fire pit for what could’ve been hours or only a few minutes. Every so often I would stand and make my way back and forth across the yard and the patio, testing myself in some kind of weird drunkenly concussed way.

The next morning, I woke up in my own bed. At some point in the night I had obviously mustered up the courage (or stupidity, take your pick) to drive myself back home. I checked the mirror and inspected the gaping wound in my head, which by that point had stopped bleeding. My head throbbed in pain and my eyes couldn’t deal with the sunlight for most of the morning. As the morning rolled on, the pain receded and it wasn’t long before I found myself walking around and soon enough, driving my car again. I must have a death wish but I feel fine now and I’m likely to have a scar so I can forever remember the occasion. Upon seeing C again, I told him that we must’ve spoken too soon about yesterday being a good day because it wasn’t long after when things took a turn for the worst!

So now I will forever be aware of counter tops and superstitious of Sailor Jerry’s Rum (we were warned). Overall, I’d still say it was a good day!

Till next time, let us rock in peace.