Man Overboard

( On April 9th, 2006 the greatest friend I will ever have passed on. I'm sittin here in tears typing this story on my droid. I have this story to share with you about this fallen teamrider, as always I hope you like it, I know I do.)

My old friend Flint was a little apprehensive about his 21st birthday. He was alone, his family had packed up and moved back west. Flint chose to continue his life here a little longer before following them. I think it was cause he loved us as much as his family.

Flint had told me he wanted his father to be there for his birthday. I knew what he meant. He was like me or most young men, he wanted acceptance from his father. My 21st birthday I actually tried to be around my father, you know as a"Man now".

The morning of his birthday I got up, well morning for us was late afternoon. I got up got my act together and before grabbing my board I dug through my closet till I found what I was looking for and headed out for our nightly rondevu at the Carrows.

I was the first to arrive of all the crew. I waited and was seated in the smoking area and served my usual coke. After a short wait Flint arrived, I had told the hostess that when he arrived to show him to my table and she did. He set down his skateboard and removed his backpack known as "Jerry" and sat down.

I started off by saying happy birthday, then I told him this:

" In the old days when a boy reached adulthood and became a man, his father would take him to the edge of the family land, hand him a weapon and send him off into the world to make his fortune.

Flint you are 21 and a man now, since your father is absent and I am your senior , I will take his place…"

I reached into my bag and pulled out a brand new pair of Escrima sticks. His eyes widened as I presented them to him handle first. A while after I had met Flint he had made a set of sticks from a shovel handle, even carving nodes in them to make em resemble rattan.

He took them from my hand, eyes wide with wonder.

"Flint your a man now, go and make your fortune…"

He looked at me, then hugged me, he told me he loved me. Then we made our plans for the night and went skating…

(Flint carried those sticks around for a long time. I don't know what happened to them after his death but I'm sure if you went though his stuff you find a worn pair of escrima sticks amungst his things…)

In loving memory of Flint "Busta" Beck.

-B

Dreams of Memory

(This is a dream I had)

I'm never really sure how these dreams begin. I remember being at a T-intersection in my Town. I was riding a strange bicycle, it was a tandem bike bright yellow in color with chrome metal handle bars ending in white handles. Attached to the rear of the bike was a pair of "Radio Flyer" style wagons, like a column of ducks following the bicycle.

I was peddling hard but accomplishing little. Behind me in the second seat was my then wife, not pedaling but apparently bitching me out for this and that.  In the wagons that followed was my toddler son sucking on a lollipop. In the last wagon was my younger sister with my Grandmother "Cha-Cha" in her blue sport coat sitting with an air of supremecy. In her hands appeared to be a swagger stick of polished black with a chrome head but the stick itself seemed long enough to be a cane rather than a decorative stick.

There I was the only person powering this strange vehicle while being scolded by my wife. Finally what she had said something of a nature to offend me enough for me to stop our little train and dismount. I began to argue back and there we were fighting heatedly like couples do. Cha-cha and my kid sister remained in their seats, staring straight ahead.

My son did not follow their lead. He got off the wagon unnoticed by my wife or me and began exploring the immediate area by the wagon. I took notice of my son walking into the street when I looked over my wifes shoulder. The street was empty as he climbed down the curb to the on-coming lane. I looked at the traffic light to see it was getting ready to change to green.

I yelled for my son to stop as I pushed past my wife to get to him. As this happened time slowed to a bare trickle, ticking by frame after frame. As I passed my wife she looked angered and bewildered and she even appeared to be trying to hit me. Ignoring her I sped as fast as time would let me to rescue my only son.

Time was kinder to my son, as he had already tottered into the center of the near lane with cars entering the street a hundred yards away. The cars gleaming in the beautiful sunlight as a ominous reminder that a race was on, winking at me, taunting me to run as fast as slow can.

I could hear my wifes anger turning to terror as she realized what was happening. Rooted in place she began screaming for me to save our son. I passed Cha-cha and she just stared at me with discontent, sitting with both hands on the end of the cane in front of her, unmoving.

The cars were 10 meters away as I began turning to enter the street. Double trafic fender to fender, there would be no escaping this. I decided that if my son was going to die then were were going to die together. I screamed his name and he stopped turned and when he realized who I was he looked up to smile at me. The cars bore down on us as I reached down scooped him up in my arms and lengthend my stride taking both of us to the white stripes separating the flow of traffic, if we were going to die, it would be together.

The flow of sweet relief filled me when he hit my arms. As I stopped feet together time returned to normal. I stood between the charging cars waiting for our impending demise with my child in my arms and I realized that my son was hugging me. The cars sped by us in a seeming unending stream as I returned the hug with a parents relief...

-B

(When my wife left me she told me that she wasn't faulting me for it but she said I had strange dreams. I think that was her faulting me. I have had strange dream for long as I can remember, sometimes its better than here and sometimes its worse. Every now and again I have my dream interpeted. I never had this one interpeted. My Auntie Mary was pretty dang good at it.

I mainly wrote this one out because there is lots of crazy stuff going on with my son and most of the stuff I do or go through is for my beloved son.)