In the fall of 1981 I met Dave while doing props for a community youth theatre show. A few of us went over to his house for lunch on a break between rehearsals and while I was chewing away on a sandwich, Dave concocted a 2-second blood pack of ketchup and a ziplock bag, behind an open fridge door. He tried to throw at me as a joke and it didn’t work so he resorted to exploding it across his chest. Dave was obsessed with horror movies, you see. Not sure what happened, but when the prank failed miserably, I thought his cunning was a thing to be reckoned with.
Dave was one of two friends I did acid with for the first time. And was the reason I will never be 100% welcome back into his house by his mother. She’s convinced I shoved the tab into Dave’s pure and vestal mouth, when it was Dave who upped the ante with pot and a few drinks at his sister’s house while we waited for the drug to kick in. And kick in it did. When the acid refused to recede from our reality, Dave called his Dad to come get him before he “died”. What ensued was a comedy of sorts, seen through the fog of teenage drama, heightened by LSD: Police were going to be called; one friend’s career in the RCMP was going to be ruined; my mom would find out and I would cease to exist with one glare.
Things sorted themselves out when Dave’s older sister stepped in and told his mom that time will bring Dave down (he had tread a groove in his bedroom carpet walking off the acid) and that everyone should just calm down.
As you’ve probably guessed, Dave was the fearless one in our circle of friends. He would try anything if it meant getting a reaction from anyone.
And fearless he is. He has a wife and two kids and a house in the Beaches and is now sporting a huge CSI/Grisham-style beard because “it pisses everyone off”. Glad we were able to reconnect!
4 thoughts on “Reconnecting”
HAHAHAHAHAHA!! That was a funny day. I recall sitting in Dave’s sister’s apartment, and then trying to explain to your brother that Jimmy Page understood me better than anyone else in the world.
I remember vaguely registering his amused exasperation with us all, and feeling sorry for him….
Thanks for reminding me of that, Ted.
Acid would be such a fun drug if it came with an off switch. First hour-and-a-half=wheee! Hour 6=is this shit ever gonna end?
I remember being a afraid to come out of my room for nearly 48 hours one time as I was on the worst trip of my life. I had done acid quite a few times when I was younger but this particular one lasted for ever and freaked the life out of me. Your story just reminded me of it. I am glad you were able to re connect with your buddy π
Do any of his children have extra limbs from all that acid?? π