a memory of jody
I remember the time Patricia, Tim, Jovan, Jody and I all drove to McClure's Beach in Point Reyes and ate mushrooms. I was slightly worried about Jody taking psychedelics, due to his tendency toward mania and schizoid delusions often brought on by using certain drugs, even though I had taken mushrooms with him on at least two other occasions of which I will write about another time. We had a blanket and all these instruments and looked like a crazy band of gypsies. Everyone started freaking out about the heat and not having enough water and getting dehydrated and Jody sat in a pile of fire ants. I think I was the only one who wasn't worried about anything and I just wanted to stay at the beach. But everyone was freaking out and wanted to find another place to sit with more shade. So we lugged all of our stuff back up the 1/4 mile trail. We started on this other trail and there was a spot we wanted to get to, we could see it, it was right in front of us, but for the life of us we just could not figure out how to get there via the path due to all the tall grass. We all found it amusing. Eventually some other people came from that direction and we were able to find our way. Once we got there, I think most of us agreed it actually wasn't a very good spot. There was shade, and a nice big tree. But there wasn't really anywhere to sit, and tourists kept walking by every minute so there wasn't enough privacy. We sat by the garbage cans and bathrooms for awhile which I found to be very unpleasant. Eventually the five of us just ended up sitting all together crammed in Patricia's tiny car in the crowded parking lot. We mused about finding another, better spot, but the only people with licenses that knew how to drive didn't feel capable or comfortable driving under the influence. Patricia started getting very paranoid that we all must look very strange to everyone else there and that they must know we were on drugs and that they might call the cops. She started getting the cliche panic that she would never come down and be tripping forever. She started feeling very nauseated and like she was going to leave her body and she didn't want to. I tried to calm her down through reason, telling her to drink some water and just relax and let go, and leave her body if she needed to, we were all right there to watch over her. Then she started asking me if there was anything she could take to stop the trip, like milk or something, or if we could go to the hospital and they could give her something to stop the trip. I was so confused. Other than the fact that we were sitting in a car in a parking lot and she was freaking out, the mushrooms were making me feel rather pleasant as usual. And she had done this so many times, why was she afraid now, again after so many times? I told her if we went to the hospital they would give her thorazine to stop the trip. But that I didn't think it was a good idea for a bunch of weirdo kids to go to the hospital all on drugs because then the police might get involved. And no one else wanted to go to the hospital. And how the hell would we get there anyway? We were basically out in the middle of nowhere and she clearly couldn't drive. I didn't know what to say or do. I just wanted her to feel okay. And for all of us to have a fun day as we had planned.
So my rationalizations didn't work as usual. But Jody knew what to do, even if he didn't know what he was doing. He was able to fix everything just by being his sweet, silly, crazy, creative genius self. We had brought a voice changer with us. This plastic faux silver metallic coated toy that Ptaricia and Tim had got from their job at Goodwill. It had three settings: alien, robot, and spaceman. I can't remember which one we liked best. I think it was robot. I know it wasn't alien. It may have been spaceman. All of us, but primarily Tim and Jody started rapping with the voice changer. It was one of the funniest times in my life. I laughed so much my jaw hurt for a couple of days. I can't explain how funny their rapping was, and I don't think it was just because of the mushrooms. I really wish I had a video camera or a tape recorder to capture that day. And I don't think I've ever had so much fun sitting in a car in a parking lot. I was enjoying all of the intricate patterns and faces in the cliffs and rock formations down on the shore. And it was a beautiful day. Logically, we should have been outside playing on the beach or hiking the trail looking at plants and such. But with Jody there, and the voicechanger, the parking lot and the cramped, stuffy car turned into a magical place. The only line I remember that they kept repeating over and over again and working into their raps was "I got a goat in my throat." Eventually all of this calmed Patricia down and she started laughing and having fun. And as we started to come down and the sun started to set we drove back home. I remember her driving so casually and with her left leg nonchalantly up on the rolled down window seal.
So my rationalizations didn't work as usual. But Jody knew what to do, even if he didn't know what he was doing. He was able to fix everything just by being his sweet, silly, crazy, creative genius self. We had brought a voice changer with us. This plastic faux silver metallic coated toy that Ptaricia and Tim had got from their job at Goodwill. It had three settings: alien, robot, and spaceman. I can't remember which one we liked best. I think it was robot. I know it wasn't alien. It may have been spaceman. All of us, but primarily Tim and Jody started rapping with the voice changer. It was one of the funniest times in my life. I laughed so much my jaw hurt for a couple of days. I can't explain how funny their rapping was, and I don't think it was just because of the mushrooms. I really wish I had a video camera or a tape recorder to capture that day. And I don't think I've ever had so much fun sitting in a car in a parking lot. I was enjoying all of the intricate patterns and faces in the cliffs and rock formations down on the shore. And it was a beautiful day. Logically, we should have been outside playing on the beach or hiking the trail looking at plants and such. But with Jody there, and the voicechanger, the parking lot and the cramped, stuffy car turned into a magical place. The only line I remember that they kept repeating over and over again and working into their raps was "I got a goat in my throat." Eventually all of this calmed Patricia down and she started laughing and having fun. And as we started to come down and the sun started to set we drove back home. I remember her driving so casually and with her left leg nonchalantly up on the rolled down window seal.