Chasing After The Wind 3:6.2

…

Johnny startled me from my gaze sometime later, and when he did the cold wind gusts howled into me and shook the balance from my stance so that I fell back from off the ledge of the stone wall onto the gravel path of the turnout.

“Are you ready to ride?” He asked me. As I turned to him to respond his face looked peaceful, like a Tibetan monks, softened, yet with weathered lines that cut deeply into his skin only without the rigidity of tension, like a sherpa to the Rocky Mountains of the Great Americana. He looked at me too and I sensed something loosening also in his heart. Brothers from day one and on and adventure yet again.
“Burn, man, burn…” I said aloud and a smirk curled into the corner of his lips as we turned to walk back to the motorcycles. We were both kicking the gravel beneath our shoes. Neither of us said anything else. We just stood there against our motorcycles. We pulled our helmets back over our heads. Mine the black one. His the white one. Then our gloves over our hands. Then we swung our legs over the saddle and hunkered in while twisting the ignition dial to the right and firing the motorcycles up. Looking over he nodded to me and I back to him and we throttled out of the turnout onto the road. I pulled onto the road first and I left Johnny a few bike lengths behind me as I descended into the cloud cover that was like a dense grey fog once it enveloped us. The precipitation forming in the clouds beaded on the fairing of my motorcycle. My headlight searching the white lines as I weaved my way down along side Sundance Mountain where Johnny sped passed me. The taillights of his bike gave off a red haloed glow in the grey fog. Before long we caught up to the taillights of a slow moving vehicle. Johnny rode right in behind the car while swerving in the lane trying to decide whether or not to make a pass into the oncoming lane amidst the dense fog. I caught a clear line of sight from the distance where I rode and could see there weren’t any cars in the oncoming lane so I dropped gears and ripped around the car in front of us. Johnny took my cue and did the same and he throttled ahead of me too before sliding back into our lane right against my front fender. Like that we rode down passed Tombstone Ridge as the road began to switch back upon itself while descending into the tree line where the forest canopy rose again into the fog of the cloud cover. After a third switchback curve we rode out from beneath the clouds into the dense forest that lined the road. Grey crags still jutted out at every curve in the road until a half hours ride later the road nestled in alongside of Fall River and we settled into an amble with it down passed Castle Mountain and into the outskirts of Estes Park. Log cabins dotted the roadside at the peripheries of my eyesight. Then the first mountain resort. Eventually I followed Johnny's taillights up to a stop light at an intersection next to the old Stanley Hotel where all the corporate chain restaurants and grocery stores now lined the street. I pulled around Johnny and steered us onto Elkhorn Avenue and following that into the quaint part of town we pulled into a parking spot in front of the Wheel Bar where we hopped off to have a beer and to find a place to stay for the night. Inside we sidled up to the rail and Johnny ordered us a couple lagers while I searched for a room.

“I don’t even know how it’s possible anymore, Henry; but these roads really do keep getting better.” Johnny mused as I was putting my phone away having found a comparatively inexpensive room a few blocks away back from the direction we’d come.
“That’s no lie, but I have a feeling we’ll have to pay for it tomorrow as we ride back into the high plains.”
“You think?” He said back as he cased the joint a bit. All the booths against the far wall were filled with travelers and all but a couple of the bar stools as well. “Is this where that Bo guy is playing tonight?”
“Lemme check again… I don’t think so. I think it’s just up the block though.” I said while I opened up my phone to look.
“Did you find a room?”
“I did. It’s right off the intersection where we turned.”
“Fair deal?”
“Its got two queen beds and a shower.”
“Sounds like a night of accordion bed springs ahead.” Johnny said as we both chuckled.
“Okay so Bo is playing at Lonigans Saloon which is just up the way from here.”
“Can we walk it from the hotel?” He asked.
“I’d think so…it couldn’t be more than a mile or so hike.”
“I wouldn’t mind going back and showering up and getting our bags unpacked and whatnot before hand.”

And thats what we did. A half hour later we were pulling into the grossly paved lot to the hotel that stood elevated from the streets curb by thirty feet against the hillside so that we looked back down on the intersection once we’d parked our bikes out front of the makeshift lobby to the old bi-level walkup motel.  Inside the lobby it was like I’d walked into a Japanese fengshui garden with ornamental figures and trickling fountains. A kind Asian woman walked to the front counter and got us checked in and I thanked her before walking out and pointing to the far end of the motels annex where our room was. We pulled the bikes out front of the door to our room and as we unpacked a younger girl walked out front of the room that was next to ours and lit up a joint and was taking pull when another younger fella came out also to join her.

“What’s good?” He asked me as he sat down cross-legged on the concrete patio next to her.
“Everything. How bout y’all?” I said back through my waning ecstasy.
“Just moseying, brother.”
“Yeah where too?”
“We’re headed back for Cali, man.” The younger girl said.
“Ah right on. Was just there a week or two ago. Maybe it’s been three? Hard to keep it all in a line at this point.” I said back to her.
“Why’s that, man?” She followed up as she took the joint back from the young man.
“Just been out on the bike longer than I can keep straight is all. Where ya’ll headed from?”
“Made it to Boulder. Now just headed home.” He said .
“Where about?” I asked wondering if maybe I’d passed through.
“Crescent City. Summer break from college. Scrounging our way by selling a little weed. Interested?” He said as he offered me the joint.
“Well y’all probably picked the wrong state for that, know what I mean?” I said wanting to laugh but I liked the pair and didn’t want to seem off-putting.
“Yeah man, but we got hash too. And some other stuff also.”
“Well, I’ve been keeping my stash fairly stocked so I’ll pass but if ya’ll need some gas money I’d be happy to support the cause.”
“For real, man? We’d be grateful.” She said to me. Her eyes were blue and stoned. So were the other young mans for that matter. And I liked them straightaway regardless and I was feeling good from the ride Johnny and I had just made so I felt compelled to pay it forward.
“Just promise once you get home you’ll smoke a joint for me on the beach. That’s all.” I said back to her as I reached into my wallet. I searched for a 20$ bill, but I didn’t have one. Not even a 50$ bill. But seeing a creased Benjamin I pulled it from my wallet and walked over and handed it to her. Seeing it was a 100$ dollar bill she looked up to me from her chair and then handing it down to the young man as a sincere look of gratitude came over her face she said to me,
“Are you serious, man?” And I just smiled back at her as I shrugged my shoulders,
“It’s yours. But the promise is binding. Gotta smoke one for me when you get there. And it’s gotta be on the beach too.” I assured her and as I said it she hopped up and gave me a hug. She smelled of incense and sage which caused me to wonder if she might have any smudge with her so as she let go from hugging me I asked her,
“Wouldn’t happen to have any more sage on y’all would ya?” And she smiled big at me.
“Absolutely we do! I’ll run get you a bundle. Give me one second.” And off she disappeared into the hotel room and re-emerging a minute later she had a small white bundle of sage in her hand and giving it to me said,
“And this from us to you.” And I thanked them both.
“And hey, bro, if you aren’t doing anything tonight then a smoke is on us as well. We’re so grateful man for real.”
“No worries, y’all. My names Henry by the way.  My pal, Johnny, and I are gonna walk into town later to see a musician I saw playing up in Wyoming some time ago. So if you’re up when we get back I will take you up on that.”
“Oh right on…I’m David…”
“…and I’m his twin, Georgia…so where’s this guy playing?” She asked.
“… at a spot called Lonigans.”
“Lonigans, man, right on, Henry. you guys have fun and remember the nightcap is on us.”
“I’ll remember.” I said with a smile as I nodded my head to each of them and walked into the room to shower up.

Johnny was getting out of the shower when I walked in.
“What were you doing out there this time?”
“Ah the kids were trying to sell me some weed.”
“They know it’s Colorado, right?”
“Yeah…man,…but whattya gonna do I guess.”
“You bought some didn’t you?”
“Nah bro,… but I did get smudge off of them.” I said as I chuckled.
“What the hell is smudge?” He asked me. So I tossed him the small tied up bundle of white twigs as I explained,
“Its sage. Has the ability to ward away bad energy and so forth. It’s ceremonial.”
“So you’re gonna burn it in here? Fuck man we’re gonna smell like hippies.”
“We’ll be fine, Johnny. But don’t worry I won’t burn it unless it feels necessary.” I said as I walked passed him and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

When I walked back out to get a clean shirt from my bag after I’d rinsed off; Johnny sat there leaned against the headboard on his bed. He was still sniffing the bundle of the sage. Only now it had a blackened tip to it and the room smelled like the incense being burned and seeing him like that I started to laugh.
“Did you get a little superstitious there, pal?” I asked him while continuing to chuckle.
“Well what choice did I have? I’m keeping the bad juju as far away from me as possible.” He answered me.
“Johnny Bravo, Medicine Man.” I quipped back in jest.
“Johnny Denton, Jedi Knight, you mean.” He replied as he made the lightsaber sound while waving the bundle of smudge around in the air before him, and I fell to the floor in all out laughter at the sight of it.
“Dude do you even think before you speak?” I asked him as I was wiping the tears from my eyes.
“It ain’t my first rodeo, Henry.” He exclaimed as if it were a matter of fact. I just laughed harder.
“Man, the shit that comes out of your head truly astonishes me sometimes.”
“Bro, you know I have ADD! Sometimes I’m onto my next train of thought by the time my mouth catches up to me.” And now he was laughing also but still trying to keep the whole thing going he finally said, “It’s a condition!” And almost deadpan too.
“It’s a condition,…oh it’s a fucking condition alright.” I said climbing my way off the floor and onto the bed.  After the laughter died down he sat there for another minute before he asked me,
“Hey man, was the hippie hot?” And once more all I could do was chuckle as I shook my head.
“I didn’t even notice, honestly. She was with a guy anyways. But you are wearing her favorite cologne so who knows, maybe you’ve got a shot.” I said as we shared another laugh.
“I mean not that I would try anything. I just wondered is all.”
“Sure, man.”

We rested in the room into the evening. I even took a twenty minute nap. After the sun had set and the sparkler dims shimmered over head we decided we’d walk back down to Elkhorn Avenue to get a bite to eat and hear Bo play part of his set. Across the street from the motel there was a paved walking trail that led down the hillside into town where it crossed a creek that was rushing by over the rock bed. Everything was twinkling soft white and colored light. We followed it along the backside of a row of business off of Elkhorn Avenue. Some of the restaurants had small patios where patrons dined in the comfortably cool evening. We stayed on the path until it came to an end at Riverside Drive and there we made our way back onto Elkhorn and a few blocks later we found ourselves standing beneath a green awning that read Lonigans Irish Pub and Eatery, and we moseyed in. I could hear the sound of Bo’s voice as it rose over the guitar sound he was putting out and the fiddle that his traveling bandmate was playing. There was a decent crowd in the back listening to him play as Johnny and I took a seat at the bar to get a bite to eat first. We ordered a couple of beers the bartender recommended and taking a look at the menu Johnny ordered the elk burger and I the buffalo burger and we sipped from our beers while we waited. Johnny was bobbing his head to the rhythm of the song they were playing as he strummed along a bit on his air guitar. It was an old country tune and I was filling in the sound of Johnny’s air guitar with my lackluster attempt to sing along also.
“You know this song of his, Henry?” Johnny asked me matter of factly. And I laughed a bit as I answered him.
“It’s, Pancho and Lefty, Johnny.” But once it was clear that further explanation was necessary I continued, “Its a Townes Van Zandt original made famous by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.”
“Oh damn, I gotcha…so it’s a Willie Nelson song?”
“Close enough.”
“Well your boy sounds great! I’m digging him.”
“This song is one of my favorites too.” I replied as I nodded that I agreed with his opinion while I reached for my pint of ale. The duo played a couple more songs and our burgers came and we dug into them and they were tasty too and as we ordered a second round of beers, which Johnny sidecar’d with a round of whiskey. There was a pause between songs where Bo asked anyone if they had any requests and somewhere from out in the crowd someone yelled,

“Can you play that Copperhead Road song!?” And I burst out laughing and was secretly hoping somehow it was the same old cowboy from Laramie who’d made the request a month earlier. As I was laughing Johnny turned back towards me and asked,

“What’s so funny?”
“I’m laughing because I know from the first time I saw him play that he absolutely loathes playing that song and yet he told me at damn near every single gig of his someone asks to hear it played.” And Johnny now understanding the inside joke laughed right along with me before he tried to add insult to injury and hollered out from his seat at the bar,

“Yeah let’s hear Copperhead Road!!! I love that song!!!” And we both burst out laughing and poor Bo, not being able to see us from where we sat said,

“Well alright then, for both the gentleman in the front and for the one in the back also here’s Copperhead Road.” And he begrudgingly set into playing it and Johnny and I were still smiling as we finished off our burgers. Johnny ordered a couple more shots of whiskey and slid one of them in front of me as he said,

“C'mon man, to the days ride.”  I couldn’t argue with the logic so I took the shot glass and we lifted them into the air, then tapped them onto the wooden rail, and we slugged them back. I was feeling good now after the second beer and the whiskey shots. And soon thereafter, once we’d finished eating and were wanting to move to the back side of the bar where Bo was set up in a corner out of view, he again asked between songs if there were any requests; and as Johnny and I sauntered into view, I howled out,

“How about a little Drunk Poets Dream?!!?” And ‘Gawt Damn’ if Bo didn’t turn towards the two of us with his eyes big and wide and a straightening of his spine as he howled right on back our way,

“The Lone Wolf!” And he gave us both a shining grin before he murmured something to his band mate and then he said into the mic, “this one here is an old Hayes Carll classic for my pal…its called Drunk Poets Dream!!” And fuck, man, Johnny and I were soaring again. The rest of the patrons sitting there at the high tops and stools lined up against the wall were glaring over at us wondering who in the hell just walked in trying to take over the joint, though that wasn’t the case, and by the time Bo started singing they’d all gotten hooked into the song themselves and it was as cool a scene as there ever was.

“I got a woman she’s wild as Rome! She likes to lay naked and be gazed upon!….” and on he sung as Johnny and I pulled up a couple stools near a small wooden parquet floor where one could dance if they were so inclined even though no one had as of yet, we both howled out along with him for much of the song none the less. And once the song was over Bo stood there still grinning and went into the retelling of how he and I had met by chance up in Laramie and everyone seemed to sort of let loose a bit as I now saw smiles drawn all over the darkened neon lit room as he set into one of his originals.  An old-timer took his lady by the hand and led her out onto the dance floor and gave her the nights first twirl. Man, I just loved it. Johnny did too. He was grinning ear to ear. I think he had settled into the full on realization that this ride was shaping up to be everything he had hoped for and that was cool to see.

In between sets Bo came over and I introduced him to Johnny and we were all carrying on as other patrons stopped over to let Bo know they were enjoying the music and he was wearing that million dollar grin an artist has when they are doing what they love and its being appreciated.

“So where ya been since I last saw ya, Henry?” He asked me and before I could even answer Johnny answered for me,
“Everywhere! Our boy has seen it all I’m beginning to think!” And we all laughed as Johnny now getting a little slanted in his eyes also grinned at the two of us.
“Well not quite like Johnny says it but I put in some miles. About like yourself I imagine.”
“ I stick to Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana for much of the summer but the miles add up, you ain’t lying!” He said and Johnny was digging his every word and I think maybe wondering to himself if it was too late for him to shift gears and become a songwriting highwayman himself.
“Man, I play a bit too, you know. Not quite as good as you but I’ve got a song or two.” He said and Bo picked right up on it as he said to Johnny,
“Well hell man why not sit in on a song! Take the rhythm and I’ll play the lead.” And Johnny’s eyes boomed wide and he didn’t let the opportunity pass neither as he responded,
“What classics can you play?”
“What were you thinking?”
“Some Petty, maybe…or…I don’t know…maybe..”
“How about Learning to Fly?…you know it?”
“Sure might!” He said back emphatically as we all snickered.
“Learning to Fly it is then….and don’t worry,… Henry is gonna help out on the vocals just to make it fair.” And now it was I who stood up tall in my seat as I shook my head adamantly from side to side saying no way in hell, but Bo and Johnny both convinced me by some form of what I assumed must’ve been rehearsed coercion so that by the time they were done pleading and putting it on me I had agreed I would take a seat on a stool next to them and at least mumble along. So long as it was nearer the end of the last set so hopefully most everyone had gone home or was properly drunk, mind you. Bo excused himself and, stepping back into the lighting directed onto the small stage, was about to begin his second set when in from the front bar walked Georgia and David; and seeing me they walked over with a couple beers in their hands. Filling out a trio was a girl similarly dressed and looking to be the same age came over along with them. As they drew close enough to speak to I could smell the mixture of incense and cannabis on their clothing and it made me smile.

“Sorry we used a couple bucks on these beers, Henry.” David stated.
“Don’t be. It’s great to see y’all out.” And then I introduced them to Johnny also and he leaned in too and they introduced themselves to him in return and their friend did as well and her name was Jessica,
“But call me Jessie!”
“Right on will do, Jessie. Hey, so Henry was telling me about y’all headed back for California while we were on the walk over here. I’ve got a tab open at the bar. Don’t pay for another drink. I’m serious!” And he was too, and he said it with a smile on his face.
“You guys are too sweet.” Georgia said to us as the other two nodded in agreement.
“We were your age once too.” Johnny said trying to assure them it was no burden.
“Would you guys do a round of shots with us?” David asked.
“As long as its whiskey, yes we will. Five of them! But run quick so y’all don’t miss us play with Bo over there.” Johnny said as he nodded in the direction of the stage. The three of them beelined for the rail and once they’d gone Johnny leaned in to me,
“How much did you give them for the sage, Henry?”
“Nothing. The sage was a gift.” I said back to him. And he sat there ruminating for a second over why they’d said what they had when they walked up.
“Then…”
“…I gave em a few bucks for gas money…” and he sat right up and burst the imaginary cloud bubble hanging over his head as he replied,
“…ahhh yawp… makes sense now!” And that was that. And he and I turned our focus back onto the music as now more and more people in the crowd loosened up and the place was getting loud. The three youngin’s came back with a tray filled with five shots and five pints and setting it down on an empty stool next to us they handed out each to each and we all clanked the shot glasses together and tossed back the whiskey’s. Then Georgia lifted her pint glass and getting us to all follow along, she said,
“To the strangers the road makes friends of!”  And damned if Johnny and my sentimental selves didn’t get all bent up by the cute way she said it too as we all said cheers and took a gulp from the beer also. David took Jessie’s hand and they went out to dance. Johnny asked if Georgia would like to but she passed so he went out onto the dance floor solo and had no trouble shimmy shaking his way into the center of a triangle of girls who were out there dancing also.
“Henry, I really wanted to thank you for your kindness earlier. It’s been on my mind ever since you handed me that money.”
“Honestly, Georgia, it was my pleasure. I’ve had many would be strangers help me out along the way. And many many others who weren’t strangers, too.” I said with a slight chuckle hoping to set her at ease.
“Well it won’t be forgotten. Not ever,..I promise you that.”
“Are you guys gonna be okay getting home? I mean you have a line back if you needed, yeah?”
“Of course we do. Davie, my best friend Jessie, and I just wanted to do something big with our summer. We didn’t have all that much money but Jessie and I have this friend who works in the Humboldt industry and he hooked us up with some cannabis to barter with on the road. So we scrounged what we could together and we hit the road.”
“Wait y’all are carrying some of that Humboldt county cannabis with ya?!” I asked her.
“We sure are…does that change your mind?”
“I think it does.” I replied as we shared a laugh.
“Well you’ve more than paid for it if so.”
“Okay fine how about a few joints?”
“Happily.”
“Are you guys having fun?”
“We’ve had quite an adventure getting here but we realized the money we had left wouldn’t last once we got to Colorado and our wares became harder to barter.” She said with a demure chuckle.
“I’ve been there.”
“You have?”
“Yep, when I was your age, or thereabout, I went on a solo adventure, myself..”
“…David and I recently celebrated our 22nd birthday while passing through Utah on the way here…”
“… I was 22 when I took off cross country also. On another motorcycle I had at the time. I slept in 10$ a night campgrounds and lived off of two 25cent packages of crackers a day. The type that I could buy at the gas stations along the way. And I had a gallon jug I carried with me to fill up with water wherever I could. Most of the money I had I used for gasoline and beer. It was the best time of my life. Changed me forever.”
“How long ago was that?” She asked me.
“It was the summer of 2001. I didn’t even have a cell phone. Only a Rand McNally map,.. and I’m guessing you probably don’t even know what that is.., But I didn’t need anything more than that then because I still had all the faith in the world. I wasn’t worried a bit.”
“Still?” She asked me.
“Hold onto it for as long as you can, Georgia.”
“You don’t seem like a man without faith, Henry.”
“I’m not… but I am a man who has had to struggle with It.”
“Well if you ask me, I think that is true faith, Henry; the kind you struggle with. It’s hard earned that way.”
“It certainly humbles you. I’ll give you that.”
“The Universe does that to us seekers.” She said as I turned to look at her. I was completely blown away by her old soul. And she saw the way I seemed dismayed by what she’d said and that she’d even said it in the first place.
“I’m sure there are plenty of cool things you could say to me also. But like I was saying, it was your kind act that spoke to me clearest. So don’t go thinking you need to try and speak when it’ll just make you less cool.”
“That’s good advice.” I said as I laughed with her. “Should we go dance with the rest of them, then?”
“Nah, I’m good right here.” She answered me and I was content to let it be. Instead we just watched the scene playing out in front of us. I sensed it was her preference also. Her friends were working out some agreement between the two-step they were trying to pick up on from the other couples as their heads swiveled madly from side to side, and some sort of flowing flower-child type motions they had gleaned elsewhere. And Johnny,..hell Johnny couldn’t dance a lick but he didn’t let it bother him one bit as he pin balled between the three girls and giving each of them a twirl beneath his hand as a means to codify his moves, whatever they were, as he bumped into each of them and they all went around. Bo kept looking over my way and then nudging his head at Johnny as we both drew big grins and watched him go.
“So you know the Tom Petty song, Learning To Fly?” I asked Georgia after a time.
“Of course I do! My dad used to make me listen to classic rock all the time with him.”
“Yeah well Bo, up there, and Johnny and I are gonna do our best to fuck it up royally here shortly.” I assured her.  Georgia gasped as she looked at me and laughed.
“YES!!!”
“Yeah I’m not so sure that’ll be your reaction afterwards…”
“You don’t need to self deprecate around me, Henry. I see you.” She said back to me and it made me feel alright.

Finishing up their second set the Fiddler put his instrument down in its case and Bo let the crowd know that he, Johnny and myself were going to, indeed, try and work through the song for everyone and after he’d done so to a tepid round of cheers and forbearing laughter we all took seats on a trio of stools in the dank limelight with a fourth stool reserved for the three thimble shot glasses filled with whiskey that I’d gotten for us just in case it went off the rails like I imagined. And Johnny began to tune the extra guitar or maybe he was even intro-ing with his own crude and broken solo riff before Bo sensing the need to save us all from the get-go began to strum the rhythm on his own guitar and Johnny looking over for the proper finger placements over the strings found the right chords himself and in we went. “Well I started out… down a dirty road…,” Bo sang in a lower octave and with a country twang too so as to make me feel comforted in knowing we were paying homage in our own way and not by mimicry so I joined in along with him but in a softer tone, “I started out….all alone…” and Georgia, Jessie, and David all hooted and hollered for us, and it gave both Johnny and I a bit more confidence so we too played and sung along a bit louder with Bo still leading us through it, his showmanship in full array. And it is no lie to say this but by the time the chorus came half the rest of the bar patrons were singing along too. And it was cool. It was like all we were really missing was the campfire and it might’ve been a similar scene playing out from my teenage years hanging with my buddies around the burning coals and flickering light in the woods of Southern Illinois. And for better or worse we were all dialed in and having a blast of it too, and when the song ended and we all clapped for one another Bo set right in to playing the Cody Jinks version of the Pink Floyd song Wish You Were Here as he, Johnny and I tossed back the last shot of whiskey; and everyone got quieted and leaned into one another just as they’d come, and the five of us sat back off in our little corner too and listened to him end his set properly. Man, the heart was full. Johnny leaned over and nudged his shoulder into mine,

“How do we make it last?” He said just above a whisper. But the room was quiet enough that I could hear him. And I looked over at him and shrugged. I had no idea. I only wished I did at the time.
“Yeah I know, I know…” he said as if he had believed I did know and just wasn’t telling him, “stay open.” And he was right.

After the song ended and most everyone began to shuffle towards home or hotel. We all sat around talking with Bo as we sipped from our last call spirit of choice.

“So where ya headed from here, Bo?” Johnny asked him.
“I’m playing in Steamboat Springs tomorrow night. Was supposed to play down in Denver but it got cancelled so the Fiddler made some calls. So now we have another loop up into the north country before heading south again for the winter.”
“Hey we’re headed towards Steamboat tomorrow too!” Georgia said.
“Well let’s all make our way together then. Rooms are less expensive split 5 ways.” Bo said back to her. And it was settled rather easily between them. Johnny and I looked at each other and I think maybe we were both a little jealous; but we had someplace we wanted to get to as well. So it was.
“Where’s south, Bo?” Johnny asked him.
“Texas is home.” He answered.

We all hung around while they tore down their stands. Johnny kept into both Bo and the Fiddler as he helped them roll up the chords and seeing the Wolf sticker on Bo’s guitar case he hollered over,

“Henry! Look!” And I grinned as I remembered giving him the sticker figuring then that I’d probably never be seeing him again. And I sat there for a moment and tried to run back the lines of which we’d all converged and it was the whole country wide and tall and it was swooping and circling and cutting jagged lines all over the roads to and from and I took satisfaction in that thought because I knew it in my heart and understood it truly, and finally, in my heart of hearts too that everything is possible but for the small self that tries to control what the true self knows to let go of and, man, don’t be that fool like I was if you can help it.

“You and Johnny want to walk back with us?” Georgia asked. David and Jessie were both rather drunk and leaning against one another like two poles of a tee-pee and I nodded that we would as I stood up from my stool and walked over to get Johnny and say good bye to Bo. Georgia followed me over to exchange numbers with Bo so they could meet up in the morning.

“You ready pal?” I asked Johnny. And he stood up and handed a rolled chord to the Fiddler before shaking Bo’s hand and thanking him for the good time.
“Where y’all headed next?” Bo asked us.
“Deadwood.” I said back to him.
“Whoa boy, y’all got a desolate ride ahead of ya.” He responded.
“Figured so. Guess we’ll see what the bikes can do!” I said and Johnnys ears perked. “I’m glad it worked out to cross paths again, pal.”
“Me too, Henry. You’re one of the better friends I’ve met out here. Safe travels, to ya both.” He said as he and I shook hands and said so long. “Georgia, I’ll give you a ring in the morning before I swing by the motel!” And she smiled at him as she too waved her hand in the swoop of farewell.

We all walked back along Elkhorn Avenue in the late night, or early morning hours to be more precise. The sidewalks were emptied of anyone other. Most of the neon lit bar signs that dotted the way had been turned off. Inside a window here and there a barmaid wiped down the wooden rails of the establishment they worked. A bouncer gave us the peace sign as he turned off the neon “Open” sign in front of one of the windows at the end of the quiet street.

“Hey, all, I still got this joint we never smoked.” David said. And so we cut down a narrow walkway between a couple of the businesses and back along the trail where David lit it up and began to pass it around. We all took turns taking a puff and handing it along. The creek tumbled by alongside of us. And it got quiet. Ssshhhssshhh. I turned quick and looked back to the west.

“What are you looking at, Henry?” Georgia asked me as she’d stopped to wait on me. But I couldn’t see it. There was only the gentle slope of the concreted path rising alongside the creek and in the far distance the black void beneath the rocky ridge line that concealed it from my view. But I could hear something rumbling.
“Oh nothing…” I said turning back around. The others had walked on ahead and she, waiting for me to catch up to her, put her arm around mine once I had; and we hurried back to the group.
“Henry! What did Bo mean by desolate?” Johnny asked once she and I caught up to the rest of them.
“No idea….tomorrow will be new roads for me too.”