Saturday, March 31, 2018

Spring Break 1997

Picture it, if you can. March 31st, 1997, heavy snowfall coming down in the early morning hours.

I woke up early that morning because that semester in college, I had an 8 a.m. class three times a week. Though there were no classes that week, I thought it'd be a good idea to not make any changes in my sleep patterns.

I was, to put it mildly, a wreck right then. The toll of working part time and being in college full time was really hurting me. Also, I had really been raked over the coals, as the saying goes, at a staff meeting a few days earlier. I asked for the week off the next day and the director of our agency was able to let me have it.

I was standing in the bathroom shaving when it hit me that what I really needed was to just get away from it all. This was around 6:30 or so in the morning. I finished shaving, then showered and put on clean clothes. I quickly packed a bag and then called the Greyhound station to check departure times for various cities. The agent I spoke to really listened to what I was saying about just wanting to go, and to go now. He suggested something Greyhound had at the time that was called the "Ameripass", which was a seven day pass good for travel on any Greyhound route anywhere in the country.

I went out into the dining room and told my Aunt Jane (I was renting her spare bedroom at the time) what I had in mind. She offered to take care of my cat while I was gone. I gave her $20 for cat food, litter and whatever else might be needed, and $20 more as a small token of gratitude.

I caught the local bus to my bank, took out $500, and used $300 of that to get travelers' checks. It was a short walk from there to the bus station. I was on the bus to New York at noon, because the agent suggested it as the best place from which to get to anywhere else.

While on that bus, I remembered that my co-worker and friend Patty had suggested Myrtle Beach as a possible destination for spring break. I decided to give that a try.

By the time we reached the city, I had about five hours or so to kill before catching the bus to Myrtle Beach. I spent that time walking around Manhattan, having dinner, and buying a few things in a Woolworth store (the last time I ever set foot in one, as it turned out).

The weather was getting really bad by this time, and the Greyhound driver we had from New York to Baltimore handled it really well. I ate again, while at the Baltimore station (the second one, which was newer and is on the edge of town). I slept well most of the rest of the way.

I woke up when the driver announced that we were ahead of schedule, and could stop to eat if we wanted to. A show of hands decided the matter; we stopped to eat.

I do not recommend traveling without having any idea where you're going to stay, but that was the first time I did it, though not the last. Fortunately, I found a small but clean room with an ocean view for a reasonable rate.

What did I do the four days I was there?

I relaxed. I ate at a restaurant Patty had recommended. I sat on the beach and waded out into the warm water of the Atlantic Ocean. I listened to my mix tapes. I listened to local radio stations. I played miniature golf. And, I spent the last three nights with people I met.

What happened was, I was at a club named "Mother Fletchers". This was Tuesday night. I was dancing with the girl who had won the wet t-shirt contest and things were going great, until her boyfriend walked in.

I thanked her for a good time, and sat down alone near the back. About half an hour later, I was drinking white wine when I got the feeling I was being watched. Which turned out to be the case, but in a good way. This kid tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I went to Broome Community College.

I do, I replied. He then introduced himself and said to several other people "See? I told you I've seen him on campus". He then introduced me to everyone else and we hung out the rest of that night until closing time, and the two nights after that as well.

I really hit it off with one of them, a girl named Tracy. So much so that the first day back on campus the next week, she spotted me and came over to talk to me. She invited me to her birthday party that night. I accepted, and though I had no time to get a gift, I did get her a card.  It didn't take long for us to figure out we wanted to be boyfriend and girlfriend.

She cried a lot the night we broke up, and to be honest, so did I. She cried even more the next night, which was when we all had one last huge party to mark the end of the semester. She came very close to getting back together with me but her best friend talked her out of it. After that, over the summer, we were still friends, but never spent time alone. And in the fall, she transferred to a school in another state. I never saw her again.

Twenty-one years have passed since I got on that bus for Myrtle Beach, a town I liked so much I later spent a whole winter there (December 2009 to March 2010).

As always, I thank you for taking the time to read this.








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