I cannot believe I found them in that crowd last night. I get off of work at like 11:30 last night, and take the alleyways, down to Ben and Jerry's where they are waiting in a rather massive assembly of people. All gathered for one simple reason-- to get really fucked up and watch a ball rise.
The Carytown Countdown to New Years last year was two blocks, and they ran out of alcohol. This year, it was the entirety of Carytown, and I've heard estimates ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 . . . I have never seen so much mass action in Richmond. Never have there been so many cabs.
Getting off of work, Sobelle's crew waits outside in a huge ford, the back down, loaded with alcohol and mixers. The driver and ex-marine, Rob or something, is a bartender and serves us all drinks. I down two before saying goodbye. I walk down the alleyway behind where I work down to Ben and Jerry's. I can't imagine taking the streets, as I am actually forced to weave and dodge in the ALLEY WAY.
I meet up with Lenora and Olivia, and we stand around, claustrophobic, for twenty or so minutes, waiting for a ball to rise that I wouldn't even see. Other than the cliche moments and all around drunken energy on the air, it was kind of lame. But that was just the beginning. At some point Olivia gets on my shoulders to see the crowd and says she can't see the end of it. I want to see this for myself, so later, I climb on top of a van and stand up, surveying the crowd. It does seem endless.
We go to Olivia's to get some more drink in us, meeting random happy drunks on the way. Everyone is enjoying the freedom of a drunk-in-public free pass. At Olivia's, many drinks are spilled and eventually I am high and drunk on her back deck listening to firecrackers and raving drunks in the streets. Pow, pow, bang, "WOOOOOO!" I guess that crime is high right now. Everyone is out partying, driving drunk. Gunshots may be mistaken for firecrackers. And like I said, "Drunk in Public" just doesn't apply. The stars burn through the cold, clear air. I take a drag and am convinced-- this is the single best holiday in the world.
Inside, I talk to this guy, Eric, about whether the year 2010 will be called two-thousand-ten or simply twenty-ten. We take a random survey of party guests and it's official, twenty-ten sounds better. This guy, Eric, he just says, "Maybe when it's 2012 I'll say 'twenty-twelve,' because it's an alliteration. By the way, isn't it awesome being in the beard club?"
Yes, yes it is.
And then as we were gearing up(see: making more drinks) to go to another party, we get a call from Basshead.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Hunter?"
"Hey man, what's up"
"Hi, yeah, I'm actually talking to the cops right now." Then he says louder so the cops can hear him, "And they're good cops, they're really doing their job and helping me out. Yeah, I really need somewhere to go tonight man, I'm locked out and have a large gash on my forehead from a champagne bottle and they're saying I need to go to the hospital but I'm not going."
"Whoa, what happened dude, are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah, I just really need somewhere to go and stay in for the night."
"So you don't want to lift your spirits and go to a dance party?"
At this point I haven't seen the "gash" on his head. If I could see it while asking that last question, I would feel mighty stupid.
When I do see it, he is on Olivia's porch with this long boarder Regi and Kevin, who is a waiter where I work. Regi goes up and Kevin explains all the things that can go wrong. He lists them off-- nausea, throwing up, sleeping, etc. Basically anything that seems wrong, is wrong and I should take him to the hospital. This is a problem because all of us are drunk beyond the point of even conceiving cars. I put my hand on Kevin's shoulder and say, "You have to stay."
He retracts a little, saying he just witnessed it and doesn't know Basshead at all. He leaves.
Inside I am talking to Basshead and Olivia comes up and starts bashing him. She does this throughout the night. To some extent it is merited, but I do think she takes it a little far in bashing him(ha ha) a little hard.
He shows Olivia and she just grimaces. I get a better look now that we're inside, in the light. It looks like something out of a zombie movie. Basshead(zombie) got brained by Basshead(notzombie?). I'm no doctor, but it was obvious he was going to have a horrible scar without stitches. Throughout the night he refuses admission to an ER. Olivia made it sound like we were trying to drop him off and not have him be our problem-- I mean he did clog her toilet with copious amounts of blood and toilet paper. I was just trying to get him some help.
I try my best to convince him to seek help, but he is set on seeing his girlfriend before anything else. I'm going to get permission from him before I include the story behind the whole thing. I think it's best just to leave it at the champagne injury. But anyway, so he leaves to find her, but not before we make him PROMISE to call us. And not before Regi hands him a book on Buddhism and Candide. Regi is cool in my book at this point, already.
Once Basshead left, we all partook in doughnuts. They were really dry, and Regi and I ended up choking and spewing pieces everywhere.
Man, so much shit happened I can't even keep writing. Except to say that Regi and I meet Basshead at my apartment and help him in and get him set up to sleep. It was fun riding a bike drunk. Regi rode his longboard, which is fun as shit by the way, I think I might get one.
I was actually really worried, and now I know what physical self-destruction does to other people, and I vow never to do it again. It was terrifying. I have not seen that much blood in awhile, not since the incident with my arm. The thing I about the blood was not how much there was, but Basshead's reaction to it: "I do not have HIV or AIDS, I promise," which he states many times throughout the night.
Lenora, Regi, Olivia, if I left anything out let me know.
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