Pothead Poltergeists
Don't Stop Me Now
I was afraid that someone would notice if I opened the door, and it might scare my mom inside if the door opened and no one was there to come in so I waited for a nurse to open the door. I followed him inside, slipping past the entree just as it slammed shut. I could not pay attention to what the nurse was doing. He was talking to my mother about something else I suppose. She looked gray in the face. It scared the shit out of me. I never wanted to do that to her.
And there was me lying on the bed and all. Hooked up to tubes of who knows what. It was so depressing. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get out. So when the nurse tapped his way over to the door and opened it, I slipped back through and ran down the hall. I just fucking ran.
I have no idea where I am going, but I’m running. When the turns and twists of the halls finally stopped, I find myself outside. And there was the sun again. It was blinding. I have light colored eyes. They are this sort of grayish blue and they are light so I’m always the first to wish I had a pair of sunglasses. The glare was reflecting off the insanely green grass like the lawns of Edward Sissorhands and off the mirrors on cars that zoomed past along the street. People were walking all around me and they couldn’t see me. It was the strangest feeling all over again.
But then it was incredibly freeing at the same time. No one would talk to me, ask me things or bother me if I didn’t want it. And now was hardly the time. And it occurred to me for a second time that I can do anything that I want. Anything. I can do anything and go anywhere so long as my body is sleeping on the hospital bed in there. I have to get away from this hospital, so I start to walk down the street. It seems that I had always had this day planed out.
There are a million things I can do and a million places I had lined up to go. Let me just think about it a second. The grocery store. I always wished, when I was shopping with my mother, that I could go to the grocery store one day and walk down the isles buying whatever I wanted to buy.
I was pretty far away through. Wait, no I wasn’t. It’s just down this road. I know where I am. So I go on walking down my familiar cracked roads until I reached Safeway. No one bothered me or even looked at me. When I crossed the street, I crossed with another person. I wasn’t sure I wanted to try to walk through the cars yet. I don’t really know if that is possible. If I can pick up a bowl, would a car hit me?
But then, it happened anyway. I forgot that the drivers didn’t know I was crossing, and I was still in the street as the young man I was crossing with reached the other side. A dark silver Honda Odyssey – I know because we have the same car – drove right through me. I felt the wind blow though me. It was cold and I felt the car going through my ghost body, but it didn’t hurt, and I came out the other side unscaved. Just a little shocked.
After deciding to get out of the street before it happened again, I ran into the grocery store. Then I stopped and looked around after following an old woman in through the automatic door. What had I come here for? I could have gotten HoHo’s or honey or some odd things I liked and we never got, but no one can see me. I can’t walk up and go buy them. But I wandered over to the isle where they kept the Hostess cakes and things anyway.
No one was in the row with me, there may have been a camera, but I decided to try something. I took a pack of two HoHo’s off the stand and tucked them under my sweatshirt. Then I turned around to where I could see my reflection in the refrigerator full of milk. No floating HoHo’s. No one could see it so long as I was hiding it. That was pretty awesome. Also, I was freak’n starving so I walked out of the store with the cakes and an Arizona Iced Green Tea. “How can I be starving when I’m a ghost?” you ask. Well, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me.
Then I made my way home, it was not so far away. I opened the front door, which was odd because it was unlocked. I guess my family forgot in the hurry. The pang of guilt hit me again. They were probably very worried. But again, this is not my fault. So I turned on the tube and ate my snack. I Love Lucy was on. We only have about ten channels – none of that Direct TV or satellite – and this is the good cable channel we get free. Channel 36. It stretches from San Jose to Oakland. We are just below San Jose in a stupid little town called Los Gatos so we get the channel. They were advertising that again in-between shows. Across the screen it read “Action 36 Cable 6 – San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland.” That’s the areas it shows in.
I always liked the Oakland part. The fact that it reaches that far so that my favorite people in the whole world might be looking at the same TV once in awhile. Well, my favorite people actually live in Berkeley, but it’s close enough. It’s a silly thought but it always brought me back to thinking about them. They are my second family you see. Maybe that sounds a little creepy and it is, but it’s true. Problem is I have never met them. It’s Green Day if you are wondering. The band. And don’t worry, they are just as much your family as they are mine.
If there was one person in the world who I would want to meet, it would be Billie Joe Armstrong. He saves my life everyday. He is the only person out there who has ever truly and completely told me how he feels. And I find that I feel the same way about the same things. I love him for that. Even though it’s just through his music. And as far as I am concerned, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt are the best fucking drummer and bassist of all time. They are a huge part of Billie’s writing as well. I know they feel the way he does and I love them for that.
Billie’s up there with Hendrix on guitar as far as I am concerned. They have all got such a sense for rhythm and music. And when they are all put together, it’s like heaven on Earth. If walls could talk, they would tell you how I covered my wall with their pictures. It wasn’t on purpose even. I just would get a magazine and say, “what a great photo!” or “I just love there expressions” and it would go on my wall, in me and my sister’s room. Then people would give me a poster or a calendar with them for presents. Not that I would ever complain. I love my wall.
Wait, I can do anything and I can go anywhere. I live just forty-five minutes from Berkeley. I have been to Rudy’s Can’t Fail Café before. I know where Telegraph Ave is and Adeline Street. I have been to all those places before. I can find them again. I don’t know where they are, but I can just go there and wait if I really wanted. What’s stopping me?
And there was me lying on the bed and all. Hooked up to tubes of who knows what. It was so depressing. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get out. So when the nurse tapped his way over to the door and opened it, I slipped back through and ran down the hall. I just fucking ran.
I have no idea where I am going, but I’m running. When the turns and twists of the halls finally stopped, I find myself outside. And there was the sun again. It was blinding. I have light colored eyes. They are this sort of grayish blue and they are light so I’m always the first to wish I had a pair of sunglasses. The glare was reflecting off the insanely green grass like the lawns of Edward Sissorhands and off the mirrors on cars that zoomed past along the street. People were walking all around me and they couldn’t see me. It was the strangest feeling all over again.
But then it was incredibly freeing at the same time. No one would talk to me, ask me things or bother me if I didn’t want it. And now was hardly the time. And it occurred to me for a second time that I can do anything that I want. Anything. I can do anything and go anywhere so long as my body is sleeping on the hospital bed in there. I have to get away from this hospital, so I start to walk down the street. It seems that I had always had this day planed out.
There are a million things I can do and a million places I had lined up to go. Let me just think about it a second. The grocery store. I always wished, when I was shopping with my mother, that I could go to the grocery store one day and walk down the isles buying whatever I wanted to buy.
I was pretty far away through. Wait, no I wasn’t. It’s just down this road. I know where I am. So I go on walking down my familiar cracked roads until I reached Safeway. No one bothered me or even looked at me. When I crossed the street, I crossed with another person. I wasn’t sure I wanted to try to walk through the cars yet. I don’t really know if that is possible. If I can pick up a bowl, would a car hit me?
But then, it happened anyway. I forgot that the drivers didn’t know I was crossing, and I was still in the street as the young man I was crossing with reached the other side. A dark silver Honda Odyssey – I know because we have the same car – drove right through me. I felt the wind blow though me. It was cold and I felt the car going through my ghost body, but it didn’t hurt, and I came out the other side unscaved. Just a little shocked.
After deciding to get out of the street before it happened again, I ran into the grocery store. Then I stopped and looked around after following an old woman in through the automatic door. What had I come here for? I could have gotten HoHo’s or honey or some odd things I liked and we never got, but no one can see me. I can’t walk up and go buy them. But I wandered over to the isle where they kept the Hostess cakes and things anyway.
No one was in the row with me, there may have been a camera, but I decided to try something. I took a pack of two HoHo’s off the stand and tucked them under my sweatshirt. Then I turned around to where I could see my reflection in the refrigerator full of milk. No floating HoHo’s. No one could see it so long as I was hiding it. That was pretty awesome. Also, I was freak’n starving so I walked out of the store with the cakes and an Arizona Iced Green Tea. “How can I be starving when I’m a ghost?” you ask. Well, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me.
Then I made my way home, it was not so far away. I opened the front door, which was odd because it was unlocked. I guess my family forgot in the hurry. The pang of guilt hit me again. They were probably very worried. But again, this is not my fault. So I turned on the tube and ate my snack. I Love Lucy was on. We only have about ten channels – none of that Direct TV or satellite – and this is the good cable channel we get free. Channel 36. It stretches from San Jose to Oakland. We are just below San Jose in a stupid little town called Los Gatos so we get the channel. They were advertising that again in-between shows. Across the screen it read “Action 36 Cable 6 – San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland.” That’s the areas it shows in.
I always liked the Oakland part. The fact that it reaches that far so that my favorite people in the whole world might be looking at the same TV once in awhile. Well, my favorite people actually live in Berkeley, but it’s close enough. It’s a silly thought but it always brought me back to thinking about them. They are my second family you see. Maybe that sounds a little creepy and it is, but it’s true. Problem is I have never met them. It’s Green Day if you are wondering. The band. And don’t worry, they are just as much your family as they are mine.
If there was one person in the world who I would want to meet, it would be Billie Joe Armstrong. He saves my life everyday. He is the only person out there who has ever truly and completely told me how he feels. And I find that I feel the same way about the same things. I love him for that. Even though it’s just through his music. And as far as I am concerned, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt are the best fucking drummer and bassist of all time. They are a huge part of Billie’s writing as well. I know they feel the way he does and I love them for that.
Billie’s up there with Hendrix on guitar as far as I am concerned. They have all got such a sense for rhythm and music. And when they are all put together, it’s like heaven on Earth. If walls could talk, they would tell you how I covered my wall with their pictures. It wasn’t on purpose even. I just would get a magazine and say, “what a great photo!” or “I just love there expressions” and it would go on my wall, in me and my sister’s room. Then people would give me a poster or a calendar with them for presents. Not that I would ever complain. I love my wall.
Wait, I can do anything and I can go anywhere. I live just forty-five minutes from Berkeley. I have been to Rudy’s Can’t Fail Café before. I know where Telegraph Ave is and Adeline Street. I have been to all those places before. I can find them again. I don’t know where they are, but I can just go there and wait if I really wanted. What’s stopping me?