Where the Buffalo Roam

On Mon, 12 Jan 1998, Ben Musser :) wrote:

A note to the reader: Well, it's been a long time since I have done one of these long mass mailing things. Some of you don't like these, other are just glad to hear from me, but all the same, I want all of you to know what I wonderful past week I have had. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the story. Oh yeah, this is really long, so, make sure you have time to read it.

Prologue: From the day after Christmas to new years eve I had to work every day. I really had no area to complain because I was taking a week off for this big long trip through Texas and Louisiana. On New Year's Eve night, I thought that I might have had a fighting chance to get out of there before midnight. Low behold, the kitchen did not even close until 11pm. So, I got off around 1:30 in the morning. I went over to my friend Rodney's apartment, to see my friends that threw a little celebration. Well, when I got there, Rodney was fall down intoxicated, Eddie's eyes were bloodshot from all the smoke, the girl that I'm dating and one of her best friends were sitting in the car (I assume waiting for me) and the five other people were involved in a drinking game. Well, I went in, got hugs from Erin Adams and a surprisingly sober Tara (who I also got a quick new year's kiss. Theryn and Leslie, the girl and her friend, Eddie, and I decided to go over to another friends party, which was smoke free, and chill for a while. When that died down, Theryn and Leslie decided to head back to Topeka. I walked them to their car. I questioned why Theryn had seemed so contemplative that night. After two months, she finally was able to let herself be called my girlfriend. But, all in all, it is just a word, for she is really cool and didn't bat an eye when Eddie and I went on a road trip.

Book 1: Denton, TX, Jan. 2-3


Chapter 1: A Clean Sweep, Jan. 2nd
Eddie had spent the night that night, and we hit the road, after one of my dad's great breakfasts, around 9am. There is nothing to do in my car but listen to the radio, especially when all you see out the window are amber waves of grain. So, we had KLZR (being the only station that broadcasted far enough) pumping out my factory stereo. Once we passed Wichita, our music had faded with the grain. Nothing but bad country music. Well, in Oklahoma, we tried again to find something, but Phil Collins was on every decent channel. And, because it was our only option, we stuck with it. But I had my mind on something else. There is nothing in Oklahoma, so, therefore, there is nothing to block the wind. With El Nino's forces brewing in the west, the winds swept though Oklahoma like a bat out of hell. My car is small and fragile, and no power steering. But, white knuckled at 10 and 2, we made it through. Our first stop of the trip was to see our dear friend of three years, Leah. The thing is, Eddie and I had never physically met this Redhead Atheist Goddess. So, after getting turned around in Denton and asking "Apu" for directions we found this white stucco house with a neon address on the front. Her house was the perfect little art studio type of house, but the whole three-people-and-a-dog kinda took away from that effect. After hugs, we sat around, talked, and got used to the physical presence of dear friends that we had never met. It was dinner time and we wanted to go someplace good. Leah suggested this Italian place and our stomachs perked up. This was an authentic Italian place, complete with the olive-skinned waiter that was going out and clubbing later that night. Well, we ate our wonderful meal, then went and saw Tomorrow Never Dies (which is okay), and eventually made it over to a park near her house. We played on the swings and monkey bars for a little bit, then sat down at the top of a slide to have a little chat. We discussed a lot of things, about each other's school, love life, social life, and various other things that only friends would talk about. It was nice to know that even if we had only communicated through a computer, when it gets down to real life, it is still just as comfortable and fulfilling. We went back, I beat them at monopoly and we said our goodnights.

Chapter 2: A Friendly Rain, Jan. 3rd
Please keep in mind that Leah, though she is in (a special) college, she is still only 15. I arose from my mattress on the floor, and got ready for the day. As I was walking around, I see Leah on the phone. There is nothing more precious to me that comfort between people, and to feel at home. There Leah was, in her t-shirt and umbros. She looked up at me with a smile. Right then I knew that she was a true friend. Eventually Eddie wakes up and we decided to take a field trip through Denton. We drive around, see her dorm and the campus. She goes to a program called TAMS, which is a special two-year collegiate program for those who are too smart for high school. By god, she is a regular prodigy. Denton is near a lake and we travel out there and relax on this dock for an hour or so. We have more of our chats, Eddie and I letting the complements fly left and right, for we know when we have a pretty woman in our presence. We carved and mark on the dock, just like and reminiscent vandals do, and were happy that we could spend this time together. When it started to sprinkle we piled back into the car, and headed back into town. Being 15 and with out a license, I let her do a little stick-shift driving in a church parking lot. And, like a prodigy should be, she is smooth as can be. We later find a pool hall and shoot some. Eddie makes sure that the music is good, as he always does. There are these other typical Texas teenagers also there, some of whom Leah knew, and the decided to play some of their "favorites" on the jukebox. After their set is through, I tell Eddie to play the most annoying rock n' roll he can find. It was cool. We eventually go home, play on Leah's beautiful laptop computer, and order a pizza. Somewhere in here, we talk to Leah's dad, and complete with martini in hand, he tells us that he thinks that is really cool that we, complete strangers otherwise, are able to come down to Texas and see his daughter. We then thank him for his hospitality. We decide to stay home that night and rent a movie. Leah had never seen The Crow, so Eddie and I, people who like to have influence, rent it, just to make sure that yet another person has seen it. Well, after that, Eddie gets back on the computer. I decided to step outside and see the nighttime rain. Leah joins me. I start telling her about how wonderful she is, and that it's really cool to finally see her. Then we get into a little deeper conversation. I about my love life, her about her family history. Then I end up just give her this standing hold of a hug, resting my head in the soft pillow of her red hair. We go back in, do that chat thing again and say our goodnights one last time.
Book 2: Katy TX, Jan. 4-5
Chapter 3: At the end of the rainbow, Jan. 4
The rain let up that morning, and it was enough for Eddie and I to get out of Denton with out a problem. We load up the car, give Leah hugs of love and head back out on the freeway. By the time we let out our last sighs, the rain picks up again. We don't think much of it, being it is only a 5 hour drive. Piece of cake, right? Well, it was, until around Houston we the traffic was just as thick as El Nino's downpour. I get to a gas station and make Eddie, the more experienced driver, take over. Well, we reach the other side of Houston and are searching for our exit. The rain is thick, and neither of us our sure where we are. We take the next exit to ask for directions. The place we stop, some random office building, is closed. But there is this Mexican sitting in his car, in the parking lot. He yells "You need help?" and we gratefully ask for directions. He tells us that it is the NEXT exit. So, we thank him and take off towards Katy. We don't get lost in this town, and we make it to Jamie's quite easily. Now, we have met Jamie in person once before. But that was only for 20 minutes in the Houston airport. So, also, like Leah, she is mostly a computer friend. She is also 15, but just a sophomore in high school. Without knocking on the door, this redhead rushes out and says to me, "You must be Ben." She shakes our hands, and leads us inside. We say hi to her brother (17) who we have also met. Then say hi to her father, who we also met, but just briefly. We are sure and thank him right away for letting us come down and stay with his daughter for two nights. Finally, down the stairs comes Jamie. We hug, smile, and meet her other friend, Cara, that came down behind her. We bring our stuff in, and talk with Megan, the redhead, Cara and Jamie. We attack them with our cameras and a barrage of complements. Eventually Cara and Megan leave. Jamie's mom comes home, who we haven't met, and offers to make us dinner. We gratefully except. The three of us go play in the park next door to her house while her mom fixes spaghetti. The spaghetti and meatballs was the best that I have ever had. And I make sure to tell her so. She just smiles. Eddie and I are offered to make ourselves at home, and that we can play on their Sony Playstation if we want. Well, we wanted. Then Jamie gets on the phone, and calls Rodney. Rodney is responsible for us even knowing Jamie. So, we say hi to him. Then she gets on the phone with Cara and tells her to come over. It was almost a little slumber party. The four of us go to Jamie's room, chat, listen to good music, and play Jenga. To boot, Jamie's parents had bought enough Pepsi to make me happy. We find out that Cara has had a broken jaw and can pop it in and out of place, so, we put our hands on her cheeks and feel it pop. Later on, Cara wants to wash her hair, but the only working bathroom is through Jamie's parent's bedroom, and they're asleep. So, I offer to wash it for her in the sink. It was probably the coolest thing that I have ever done. You just seem to get instantly close with someone after you wash their hair. We say our goodnights, and I get the floor again.

Chapter 4: Houston's finest. Jan. 5
I had discovered the night before that I had left my belt with Leah. So, we had planned to go to the Galleria anyway, but now we had a mission. The four of us band together in my small car and go to Houston. We get to the Galleria, search for a parking spot for a while. then step inside. After I find a decent belt, we go play in the cool stores. Eddie and Cara really hit it off, being their own poor half-Mexican siblings that were long lost. Cute, real cute. Jamie and I, whom have always hit it off, just walk around and chat. But we get hungry and Cara wants to go to this restaurant called the Hobbit Hole. This place, though over-priced, had some of the best sandwiches that I have ever had. After a fine meal, Jamie offers to pay for it. I never believed that the way to a man's heart in through his stomach until that. It was a pricey bill, but she did it without complaining. I gave her a big hug right there. I mean, we had the money, but it was a nice gesture. Then we went to a really cool music store called Soundwaves. Jamie made us pick out what CD's we wanted for Christmas, then proceeded to buy them right there. The only thing we could do to make up for it was get her a CD, but we felt it wasn't enough. We get back around dark, after fighting the traffic. We play some more, say our good-byes to Cara, whom is a really sweet girl, and hang out. We get bored and Eddie wants to buy lotto tickets and more film. We run around, joke around, all cool like. By the time we get back, her parents want to take us out to dinner, and it was like 10 o'clock at night. Well, they force us in this huge van, and drive for a long time back in to Houston. Most every place they want to go is closed, so, they pick TGIFriday's, which had quite the crowd. And they say this meal is their treat. I was just in awe of such generosity in this family for near strangers. We thank them repeatedly. On the drive back, I get in my contemplative state, and think about how much this generosity has made me so happy. I can't find the right time to tell this to Jamie anytime when we were still awake, so I write this long note, 'cause, when I need to say something, I have to find a way to say it.
Book 3: Lake Charles, Jan. 6-7
Chapter 5: Return to the Basics, Jan. 6th
Jamie had to get up in the morning and go to school, and said that we could stick around a while at her house and that we didn't have to leave as early as her, but we didn't listen. We pulled ourselves together just as she was leaving. We walked outside, the rain was light, and we gave our hugs. I handed Jamie the note, and told her to read it. After she left, we picked up a few last minute directions from her dad, then headed on over to Lake Charles. I picked up most of the driving for this trip, through the rain and all. We had to stay in a hotel this time around because the girl we were going to see, who is 18 this time (and the person that I have known the longest of everyone on this trip.), lives in a really small house and her grandma probably would frown upon us sleeping over. The roads were slick, and coming in off the interstate, I almost missed my turn. I slammed on the brakes, slid into the turn, and had a good laugh about that. But, that's were I felt that my little car deserved a rest. The poor thing had been the car for everybody we've seen on the trip up to this point. Eddie and I got a hold of Nicole, and we waiting for her to come and visit. While watching the cartoon network, the rain picked up, a lot. Nicole came over and we made plans to go see 12th night, the pre-mardi gras celebration, where a bunch of people put on these crazy but cool outfits and stroll down a red carpet dancing badly to "Cajun" music. On our way to Nicole's, the rain was thick and strong. Driving from the hotel, we saw stalled cars and flooded roads everywhere. MY car would not have been able to make it through that. Hell, even Nicole's nice car had a little bit of trouble. After the car swimming, we got to Nicole's safely, shook the water from our heads, and played on her AOL. Both of the girls that were from Katy happen to have AOL, so, we got to say our thanks once again, I got to talk to Jamie about how wonderful she was, and Eddie did more of the long lost brother thing with Cara. So, we went to the Civic Center to see 12th night. It was fun to see Eddie in a culture that is so not Lawrence. We saw some people that I hadn't seen since my freshman year in high school. It was weird to go back and see the things that I didn't appreciate when I was there. Hell, things like Nicole, whom I took for granted in freshman biology. But to go and do the things they do, when you're a visitor, it makes you feel happy. Not much happened else that night. Everyone in our group was tired, and after a watching Seinfeld in our hotel room, everyone went home.

Chapter 6: Refinishing, Jan. 7th
Nicole had promised a little bit more of an exciting day this time, but, you have to remember that in Lake Charles, there is not much to do. So, we ran errands with Nicole. The highlight of that was playing video games at Toys r' Us. It seems that once guys are in college, they revert back to those things which they did in junior high. Back at Nicole's, we played on AOL some more. This trip was oriented around the computer, because Eddie knew Nicole via computer, the two of us knew Jamie and Leah through the computer. The only time we communicate (for the most part) is the computer. So, it was no surprise that we were on the computer no matter where we went. Nicole's friends came over and we wanted to go out to eat. The five of us piled into Applebee's, and just had a good time. Talking, joking, eating; the stuff that you feel your best at. After dinner, we went on the newly built boardwalk that overlooks the lake. It was a major improvement since I had left there. But, it was cold, even too cold to carve, so we went to plan B. Well, plan B was really the plan to begin with, but it happened a little sooner. Last time Eddie and I were visiting Nicole, we had wanted to watch the new version of Romeo and Juliet, but for some reason was not able to. This time we did. Then we watch Roxy and Michelle's High school Reunion. Two okay movies, but nothing worth writing about. Somewhere in-between movies, Eddie and Nicole left to go get my car so that she wouldn't have to drive back alone. So, we had to say our good-byes there. The drive back to the hotel was quiet.
Book 4: Natchitoches, LA, Jan 8-9
Chapter 7: These are the days of our lives, Jan. 8th
The rain had finally stopped, and the drive up was easy. We arrived at the door of Rhiannon's attic apartment, and knocked. Looking through the window, I saw my goddess crawl out of her bed in the next room, and open the door. Rhiannon is also 18, and has been the most loyal companion to me for the last four years. We know "just about" everything about each other, though I need to scrape the edges every now and then. Well, we did the whole look at pictures and tell gossip thing right away. One of her many friends was over there, sweet girl, can't remember her name though, sleeping on the couch, her sister Bree was there too, and her other roommate, Laura. Well, the plan for the night was to go to the bar. Before, though, Laura made this absolutely kick-ass stir-fry. More people kept coming in, going out. It seemed that her house had a revolving door. Well, we go to Yesterday's, the bar that we went to the only other time that I went and visited her at school. The cool thing was that I was 18 this time and got in without any hassle. The gaggle of the 5 of us were the first people in there. I lost money at video poker, and I played some pool. Then the crowd of people starting coming in, Throughout the entire night, Rhiannon kept introducing me to a lot of people. One of the cooler guys that I met was this guy named David. Eddie, he, and I shot the shit for a while, and all was cool. I held Rhiannon's hand, sung to the good music, and all was right with the world. As the night progresses on, Bree ends up sitting in David's lap, and they start to kiss. If you know Bree, this is no big surprise, but David's ex is sitting right next to them. The whole decency clause is raised, and everybody has to step outside to talk about it. Another friend was this girl Melissa, whom Rhiannon was "friends" with. Rhiannon is physically close to all her friends, even me, but the poor girl (Melissa) seemed to get jealous over everyone else. People had to go and discuss that outside. The bar was just one soap opera. Other side notes, I saw this guy, Seth, whom I had just saw at 12th night, and I saw Dennis, the made who made it possible for me to meet Rhiannon. Small world with intertwining stories. One last call, and eating at the "crack shell" gas station later, we made it back to the apartment. Eddie was having trouble with his asthma, and the three cats he was allergic to didn't help much either. But he got THE Rhiannon back massage, and fell asleep on the couch. I got to sleep with my goddess, and all was well.

Chapter 8: Cream of the Crop
I had always been the first person up this vacation, and this last time was no different. I sat for an hour and a half waiting for people to wake up. Laura passed through first and ran some errands, Bree came in and talked on the phone. I asked for directions to the Burger King near by, but one wrong turn took me to Blimpie's. Eventually Rhiannon woke up and offered to take Eddie and I over to the campus so that we could see what her school was like. It is a fraction of NSU, the scholar's program, and it's like only three buildings, but it is very cute and I would think enjoyable. The rest of the day it was more revolving door of friends. Maybe 15 people passed through. One came over to get her hair dyed, another for a back massage, and other people came over just to come over. I got my back massage, and let me tell you, it is the best thing in the world. And she used lotion this time. This other girl, Carrie, real sweetheart, she massaged my hands. I was in pure bliss. To return the favor, I massaged her feet. Then, when Rhiannon did the hair dying, she had a little left over, and She gave me a streak of mahogany. Carrie suggested that I needed to shave the underbelly of my hair. And you know me around women, never able to say no. She shaved it as smooth as a baby bottom. Eventually almost everyone cleared out. We ordered some Papa John's pizza and watched a few movies. A long Kiss Goodnight, was okay, a little cheesy, though, and Foxfire, premium chick-flick, at least according to Rhiannon. We went to bed semi-early that night, because Rhiannon's mom was coming up that next morning. Bree was away, discussing amends to her adventure the night before, which left Rhiannon and I alone in her room. Never have I been able to feel so comfortable with discussing my feeling with someone before. Everyone knows that I am an open book when it comes to my feelings, but no one can put me at comfort like Rhiannon. I slept like a baby.

Epilogue: We said goodbye, and I didn't cry like a baby this time through. The drive back was hell. Nothing but Phil Collins, but we cheered when the Lazer came back into reception slowly and fuzzily. Work has already missed, and I'm working 4 days this week. Pictures will be ready soon, school is back into swing, and I'm happy to be back. But this was the best trip of my life. Thank you all for reading this. Love. Ben.
And my reply:
Third, I'm not going to write a whole different email chronicling this trip in my eyes. Ben saw it pretty much the way I did. However, I do have some things to add.
1. Ben left his belt, I left my necklace in Denton. A necklace I haven't been without in like 3 or so years. It should arrive by USPS tomorrow. Thanx Leah.:)
2. Mexicans are very helpful.:)
3. I left "my" Nobodys CD in Katy.:( No relevance, just a fact.
4. It was "Romey and Michelle's High School Reunion".:)
5. In Nachitoches, at Yesterdays, the girl Ben called "David's ex-girlfriend"...I was under the impression that she and Bree were trying to hook up and THAT is why it was such a big deal that Bree was kissing David in front of her. And wasn't her name...didn't it have ara at the end?
6. I wasn't "having trouble" with my asthma, I was having an asthma attack. It sucked. I'm still sick. But there's no need for Rhiannon to apologize like she kept doing, it's not her fault!:)
7. Isn't Ben long winded?
8. I think we should all chip in and buy Ben a spell checker.:)(btw: spell check was applied on Monday, August 17, 1998.)
9. Heh heh, funny stuff.
10. There isn't a number 10, I just wanted to have an even number.:)
Eddie
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