“Boomers Gone Wild,” by Barbara Lee

Aug 20th, 2014 | By | Category: Poetry

recently, at dinner with friends someone said that we should all drop acid together
just for a single night give up being in control and live purely in the moment
looking at each other, we said, we’re old
no one had tripped since the dawn of the seventies
would our fragile brains and baby boomer bodies survive?
yes, we said, yes, we’ll do it, life is short, we’ll do it
a defector said to count her out
why risk a bum trip, she’d be the guide
do you mean shaman? asked one of the men
hell no, she said, I’ll hold the women’s hair back if they need to puke and drive if anyone has to go to the emergency room which is pretty much guaranteed to happen and that’s about it for being your guide
someone said we needed a vision quest type of guide
no thanks, I said, in college most of us women only went along with the whole Carlos Castaneda thing if it involved a guy we liked because otherwise it wasn’t worth having sex with some weird stranger and no ride home
we all asked if anyone had a connection for buying psychedelics
and won’t it look unusual for old people to show up in an alley?
or wherever the dealer does business?
could the dealer meet us somewhere like Costco?
preferably before dark?
a husband threw in a monkey wrench
we can’t trust uncertified acid, it has to come from someplace like John Hopkins
should I call there to ask for information and imply that I’m in research or academia?
why not, if you want to, the answer came back
but say ‘Johns’ not ‘John’ or you’ll sound like an idiot
one of the guys said we could trip at his house because it had three bathrooms
but don’t bring cells, iPads, or other electronic devices
his wife snorted
I asked, can I bring my dog who just had surgery and needed a lot of attention
okay, he said
should everyone bring whatever music they feel like, or better to make a play list?
and what about food, or is that a waste of time because people might be barfing?
and what to wear, is it likely that we’ll run around outside in the dark?
would it be a good idea to bring a jacket or will we be naked?
it was getting late so we all said good bye
and we’d call each other right away to get everything set up
and as far as I know it hasn’t been spoken of since

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Defenestration-Barbara LeeBarbara Lee is a Eugene, Oregon, freelance writer.

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