Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the past.
My lifeline was basically my memory as I lay in the hospital bed many times. In the beginning I was pretty much parallized. I just had my memories to keep me going.
I’m gonna call this blog: Topless Women, Alcohol, and what it means to be on a Team.
Back in the 70’s, my school friend and I went to Europe on a bike trip. It was part of the American Youth Hostel group. My friend and I with four other guys and two girls biked throughout Europe, going from youth hostel to youth hostel. We pretty much biked in France, Belgium and The Netherlands.
In the beginning I said Topless Women. I say this because we started our trip in France, during the summer. My friend and I went to the beach. There were a bunch of topless women and all he did was stare. I said, “Dude, that’s really uncool, and kinda creepy.” He replied, “If they’re gonna go topless, I’m gonna stare.” I guess that’s what you do when you’re 16.
Now Alcohol. That was the year we discovered alcohol. It seemed our main mission was to find alcohol at the end of each bike ride. The grand finale to our trip was a tour of the Heinekin Beer factory in Amsterdam. I remember waking up on a boat bench in the canal. Not the high point in my life. I discovered what a hangover was. I’m lucky I didn’t fall in the damn canal.
It was cool, biking with all these people. We learned to look after each other. It was the first time I experienced what it’s like to be on a team. I guess you could say it was a rite of passage for a young person. A great thing to do for a 16 year old kid. But don’t send them to the Heinekin Beer factory.
Oh yeah, we had a group leader. The guy was cool, but he had a nervous tick. I’ve always wondered if it was from us.
Love, B. Nice