It seemed like a great idea at the time.
School on acid. It was a first for you.
High spirited authority it would be fun.
Just before First period. All six of you.
Friend’s brother had a friend who had a friend.
Guaranteed life changing. Came all the way from the Haight, straight to your mind.
You were cool with that.
Swig of Vita-pakt Orange Juice and the bell rings.
Sitting in Home Room. Everybody looks the same.
Dull as dishwater. Nothing.
Second Period – Math.
Square roots and Algebra.
Equations and calculus.
Time crawling. So much for high spirits and authorities.
More nothing.
Third Period – Geography.
Curtains drawn. Lights out. Projector on.
The Vanishing Prairie.
First thing: The projector is really-really loud.
And then the movie starts. The countdown is bright flashes and trails and then. . . a blinding flash.
And the screen explodes in color.
All that green – millions of green. How could Green look like that?
And the magic paint brush.
You forget the noisy projector – the room exhales – the walls sigh.
The Prairie Dogs. Little intelligent beings. They stand up. They stare at you.
You don’t understand a word they’re saying, but they’re talking to you.
You are feeling at one with Nature. It’s amazing.
Your desk starts to float.
Next thing you know a loud bell is sending shock waves all over your body – like the headache from hell.
Your Geography teacher stands in front of you, perplexed. Asks if you’re okay.
Seems the movie ended after a half hour and you’ve been staring at the wall ever since.
You pull yourself together and pick up your books. They weigh a ton. You had no idea.
You slowly exit class and find yourself submerged in a sea of really loud people who you don’t know.
Strange people – walking in different directions. Going someplace. Trolls and gnomes.
Lunch – couldn’t imagine it in a million years.
Your feet – they’re huge – they move like concrete.
Your friends – wandering behind the cafeteria. Peaking and staring at their hands as they move them slowly in circles.
Bright idea – ditch school and go to the park.
Yes!
Friend has a van – you pile in. School is some distant planet.
Park is quiet. Sky bluer than you ever imagined.
Those trees again.
Who are you? Friend burning incense. You’ve fallen in love with her – you just realized it.
Light a cigarette – smoke curling up and vanishing. What do you say? Eyes lock like they never left.
Coming down – afternoon heading into golden – little specks of dust.
Night creeping up.
You all pile back in the van and head home.
KPPC on the dashboard radio.
You say “wow”a lot. You all stare out the window at passing cars.
You feel like Dalmatians in search of the Great Hydrant.
You can’t wait to do it again.
And while you’re waiting – an hour’s worth of Don Hall at KPPC from February 1968.
