Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Jungle Jim Day!

You and your friends are 23. You're all drunk as holy shit and you're perched atop the bars of an elementary school Jungle Jim. Your girlfriends are on their way to meet you there.

Occasionally, one of you will hang from one of the bars by your knees. But mostly, you all just sit there draining beercans in silence.

"Dave get a job yet?" one of you asks. Someone says no.

A group of kids walks past holding a wiffle ball bat. The kids are frightened of you. When they find nineteen year olds drinking on a Jungle Jim, they expect to be chased or wedgied. The kids don't know what to expect from 23 year olds drinking on a Jungle Jim. Their pace is hesitant. Their legs are stiff, ready to push them off into a sprint should someone holler.

The kids don't know to expect very little from you. You're drunk on a Jungle Jim tonight because you've never been drunk on a Jungle Jim before. And tomorrow you'll either be drunk at a gun show or drunk in a tent. You're just trying to get some stuff out of the way before you're 24.

Your girlfriends are here.

"Hey!"

"Hey, climb on."

Your girlfriends climb onto the Jungle Jim with you and open beercans. One of them talks about her temp job for a while, then it's quiet again.

Happy Jungle Jim Day!