Devin is rockin' 9th grade this year and he's doing it all on-line. From home, many things are possible but Choir is the one I find most interesting. Our 14 (soon to be 15) year old son is following in my footsteps...for the most part.
He's shied away from sports so far and I really haven't pushed him. Running has become a part of his everyday routine, a trait my current self doesn't emulate. Physical Ed has definitely caught his attention.
Perhaps the most interesting class he has in his rookie year of Highschool is English. Going way....way back here. His teacher is my old roommate from about 25 years ago.
When My Family Left & I Stayed
I hear in my comments from time to time that people can't believe my stories. Well hold on to your britches cause here comes some crazy shit.
When I first moved into the La Playa apartments, it was because my whole family was moving to Thousand Oaks. I wanted nothing of it cause all my friends lived in Carlsbad.
So I put my feelers out for a room to rent. Knowing I'd need to have a roommate, a friend put in a good word for me with a girl who needed just that. His name is Josh.
Ever heard of a band called Daughtry? Josh went on from his old band (Sandjacket) to play guitar in Daughtry...and still does as far as I know.
He bought that old piece of crap shack on the coast we used to hang out at. Damn place gave me a bad case of staff. It ain't no shack anymore.
Bill Floyd (who we'd call Beer Froid) sold it to him and he fixed it up fancy! Now it's one of the nicest houses on the coast highway!
So I Moved Into La Playa & Man Did We Party
I worked as a rigger back then, moving heavy machinery by day. By night (or sooner whenever possible), friends would be over hitting the beer.
We had Dini's By The Sea a few blocks to the North, looking right over the beautiful Pacific Ocean. But closer yet was the Sandbar! One whole half of a block away! We played pool there with Farrah Faucet and met Marcus Allen's father.
Reggae night was strong and other nights would go off as well, depending on the band. When we got tired or funds ran thin, we'd head back to the pad to party some more.
Phil Hadn't Moved In Yet
It didn't take more than a few months before the girl I was roommates with needed to move on. My part in that was reckless because it wasn't the best scene for a girl like her. Another bit of amends I owe due to wreckage from my past.
I also want to be clear so as not to get Phil in trouble, he never partied like we did. Nope. Phil was a friend from my childhood who became a State Champion wrestler and star running back.
He was a better fit for a roommate that could at least tolerate my drunk ass. And he spent most of his time with his girlfriend.
He Also Offered Us A Home To Rent
Before we moved back to my hometown, we ran into Phil at a funeral. Afterwards we got to talking because his mom was moving out of their townhome. They wanted a family to move in and we would have made the background checks unnecessary.
How friggen wired would that have been if we had moved into Phil's place. The only reason we didn't was because we wanted more room. Their place was smaller and would have been to tight for us. That was the whole reason we wanted to move.
In all honesty, I'm very happy that Phil is teaching English to our oldest son Devin. Incidentally, a good friend and old Bass player in Sandjacket is teaching Devin guitar. I'll have to put him on 3Spesk one of these days.
I'm sure something else will happen soon enough to bring back more crazy old memories. Until then, believe me if you can. I swear on my grandparents graves that every bit of it is true.
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