High school, nighttime, when you needed a private place to smoke a bowl, church parking lots fit the ticket. Except for holidays, churches were always empty and their parking lots were wide enough that you could see anybody pulling in from a distance.
The funny this is that out of all my sessions smoking in church parking lots a cop's never pulled in on us. A police car pulling in is the scariest thing that can happen in this situation. You're the only humans around and you have no answer for the cop if they ask "what are you doing here?"
I was the more paranoid one. When I'd ask Sam what we would do if that ever happened he shrugged and just said "cops are never going to come here." But what if they do? I asked. A shrug. His argument was that he always parked away from the light so that to any cop passing by we looked like an empty car parked overnight.
Although churches were devoid of people at these hours, there would usually be an empty car or two parked there. Sometimes four or five... depending on the size of the church. Sammy and I always wondered why these cars were parked there.
"I mean it's not like a bar where you get too drunk and you need a ride back."
"So what do you think it is?" I asked.
"I think maybe affairs. People getting it on."
I made a face.
"I meant they park here, and then go someplace else."
These were high school conversations. Now that I'm a little older I think of how naive some of them were. Like, if people at church were having affairs, why would they advertise it to their entire congregation by parking in this lot overnight?
Not even out of college and I can figure these things out that used to puzzle me back then. The old me would probably think I'm so cool for being so sharp, for having so much experience. But now that I'm 21 none of these things matter. All that matters is that graduation is approaching. Faster than I'd like it to. If things could just only slow down. That's why I came back home this week.
"Don't you need to be at class?" my mom asked.
"Not this week. All the lecture slides are online and there's no in-class assignments or exams."
She frowned, but said, "okay."
It was strange to spend an ordinary week back home. Thinking about walking around campus to classes and meeting up with friends in their dilapidated student housing or at the bars. It all felt so alien to me compared to my hometown. Even thinking about the smells made me feel like my world at college didn't actually exist.
But those were the smallest details of what made this week back home strange. If it were just these details, then this last week would've been nothing to write home about. The interesting thing is that because it's been such an eventful week, I have really nobody I can tell it to. Funny how life works huh?
The funny this is that out of all my sessions smoking in church parking lots a cop's never pulled in on us. A police car pulling in is the scariest thing that can happen in this situation. You're the only humans around and you have no answer for the cop if they ask "what are you doing here?"
I was the more paranoid one. When I'd ask Sam what we would do if that ever happened he shrugged and just said "cops are never going to come here." But what if they do? I asked. A shrug. His argument was that he always parked away from the light so that to any cop passing by we looked like an empty car parked overnight.
Although churches were devoid of people at these hours, there would usually be an empty car or two parked there. Sometimes four or five... depending on the size of the church. Sammy and I always wondered why these cars were parked there.
"I mean it's not like a bar where you get too drunk and you need a ride back."
"So what do you think it is?" I asked.
"I think maybe affairs. People getting it on."
I made a face.
"I meant they park here, and then go someplace else."
These were high school conversations. Now that I'm a little older I think of how naive some of them were. Like, if people at church were having affairs, why would they advertise it to their entire congregation by parking in this lot overnight?
Not even out of college and I can figure these things out that used to puzzle me back then. The old me would probably think I'm so cool for being so sharp, for having so much experience. But now that I'm 21 none of these things matter. All that matters is that graduation is approaching. Faster than I'd like it to. If things could just only slow down. That's why I came back home this week.
"Don't you need to be at class?" my mom asked.
"Not this week. All the lecture slides are online and there's no in-class assignments or exams."
She frowned, but said, "okay."
It was strange to spend an ordinary week back home. Thinking about walking around campus to classes and meeting up with friends in their dilapidated student housing or at the bars. It all felt so alien to me compared to my hometown. Even thinking about the smells made me feel like my world at college didn't actually exist.
But those were the smallest details of what made this week back home strange. If it were just these details, then this last week would've been nothing to write home about. The interesting thing is that because it's been such an eventful week, I have really nobody I can tell it to. Funny how life works huh?
