Flashback Friday # 150

Out On The Town

Welcome to all who have ventured onto this blogspot for this momentous occasion. Yes, It really is Flashback Friday number one hundred and fifty. Who would have thought that I would have stuck around for so long? I'm glad you've stuck with me.

Today, We are going to visit Sir Gattabout at Fort Bragg, NC. We had recently purchase a brand new Ford Pinto (what is it about us & bad cars?) and were raring to get some miles on it. We talked to Gattabout to see if he would be at base if we came to visit him. He said he would be there so we packed & got ready to make the 9 1/2 hour trip.

Dad had talked to his best friend, Chuck, about his youngest daughter making the trip with us. Carly was five. Gattabout was one of her favorites & she hadn't seen him for a very long time. Dad told her that we were going "for a drive". She had no idea that we were heading to North Carolina.

When we got there, Dad went into the HQ to find out where he could find Gattabout. Guess who was there. When Dad came out with Gattabout, Carly went nuts. We then took Gattabout out for supper. At supper, he asked where we were staying. Mom told him the name of the nearby motel. Gattabout made the suggestion that since one of his roommates was home on leave, I could stay at the barracks with him tonight. Mom & Dad agreed to it.

Once we dropped Mom, Dad & Carly off at the hotel, Gattabout got on the phone & called some of his friends. He told them that his little brother was in and he was going to show him a good time. Five of us squeezed into my parents new car and headed to Hay Street.

Hay Street was called "Little New York" on the base. If you wanted it, it could be found there. Disclaimer- I am not glorifying what happened that night. I'm simply telling it like it was. Looking back, I'm rather ashamed of what happened that night. You may want to stop reading now.

Oh, I see. You're either a glutton for punishment or like to see people get hung out to dry. Since you're still reading, don't say I didn't warn you. It gets ugly fast.

The first place we stopped was a bar. Topless bar. Gattabout bought me two beers there. Nobody asked to see any ID. Nobody asked for it at the next bar either. Or the next bar. Or the next. At one of these bars, a couple of Asian girls came over to our table. They told me I was cute & ran their fingers through my hair. They wanted me to buy them a Coke. Gattabout told them to scram. I found out later that they were prostitutes and "Buy me a Coke?" was code for solicitation.

After several bars, we went through a drive-thru and picked up a case of beer. Gattabout then drove to the drive-in movie. There was a double feature playing. We had missed the first movie on the billing. It was "Deep Throat". The other movie was an X-rated cowboy movie. After the movie (and after I had consumed somewhere between 12-15 beers), Gattabout headed for his barracks.

There were three guys who shared a room each guy had a corner with the bathroom in the other corner. I laid down on his buddy's bed, not feeling so well. That night, I had a dream that there was a train barreling full speed through my body. This train had hooks that extended from its sides that tore my vital organs out. Come morning, I was really feeling bad.

We were to meet Mom & Dad at the Restaurant next door to the hotel for breakfast. On the drive there, I asked Gattabout if he could stop at a gas station and get me some Alka-Seltzers. He told me I would be fine. I asked again, same reply. I then told him we HAD to stop for some Alka-Seltzer. When he pulled into the gas station parking lot, I open the door & exclaimed "Too late for Alka-Seltzer" and began purging the previous nights revelry. It felt like I puked for hours. We got a bottle of Pepto Bismol for me to nurse on.

When we got to the restaurant, Gattabout made up a story about going to the drive-in and getting chilled (it was fairly cool for NC at that time of the year). He told Mom that I must have gotten sick from the chilly, damp air. She bought it. Dad told me, much later, that he knew what was going on. While everyone else was eating French toast, waffles, eggs & bacon, I drank some hot tea & nursed the bottle of Pepto Bismol. I swore that day that I would never again drink alcoholic beverages, and I can say honestly, after nearly 33 years later, I have kept that promise to myself.