I LIVE MY LIFE LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW

   We didn't have a video game setup at home and I was desperate for any kid to let me come over after school and play Super Mario. Usually I’d end up at some kid’s house waiting forever for my turn because they played every day and were too damn good.  Eric Carrol was a scrappy little freckled red-haired dude at Stonewall Jackson Middle School who seemed sort of street smart and wily. I wasn’t good friends with him but somehow ended up going to his house after school one day to play Nintendo.

   We got to the house and he was like “hope my dad isn’t home” which I thought was weird because it was 2:45pm on a Tuesday and my parents were usually at work in the afternoon. We go in and his dad is in the kitchen wearing cut-off jean shorts and no shirt, drinking beer, and blasting “Runnin with the Devil” from the first Van Halen album. Eric is trying to get us into the other room and the dad goes “You little shit! Can’t even say hi to your dad? Who’s this kid?” and Eric says “Leave us alone dad, we’re gonna play Nintendo.” The dad goes “You gotta go through me first!” and they start play-wrestling. I was a little uncomfortable but figured that was just their joking style. Eric jerks his head towards the side room and we go in there, and the dad is literally air-guitaring to “Eruption.” Eric is on level one of Super Mario and I’m biding my time, and the dad comes in with a beer in one hand and a gun in the other. He says “you think you’re real good at this game, don’t you?” and Eric goes “shut up dad, get the hell out of here!” I’m freaked and staring at Eric with big worried eyes and he intones “don’t worry, it’s not loaded, DAD GET OUT OF HERE!” And the dad goes “Oh it’s loaded you little punks, make my day!” and points the gun at the TV.  Eric croaks onscreen (no shit!), probably because he’s distracted and his dad says “AAAAAA you suck!” and leaves the room. Its my turn, but I have never wanted to leave a house more in my life. I play my turn (very short) but leave as soon as the dad goes to the bathroom.

   The next day at school Eric made fun of me for sucking at Mario and I was like “yeah, right, I should just give it up”.  

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   Later that year Eric was the first guy to sell me drugs, except it was actually just 100% oregano for which he basically stole my ten dollars. Me and Travis didn’t know better and smoked it anyway, wondering if we were high.