It's a Magic Kind of Medicine that No Doctor Could Prescribe

Or A Night in the Life of Ryan Beaumont (on Tobacco Road)

To follow up on a theme I hit on last week, I was e-mailing a fellow blogger last Friday which helped me recall a wonderful memory from my early adulthood just after college.  This recollection was also augmented by my FFF entries from the past two weeks where I have hit on the “coming of age” and “lost opportunity” themes.  This is a memory of a truly fun night that came oh so deliciously close to being one of the greatest nights of my life.  But as Spock once said “after a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting.  It is not logical, but it is often true.”  So here is a story from my history.”  And it also celebrates March Madness which of course ends tonight in April!

So our setting is in late March, 1992 on a Saturday night at a frat party in Raleigh, NC.  The backdrop is the NCAA East Regional Championship game between Christian Laettner’s Dreaded Dukies and the University of Kentucky.

now me talking (I would say picture me as River Phoenix but that might be a stretch for him now)…..

I had just finished college the previous August and had started a job in North Carolina a few weeks prior to this particular weekend (yes, I spent a semester finding myself but that would be a different story).  Earlier in the week a friend of mine from college said the frat was going to take a road trip down to Raleigh for the weekend and they were going to “party” with the State and Carolina chapters.  I couldn’t say no to that!

I was a little worried because I really wanted to watch the Duke/Kentucky game that night but I figured there would be a TV around somewhere (yes I am a geek).  So I make the drive over to Raleigh.  Btw, if you have ever been to Raleigh how many damn Jones roads can you have?  I got completely lost between Jones Sausage, Jones Hope, and Buck Jones

 Road, geez!

Anyway I finally found the party right at halftime of the game.  So I got to watch what is probably the best basketball game ever played.  And even though the wrong team won what a beautiful game it was.  It was two great teams playing at the periphery of their abilities and ending on that great full court pass by Grant Hill to Laettner for the buzzer beating shot.  The radio announcer aptly said after the shot “and that’s why they are #1.”

Oh well, luckily the story doesn’t end there!

A few minutes after the game one of my friends, Evan, introduced me to Whitney.  Well, maybe I actually horned in a bit and he introduced me just before I was going to introduce myself.  The truth is Whitney was pretty damn gorgeous and I could tell after about 10 minutes Evan wasn’t going to be able to close the deal so I thought, in the name of team spirit, I should start getting warmed up in the bullpen, lest I was needed later in the game J

Several of us eventually decided to go out to a club the locals knew of.  I quickly navigated/negotiated a ride in the car with Whitney.  As I sat next to her in the car we started to connect on the way to our destination.  Whitney said she was from “Winston” and I worked near so we had some things in common initially.  Btw anyone from Winston-Salem will always just say they are from Winston or from Salem or maybe even Bethabara or any other community in the area but I have never heard anyone say they are from Winston-Salem.

I think Whitney was into preppy guys and that particular night I was dressed a little preppie.  She was a UNC student and if you have been to Chapel Hill you would know that the required uniform of guys is khaki pants and Carolina blue Oxford cloth shirts.  I didn’t exactly have that on but I was wearing a solid white canvass type Ralph Lauren polo jacket and she said “that’s a nice jacket.”  When we got to the club (the name was something like “Lake (something) Boat Club….” but I can’t quite remember) we were going to have to wait in line a bit to get in and it was fairly chilly.  I offered my jacket to Whitney and she gladly accepted and said “you’re sweet” in her sugary Carolina accent!  Yep, I think its time to call Ryan in from the bullpen that curve aught to be "droppin' off the table" tonight in this cool Carolina air!!!

Once inside the club our group settled into an area against a waist high wall (this was an indoor/outdoor club).  Whitney and I sat next to each other on top of the wall, she with my jacket on and me sitting just close enough to be touching shoulders as the music was loud.  The band that was playing was some type of Jimmy Buffet tribute-like band.  Whitney and I did get up a few times to dance.  She was about average height with beautiful light brunette shoulder length hair.  She reminded me of Meredith Salinger.

As an aside ladies, let me tell you there are very few things that are more of a turn on to a guy than a beautiful woman wearing an article of our clothing!

At one point Whitney excused herself and I went to the bar to get the next round of drinks.  After securing drinks we intersected near an area that led to what I guess you could call a smoking area that was a little out of the way.  Luckily nobody was really using the smoking area so there was privacy.  We talked a little and at one point I saw her shiver.  I leaned into her and she leaned back.  In a few moments my right arm was around her waist and just inside the unzipped coat.  We were now chest to chest.  She set her drink down and I set down mine and then lowered my head gently to kiss her.  There was a series of light kisses interchanged with some small talk about something I certainly don’t remember now.  But the kisses grew longer and talk shorter and eventually we were “making out” against the outdoor wall of the club.  She had a tight wool sweater on very similar to the one above and I could feel her chest breathing against mine.  I moved my hand up and gently fondled the outside of her breasts.  She felt so good, tasted so good, and smelled so good – this was unbelievable. 

Unfortunately this was a bar and eventually people meandered into this area.  So I stopped for then, feeling assured that this would continue later……

Sorry, I’m at 2 pages in my Word document and that is my limit lest I be considered a hypocrite.  I will return to this soon! J

Thanks to Mrs H for being my muse on this!

Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei