Category Archives: High School Years

It’s Friday

Posted on March 27, 2017 by RealBlake

Now…there are those times when a plan just comes off perfect. It’s not all the time. It’s not even most of the time. Some of the time, you even fall flat, right into a pile of embarrassment. But, if you don’t ever take risks, then you’ll never have a story to tell where all the planets align and you get to be a hero. This day is one of those days where it all pans out so well that I won’t even try to take all the credit. There were no cell phones, so I couldn’t call anyone inside to find out when a scary scene was coming up. No matter. When you don’t have enough information, you’re going off your gut, and the universe comes alongside and shows you the way. And that makes success smell all the more sweet. I had a plan, so… Continue reading →

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Flux Capacitor Optional

Posted on March 13, 2017 by RealBlake

…at that, I realize that I had probably used one too many napkins about a half a pint in to the project and feel obliged to tell her the story about 1993 and the prettiest girl in Texas to make up for depleting her paper stock. She sympathizes and says, “Ooohhhh…that’s rough” and then jokes that, “all the cocktail napkins in the world aren’t going to make up for that bonehead move”. As she replenishes the dispenser…. Continue reading →

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The Dukes of Smith County (AKA: Dude, I lost my muffins)

Posted on March 6, 2017 by RealBlake

…Josh seconds my motion to stop off and fuel up (I’m craving some blueberry muffins and a Dr. Pepper). As I pop open the package we get back onto the road and checked the route. Here’s the next logistics problem. We failed to go over the plan in advance and with less than a year of driving experience, don’t know the city roads well. Checking the clock, Josh gets nervous because if we don’t deliver all of the papers by the deadline, the customers don’t have to pay the bill and he gets docked or maybe even fired. Since we’re behind schedule, he’s driving like a bat out of hell. I’m not feelin’ the rush so I’m like, “dude, you don’t have to speed, the papers aren’t going anywhere”. Not only does he ignore my advise, but … Continue reading →

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Heavy Half

Posted on September 11, 2016 by RealBlake

This was the first time I had been to the cabin so, I wasn’t familiar with the treacherous manner of egress. As we drove through the gate, we were rocking to GNR, Pearl Jam, or Stone Temple Pilots (cant remember which). Over the sounds coming from the stereo he yelled out, “take a right”, something…something. Apparently he meant AFTER the bridge that was completely obscured from view. I didn’t realize where we were ,so just following instructions, swung the wheel right. Mike yelled out, “NO, NOT HERE!” as the entire truck tipped forward…. Continue reading →

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Summer Before High School – First Solo Sneak Out – Part 2

Posted on August 27, 2016 by RealBlake

Since there were ten or more balls out at once, and thirty or so kids fighting for the rebound, it was a madhouse. This is where I got into my first fight. There was a kid named Derick Babcock. He didn’t seem very intimidating to me at the time but, in hindsight he and his brother Zach had major entitlement issues. This wasn’t uncommon with a certain class of people. This class was somewhat manipulative and didn’t treat people… Continue reading →

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Summer Before High School – First Solo Sneak Out – part 1

Posted on August 18, 2016 by RealBlake

The team was on point that night and we finished up quickly as the Chevy Suburban getaway car pulled up around the corner. Somebody whispered loudly..”Let’s Go!”, and we all ran back out to the street and piled in, expecting our “evacuation specialist” to peel out and put distance between us and the scene of the crime as quickly as possible. But…. Continue reading →

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Short Stories: Summer before High School – Part 2: The Lake House

Posted on August 6, 2016 by RealBlake

Clint and I were both signed up for the spring little league. Sure enough, we had been put on the same team so we started hanging out. Ray was one of the guys I’d met through Clint and we all got to be pretty tight.
The summer before high school, I was invited to go out to the lake house. One day, while Ray and I were kicking around out in the back yard… Continue reading →

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Short Stories: Summer before High School – Part 1: The Fireworks Show

Posted on August 3, 2016 by RealBlake

I was still one year away from hiring age, so had to resort to mowing yards if I wanted to earn more money than my allowance gave; that or go back to lumber-jacking on the farm, which was one of the hardest, hottest, exhausting, sweaty and risky…. Continue reading →

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