The anticipation was killing him. Three days earlier, Bones had been offered some acid for a Saturday of experimentation. He’d obviously heard the official version of histrionic consequences pushed by the establishment, but always knew it was BS, so this was a door he looked forward to opening. “Better than weed,” he asked.

“Way better!” replied Yngwie (Lefty guitar dude, so naturally…) “It’s…it’s like being you and not being you all at once! Your perception is never going to be the same after Saturday, dude.”

Yngwie was right, more on that later. Bones’ preconceptions were very tied to 1960’s lore and hence filled with swirling colors and lava lamp fever dreams. But, of course, things are never the same for everyone when LSD is involved, so an open mind was paramount on Bones’ mind. He was determined to explore the immediate world around him from a completely new perspective and take it all in.

 

 

 

Macomb, IL is a small college town. Surrounded by nothing for miles, the little island of activity was home to a small local community inundated with 15,000 kids, almost all of them from much larger urban areas (Chicago). As a medium-ish State University Western Illinois had a pretty tight party scene with the same faces popping up at the few bars and many house parties scattered about town. Once you were “in” the scene, you were family, and it was fun! Parties were announced via chalk on the sidewalk and fliers stapled to just about anything. “All-U’s” were the best. Literally, everyone was invited, and it felt like everyone came sometimes. 30 keggers were common and rarely, if ever, interrupted by police. But today was going to be different…

 

 

“What do I do?” Bones asked as he held a small blue and white crystalline square of paper on his finger. The design was there, but unclear. It resembled your grandma’s china, just blurred out enough to be unrecognizable.

“Put it on your tongue, and give it a half hour or so.” Yngwie stuck his tongue out to demonstrate and off they went.

“Better eat something now before you really get going.” said Gabe, the “sober” guide who would only be subject to the mortal drugs of alcohol and weed. “Let’s go to McDonald’s.”

Bones put an “Old Style” hat on and followed quietly, trying to notice any changes in perception. “How long before I feel anything? Should I take the other one yet?”

“God no!” yelled Gabe. “You might not feel anything for an hour, just be patient! You don’t want a bad trip because you overdid it. Bad stuff there, man.”

“OK, just anxious man.” Bones replied. “At least I’m hungry.”

The guys ordered food and sat down. As the meal was about halfway finished, Bones couldn’t stop staring at the potted plants hanging from the ceiling. They were shaking furiously, but nothing else was. It was still summer and the air conditioner was blasting, keeping the diners cool in the greenhouse that was the dining room.

“I’ve got a question…” asked Bones. “Why are those plants vibrating like that?”

The smile on the other two’s faces said it all. The journey had begun, it was happening!

“But seriously, are they actually moving?” Bones asked trying to determine for himself, but something rendered him unable to decipher if that was real or imaginary. It seemed like a good reminder to Bones that this is what LSD was about. Abandoning your preconceptions about the physical universe and open yourself to new observations, feelings, and concepts. “Onward.” Bones thought as they walked out of McDonald’s, still unaware if the plants were actually moving or not.

The bar was the next stop on the journey. It was dark now, and the walk between McDonald’s and the bar was a decent trip on foot, so Bones thought the next 20 minutes would be interesting to say the least. The warm air was great! How did he never notice how great warm air was! And why are all the cars going so fast? The lights all left streaks, the stars were brighter, and everything felt just right as if someone had come by a put everything in place perfectly. He was amazed at the precision involved with the world around him, it was perfect!

Once inside, Bones could “feel” everything. The Ritz was always his happy place, his Cheers so to speak, but tonight was even better somehow. Drinking ever faster, no amount of alcohol could change his newfound perceptions. The conversations were more interesting, if not confusing at times, but the people he talked to were all gorgeous, intelligent, and charming.

The dimly lit bar had plenty of newly interesting neon signs, mirrors and well, everything to stare at and contemplate it’s place in the larger picture of the universe. The major question of the night between Yngwie and Bones was if the electrons, neutrons and protons choose to make up what they made up? If they did, who made sure they stayed that way? There was too much activity to determine the answer, but the guys knew this… Dance music can not only be heard, but seen and felt! Important stuff to consider.

Time moves faster while tripping, it is known.

So, after a few hours of shots and beers, it was time for after ups!

 

 

Macomb bars were made to close at a notoriously early hour of midnight, which lead to the large amount of house parties. The parties that started after the bars closed were known as “after-ups” after uptown, where all the bars were.

 

 

“You need to slow down and drink some water guys. You two have been pounding everything for like four hours!” Gabe was right, Bones and Yngwie would have been slobberknockered if not for the acid. So the only solution was to…..

As the second hit dissolved onto Bones’ tongue, he wondered what might be in store later. How could this be any better? Short of losing his virginity and a select few out of his league one night stands, this was the best night ever!

The apartment over the donut shop was always notorious for great after-ups, it was an older crowd, and the older crowd were late night warriors. Bones sat at a table playing the popular drinking game “A**hole” and invited himself into the game. (At this point, it was obvious to everyone that Bones and Yngwie were having the time of their lives and this crowd knew why.) So many attempts were made to confuse and/or astonish the two, which lead to even more fun for the two. The environment was inviting and non-hostile, perfect for the events happening inside their minds.

After a good while of throwing cards in the bathroom trash to avoid being the a**hole forever, the game broke apart. Bones had an idea that he figured would be a good prank, make people think that he thought he could fly! The window was open to the storefront below with no screen, as any good college apartment in town wouldn’t have, so the opportunity was there. Climbing into the window was more complicated than Bones imagined, in fact, suddenly, everything was getting complicated, but the prank was too good to stop now, he thought. As luck would have it, one of Bones other friends yanked him inside so fast it was a blur. Girls were crying and Bones was getting an earful from people who cared about him.

“You didn’t like my joke?” Bones said incredulously. “I wasn’t actually going to try and fly!”

“Dude! Rick asked what you were doing, and you said, and I quote ‘I’m gonna fly home now'” yelled Gabe, drunk and mad at Bones now.

“That was the joke, to make you think I was going to fly home.”

“By actually jumping out of the window?!”

“YES!”

“I’m taking you guys home, now.” Rick said. He was older and knew the ropes, and could tell the pair needed to be sequestered from society.

Safely back in the dorms, Yngwie and Bones talked about everything they had encountered that night until dawn. The LSD was wearing off and the alcohol was about to rear it’s ugly head and announce it’s presence with authority.

The next evening, Bones woke up sore, hungry, hungover and curious. Subsequent trips would be necessary to explain the sensations he experienced the night before, but his perception had changed. The world was a much more complicated place than he ever knew, ever smaller things combined to make ever larger things, ad infinitum. You just don’t unrealize things like that. Bones knew now how insignificant everything was, but how absolutely significant everything is to everything else. You see, infinitely small or infinitely large, the universe needs you to be whole, no matter how insignificant you may be perceived by others.

Peace.