Memories of Sea Monsters

Back in my early 20s, in the pre-TAB days, I briefly dated a radically gonzo, crazy MIT student.

He was an outrageously fun dude, a total wild ride but ultimately not a great match for me. His concept of time was, to say the very least, fluid. We’d have plans to hook up at nine, say, in order to catch the opening band at The Rat — he’d show at my door around midnight, ready to dance and drink ‘til dawn. Me? Nope —I'd have worried and stewed for a couple of hours over his lateness, possible standing-me-upness and would no longer be in the mood.

There wasn’t a drug on the planet he could or would resist. Dave wasn’t an addict by any means. He was an adventurer and yeah, he lived in Bexley. Back then this was MIT’s infamous ‘drug dorm.’

Having recently come off three years on the Black Beauty fueled carnival road, I was done, done, FINITO with mind altering substances (‘cept booze, with whom I ‘enjoyed’ a too long, deep relationship).

Given that Dave and I were in such different places on life's path, how did we ever manage to get together at all?

Eh...sex, boredom and this sense that, on some level, we were kindred daring spirits. NOT kindred enough though.

I hated to say so long and thanks for all the fishes and say it so quickly but it had to happen. I found that I spent more time being pissed off versus happy about him/us. For him, time outside the classroom was one long series of transverse waves meant to be surfed. Wicked cool but I just wasn’t wired so groovy.

I found out later, through mutual friends, that, post graduation, he’d flown off to Loch Ness with Doc Edgerton in hopes of capturing Nessy on film. Geez, that sounded like 900 kinds of fun and I cursed myself yet again for not being a more laid back, go-with-the-flow type.

After Loch Ness, I heard he went to work with George Lucas out at Industrial Light and Magic in California. Damn, too cool — this was the perfect place for him!

Why does this bad boy, from a zillion years ago, come to mind this morning? I was reading a post about sea monsters and, of course, thought of this 30 years gone, brief affair. Ever have moments when you wonder whatever happened to so and so — man, he/she was a good time?

I guess I want to know the next chapter or 12 of the story. Was there a happy ending? Hope so!