15 + 55 points
The Callouses on Your Hands by Amby D
July 16th, 2010 12:01 PM
It was October 1989 and I was in high school. (Here is a random shot from the seniors in my yearbook from that year.)
The top song was “Miss You Much” by Janet Jackson and the original Batman movie had rocked the summer movie scene. Civil unrest in Germany was erupting in the streets over the Berlin Wall, the Exxon Valdez oil spill from the spring was still a huge mess, and Afghanistan was politically tore up following the end of the Soviet occupation. I was still having nightmares from images of the Tienanmen Square massacre, my family's bookstore had been issued a threat for carrying Satanic Verses, and Bush the First got his $166 Billion dollar bailout for the Savings and Loans industry through congress. (There was actually a lot more that happened that year: Iran-Contra Deal, the Panama Invasion, Lucille Ball died, etc... but you get the point.)
And I... well, I had a crush.
It was homecoming weekend. The school had tons of events going on and had huge outdoor tents in the school's parking lot. There were spirit rallies, pre-dance events, football games, and more. It was an evening event and I was busy vandalizing my school's hallways and posters with huge markers and spray paint. A maintenance guy caught sight of my friend and I, so we sprinted off, laughing the whole while.
We burst through a set of doors heading out into the parking lot and there she was, my crush, Bobbie James. I first developed a crush on her during junior high track practice, but I had been caught checking her out in the locker room, much to my mortification. I got distracted looking over at her, as I tried to avoid running into one of the tent stakes. A couple more steps and I felt a liquid running down my leg.
Looking down... blood. So much blood. And my leg, right above my kneecap, was gaping open all the way to the bone. I used my hands and clamped my leg shut. My friend had already darted away to safety and was gone. I had to turn around, and limp towards the only other people outside... Bobbie and her friend.
I had never really spoken to her, and when I hobbled over there asking them to call an ambulance, they thought I was just joking... until I let go of my leg and they saw the damage. Bobbie instantly sent her friend off to go get help (no cell phones, remember?) and hurried me to the curb. She spoke with me, sat right next to me, and her hand was rubbing my back in a soothing manner.
I was in total shock. I was feeling no pain. The girl was talking to me and touching me. I think I was in heaven... just a little. As you might imagine, I got to the hospital and got stitched up. The girl never really spoke with me again.
Here is the scar, more than 20 years later... it was a huge gash.
The top song was “Miss You Much” by Janet Jackson and the original Batman movie had rocked the summer movie scene. Civil unrest in Germany was erupting in the streets over the Berlin Wall, the Exxon Valdez oil spill from the spring was still a huge mess, and Afghanistan was politically tore up following the end of the Soviet occupation. I was still having nightmares from images of the Tienanmen Square massacre, my family's bookstore had been issued a threat for carrying Satanic Verses, and Bush the First got his $166 Billion dollar bailout for the Savings and Loans industry through congress. (There was actually a lot more that happened that year: Iran-Contra Deal, the Panama Invasion, Lucille Ball died, etc... but you get the point.)
And I... well, I had a crush.
It was homecoming weekend. The school had tons of events going on and had huge outdoor tents in the school's parking lot. There were spirit rallies, pre-dance events, football games, and more. It was an evening event and I was busy vandalizing my school's hallways and posters with huge markers and spray paint. A maintenance guy caught sight of my friend and I, so we sprinted off, laughing the whole while.
We burst through a set of doors heading out into the parking lot and there she was, my crush, Bobbie James. I first developed a crush on her during junior high track practice, but I had been caught checking her out in the locker room, much to my mortification. I got distracted looking over at her, as I tried to avoid running into one of the tent stakes. A couple more steps and I felt a liquid running down my leg.
Looking down... blood. So much blood. And my leg, right above my kneecap, was gaping open all the way to the bone. I used my hands and clamped my leg shut. My friend had already darted away to safety and was gone. I had to turn around, and limp towards the only other people outside... Bobbie and her friend.
I had never really spoken to her, and when I hobbled over there asking them to call an ambulance, they thought I was just joking... until I let go of my leg and they saw the damage. Bobbie instantly sent her friend off to go get help (no cell phones, remember?) and hurried me to the curb. She spoke with me, sat right next to me, and her hand was rubbing my back in a soothing manner.
I was in total shock. I was feeling no pain. The girl was talking to me and touching me. I think I was in heaven... just a little. As you might imagine, I got to the hospital and got stitched up. The girl never really spoke with me again.
Here is the scar, more than 20 years later... it was a huge gash.
