Poacher

I failed at two attempts to get out riding this weekend due to catching up with folks back in town for a few to see family, but I was able to get for a couple hours of power today. After finishing a writing project that some of may lay eyes on next month, I packed up the car and drove out to the local trails to find a sign that said the woods were closed. I almost felt bad for poaching today but once I realized that conditions were good and I broke a sweat wearing short sleeves at the end of November, those feelings dissipated. Then I drove out to Bethesda to ditch the car and prevent getting yet another ticket and risking a boot. With CX bike on board I headed for the river and stopped off at the Great Escape to hang out and snap off a few rounds of film. I poached the single track along the way. The cross bike makes the easy single track a bit more interesting.

Saturday night was my Whitman class reunion. Not going to say just how many years, but its been a while. It was kind of awkward at first, having those same feelings of anxiety rising up in me once again, but before long, I saw some old friends and loosened up a bit. I hung out with Paul, his wife, Maisie and finally got to meet the woman Sese was scheduled to marry before his early departure from this Earth 3 days before they were to marry. He was remembered well last night and Dan even wore a name tag with Eric's name and pic on it. Los was there who I apparently ran into at juvie, both of us getting caught on the roofs of different schools and who got kicked out of the bar at the reunion. Seriouly? Talk about keeping it real! Anyway, a bunch of folks protested by heading off to another bar where we stayed until close. Then it was a sketchy ride home on the CX bike poaching the single tracks of Glover Archbald Park.

I was on the fence about going as I didnt get along to well the general population there and ended up being asked to leave after what I found out last night to be a legendary fight that people know as "Nate vs The Nerd." Apparently, neither I nor the nerd were seen on Whitman property after that fateful day. Since the circumstances under which the fight broke out are not as legendary as the fight itself, I figure what better place to tell the story than right here.

For those of you who knew me back when, I was a bit of an outcast at school and society as a whole. I skipped a lot of school; and by a lot I mean I probably would have had to repeat 11th grade had I not made my little arrangement with the administration to stop showing up. Anywho, I was in my work study class, the class I was required to take in order to leave at noon in order to go turn wrenches at Big Heel Bikes in Bethesda. We not only had a test, but we had a substitute that day, so I quickly filled out my scantron and snuck out of class. At the end of class, I returned to find an angry nerd (sorry, I dont know his name) who had been informed I ripped up his test. Really? I wasnt even in class to do such a thing. A scuffle broke out and then we parted ways. We ran into each other again after our next class on the second floor of A hall where we got into it again. We threw down for several minutes to an audience of over 100 people. A teacher jumped in and tried to break it up, but we continued throwing punches. I remember landing a solid right over the teachers shoulder square in the nerd's jaw. A hand reached out of the crowd and grabbed the teacher and pulled him away. The fight carried on a bit longer until I noticed principal Jerome Marco and his minion whose name escapes me. I turned to walk to the office and caught a right to the back of the head; the one shot that I actually felt, but I kept on walking.

In the office, bargaining began, but my last chip had been cashed in months prior. They got straight to the point. "Its obvious you dont want to be here, and we dont want you here. If you leave on your own, we wont expell you." I took the deal. What else was I going to do? Seeing as it was May this would mean having to repeat 11th grade. I spent my next 2 years at The Washington Ethical High School in DC which is now the NORA school in Silver Spring and is really what I needed out of a school. Some direction with some great teachers who opened up to the students and felt more like mentors or friends than authority figures. I have fond memories of that as I do of the 20 year reunion of a school I never graduated from. Eric, you were missed. Rest in peace my friend.

Sorry for the lack of photos.