On the Road Back Home

I'm not evil, but I ain't no angel. Yeah, I'm self centered, self destructive and can be judgemental, but really I'm a decent guy. At least that's what Sarah told me, and she should know.

Sarah and I spent a summer together in Detroit, my home town. We'd go to Tiger Stadium (before the cookie-cutter Comerica Park was built), sit in the bleachers, drink beer and yell at the opposing outfielders. We'd chant "MVP! MVP!" every time they made an error and make up stories about their family members. A good time, really. Our favorite player to taunt was Bo Jackson when he was with the ChiSox. He'd take it in stride and more often than not get a few hits, drive in a few runs and make the difference in the game. Then he'd come back out on the field, point to us and smile. Make no mistake about it, Bo knew baseball. And so did Sarah, which made me fall in love with her. If there's a woman on this planet who looked better wearing the Olde English D, I've never seen her.

We lived in Royal Oak before it was trendy, rented a house off Woodward and 11 mile. Went to the farmers market for fresh produce and cooked together a lot. Of course sometimes we'd just go out for Coney Islands and stop off for a few beers. I miss those days. I miss that girl.

Sarah's been dead some ten years now, killed by a piece of shit drunk driver that jumped the median on Woodward and slammed into her car, right into the driver's door, killing her instantly. I think I died that day, too. When I got the news, brother I wept, wept like a baby that lost his mama, howled like a mad dog bitching at tornado sirens. And then I ran. I left my job, left my friends, left the house and left Detroit. I've never been back in all these years, never had the urge to go. I didn't even go to her funeral, don't know where she's buried, but lately something inside me is itching to find out, itching to see Detroit again and reclaim my place in the city I used to love. I think maybe it's more to reclaim my life and let Sarah go. It's been more than a decade, after all. But so much has changed....

When I left Detroit I wandered, taking temp jobs here and there to keep me in booze and cigarettes, living out of my truck and washing up in public restrooms. I wandered through Wisconsin, Minnesota, back to Wisconsin then got a bug in my ass for warm weather and drove down to North Carolina. I've been down south for a few years now, but the slow pace is getting on me, and the southern drawl, while nothing but sexy coming from a woman, is blurry in my ears and makes me screw up my eyes.

So I think I'll quit my job at the seafood store I work at, jump in my truck and head back to Detroit and look up a girl I once knew.

Wanna come along?