the list #2177

beth and i have this really elusive friend named larry. he was always a very secretive person and would appear and disappear from people's lives like a phantom. people would lose track of him, try to get a hold of him, and not be able to reach him for months (or years!) at a time. sometimes its hard to believe he ever really existed at all. this last stretch where he went missing has been going on for what seems like forever (but is probably more like 5 years). this must be even weirder for beth to deal with, seeing as how she once dated phantom larry.

during one of the periods where phantom larry was able to be located, the three of us went to the movies to see "wet hot american summer" -- an entry in itself but i'll save that for another update.



after the movie was over, we set out on our way home but made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in the worst part of town ever. it was already night, and the three of us had no idea how to find our way home especially in the dark. we hoped that phantom larry would take charge of the situation and ease our fears because beth and i were close to tears, but he had no idea how to find his way home either. this was before the popularity of cell phones, and none of us had one available. we were not about to stop for a pay phone and risk leaving the safety of the car...not that we could even FIND a pay phone anyway.

we were getting hopeless and desperate when suddenly, the voice of eric clapton came streaming out of beth's car stereo. before we knew what was happening, the three of us were singing along at the top of our lungs to "tears in heaven." i think i speak for all of us when i say i fucking hate eric clapton. normally i couldn't tell you the words to a single song. yet like magic, everyone knew all the words to the song and we belted it out with completely inappropriate enthusiasm considering the subject matter at hand (his son falling out of a building - yikes). also like magic, beth began taking random turns and we excitedly began pointing out things we recognized.



"i know where we are! turn here!" we whooped and hollered and sang "tears in heaven" even louder, pounding our fists on the roof of the car when it became too much and we could not contain ourselves.

just like that, we were back on familiar turf. we knew if it weren't for eric clapton, we would have been lost in the ghetto forever.




this one's for you, phantom larry...wherever you are!