#8 7.17.09: Ghosts and Whiskey continued

So there we were, about to take our first real gulps. We weren afraid of them Ghosts at all. Hell, ol’ Ralphie been hopin’ he see himself a ghost since his uncle been done taken by one a them ghosts when he ‘bout 4 an been keepin’ his eyes out for one every day since. He ain’t never scared a them, I was a smidge scared a them ghosts, I knew they hang round, and they been killin’ men an stealin’ souls ‘round Jasper for decades. But my mommas been tellin’ me that those ghosts don’ want nothin’ to do with me, long as I don’ drink no whiskey, I even think I saw’em every now and then, in them dark hallways, perched in the trees and they ain’ botherin’ me, you know, so I weren that scared.

We knew the spot to start summonin’ the ghosts was behind the livery and tack, in the alley back of Stump’s garage, that was kinda our spot where no one’d bother us bout nothing, old man Stump to busy with the Hooch himself to pay any attention and the folks at the livery were gone ‘sept for Silas Booker who was a little slow and tended to things in the night time. When we started it was ‘round 6 or 7 in the evenin’, we probly look like we’d been rolled in flour on account of tha humidity and the dust that day, it were some time in August. We hunkered down b’hind a few big barrels and amongst some scraps from the Stump’s garage across that alley way. I remember it like yellow, everything were yellow, the ole livery buildin’s wood, gray usually, the piles of car parts we been sittin’ on, usually be rusty, the dirt on the ground and my face and Ralphie’s, which’d be tanned brown round that deep in summer, even the whiskey, Jasper made whiskey is like bourbon which usually look like maple syrup, but that day it done been yellow. I can tell you, a little bit nervous is how I feelin, ’ but ya’ll who isn’t when they takin’ their first big drinks, you know takin’ that plunge. We’d seen ‘nough to know it wasn’t always fun. Hell, we’d seen some old boys been punch drunk all wobbles and vomit after a runnins with them ghosts. We didn’ know better then. We’d only picked up bits an pieces of them bad bad ghost stories when jus’ kids, usually we be sneakin’ outa bed an catchin’ our daddies rantin’ bout it, or runnin round our momma’s ankles when they in the kitchen gossippin ‘bout something or the other. Ralphie was all ready when I mustered the courage ta take the bottle, he’d done poured half the pint in a ladle he’d stolen from the water barrel out back’a Thompson’s on the way out. He lookin’ at me and me lookin’ at him he says, “Ya ready?” an I look back at him, says, “You sure ‘bout…” and he says, “We gonna see ghosts buddy, bottom up!”

Ralph, musta been watchin’ his pop pretty closely, his dad been known for his drinkin’ in town, cause he finished it all in a few straight gulps, eyes’a’squintin’n’tearin’ the whole time. Me though, I had’a take my time, between each mouthful, fannin’ my gullet and tryin’ not to breath cause made it hurt some more. After waitin’ a few minutes we started up laughin’ and hollerin’ and some such, but we knew we weren gonna see no ghosts since it’d be a while till the sun was settin’ down over that big Jasper horizon we got here. We decided we go out for a walk round near the outskirts when it really got dark, head up on over to the ole gnarled tree over on the West’s property, thinkin’ there can’t be no better place to see a ghost. Ta kill we just laid our heads down in the dirt like we’d always do and just shoot the shit, mostly talkin’ bout the ghosts, a little about Eagan’s Model T ford, a little about the terrer Tiffany Moffet who had the hots for Ralphie. But soon ‘nough our heads started spinnin’ like we’d spinnin’ round in circles. We got up and tried walkin’ a bit, but that wouldn’ take, so we just leaned against the walls a the town sorta scootin’ toward the outskirts goin’ back and forth laughin’ and frownin’ laughin’ and frounin.’ By the time we’d made it to the outskirts that big ol’ sun’d dropped outa sight and it was fit to be a dark moon on accoun’ a there bein’ a small moon that night. The wobbles had slowed a bit to a hum when we made it to the tree and the two of us just slumped down tagether spine ta spine and waited. I’d almost forgotten ‘bout the ghosts, till Ralphie reminded me I’d need to load up my sling shot. I had a helluva time lookin’ for rocks, but Ralphie remembered part way through he’d prepared a little and had some in his pocket. So, we slumped down again, both holdin’ onto the knots and crags a the big tree for balance and we started waitin’ again. Then, wouldn’t ya know, all ready to see some ghosts and we both just passed on out, right then and there leanin’ on one another.

I woke with a start with Ralphie shakin’ my shoulder an makin’ a little whimpering noise. I was darn groggy and my head felt like it was filled with flies and manure so it took me some to come to.