THE LONG MARCH HOME ......or a walk on the wild side
- Kris Strell
- May 29
- 6 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
( < note : A rad phat funny slangy Guemes story with a seriously serious plot twist >)
Joe & I decided to go eyeball Port Townsend, WA. for a dose of day trippin’ kicks.
P.T. WA. is a nifty steam punk outta sight with it type town
that has overtones of laid back super chill tendencies. Cool man.
We had not taken any mellow yellow jaunts on the wild side for ages.
We had a gas and a blast in P. T. Are you hep, cuz we hip.
Us hipsters had a genuine blast from the past.
We sat down to munch at a 60’s retro diner. They had fab feelin groovy table juke boxes
spinning stacks of far out hits. Elvis Buddy Holly Chubby Checker. Get down !!
Driving back home to our pad we were both feeling pretty beat and wiped out
from our first walk in a long time march. The day trippin sight-seeing shindig had been really more like a lame ass bogus stroll. Because we had been on our dogs all day,
we were really jazzed to soon be crashing in our pad. Daddyo had surgery two weeks prior and was still healing up. And I currently had a untreated herniated disc that pinches a leg nerve. Bummer. You could say that both of us were pretty clutzy lame dudes with beat feet.
We were real gone cats.
Hunky dorys.
Tooling home, I decided to check emails.
I flipped my wig AND my lid AND blew my top.
Big Brother said : “The ferry is now out of service for at least the next two days. Walk-on boat provided.”
Really ?? That is so off the wall.
Where are you coming from ? ?
Are you jive-talkin ??
What’s your bag ??
Downer. Heavy. What a drag. Lay it on me why don't you.
What a rip-off. And you can Sock it to me while you’re at it cause I'm all shook up.
I got bent out of shape. Like Frosted dude. Had a minor hissy fit cuz my cage was rattled.
With hearing this bogus whack rap we hang loose for the rest of the trip truckin' home, psyching ourselves up for the hurdle and hassle that soon lay ahead of us.
We parked our wheels near our island’s ferry terminal & car hopped making the scene
onto the putt-putt-walk-on-foot-traffic-only-boat ride.
The putt-putt split across the channel flooring it at a pretty haulin ass clip &
flat out ditched us off on the far out shores of our island home. Later Dude.
Evening and the darkness had been groovin-on real quick-like already.
Ok then.
We Hang Tough.
Got no choice.
Gotta hoof it 2.3 miles to get to our crib.
A major mass chunk of this strut home is tooling up a steep hill.
We got this.
………….Right on.
Slowly. We hit the pavement & began to hoof in the now dicey cold pitch dark rain falling hard hairy happenin. I just happened to grab an umbrella that just happened to be stashed in our ride, besides a flashlight, in preparation for our long hard dreary dark drenching march home. The whole scene bugged us both. Besides the fact that Someone left a cake out in the rain & I dont think that I can take it cause it took so long to bake & I'll never have that recipe again just kept running on repeat over & over thru my brain.
The starting out part at the get-go was uncomfortable and quite rauchy, because we were thoroughly hacked off at the cards dealt. We dug now the arduous drudgery and long march that lay ahead of us. This party pooper bash at hand, that had to be accomplished, made us feel ticked off and turned off. A dark heavy gloomy-type uptightness hang over our psyches. We had to get with it in a jiffy and not get psyched out.
Even tho this was not our bag, &
We were not really keen about the trek ahead,
We would not freak out.
We tried not to have a cow.
We cut ourselves some slack.
We did not sweat it.
We did not lose our cool.
We gotta book.
We got a grip.
We had to flee the scene.
We had a alotta rubber to burn yet.
We cut out and then flaked off.
We split.
Gimme some skin bro.
............ Can you dig it ?
All the odds were slam dunked stacked against us :
We were both physically beat. Zonked. Flaked out.
We had not scarfed or pigged out on any grub since lunch around noon &
were chomping at the bit for some serious major munchies.
We were both a bit clutzy that put a crimp in our style and in our cruising.
It was cold out. It was pouring rain.
And it was dark out.
What a drag.
Gee whiz.
A whole bunch of Ob - stack - kills right off hampering us at
the on your marks get set go starting gate to that long march home.
All we could do was persevere.
We can do this.
No big deal.
..............Right on.
The umbrella was choice !! And. It was not that chill out !! We stay dry as toast.
We trucked together. We could see well enough and did not need to use the torch.
I had remembered how earlier, before we left home for the day, contemplating decking out in my slip-on flip flops wedgees but at the last minute opted instead to wear my boss cherry fab far out boots. A super fine hip decision for my future self which had no clue this gnarly walk home would be a part of our journey.
Jazzed out call Old Lady. Dry feet. Neato.
My hep Old Man was decked out in his heavy wool P-coat rags and wool funky felt lid hat with the righteous wide brim. The rain did not get near my fab dreamboat daddyo.
A real stand up so tuff stud guy. Not a thug hood nerd spaz or square greaser.
Our choice in threads beforehand were duly noted and swanky.
After a while of truckin' together, we silently came to the exact same
go cat go yet between us conclusion.
We both got real, and then spoke out loud to each other
that the walk seemed to get groovier and groovier
the more that we kept on smokin'. And.
True enough : once we got into it, we really got into it. !!
A transformational alternate reality overcame us both together.
Our determined determinations
glued our resolve twogether.
We scoped out our shared mind bending perspective &
newly altered lightened up outlooks.
It felt so comforting
as we slowly walk. Twogether.
Look at where we was. We here.
Now. Right Now.
Dread had morphed into pure joy.
As if wrapped Inside a safe darkened calm tranquility crib.
Quiet rain rap the umbrella as our tootsies tap the pavement.
There was a feeling as if we were the only two people in the universe.
We were inside a twilight zone flick separate from the rest of the world.
We were inside surreal digs.
We were in our own parallel universe.
A comforting feeling of “us only” enveloped us.
We were so in the moment we were inside the moment.
The long march home had transformed into an Enjoyable Enjoyment.
It had truly become Plesantly Pleasant.
We both said out loud : Far out man.
We real gone.
We jazzed.
We got it together.
We cookin with gas.
We did our own thing.
We let it all hang out.
This is so now made in the shade.
I Am. Digging it. A blast. A ball.
We hang loose.
No biggy.
Choice.
Bad.
Check it out.
An atmosphere of dreamy magic surround us.
We flipped out at our newly found out of nowhere chill rejuvenation.
My hip ache, it bothered me, yet I did not let it be a drag.
I was on a mission.
Just the two of us.
Joe commented, saying, "this walk is really romantic!"
We were, as Gene Kelly could say, singing in the rain.
Holding hands.
We arrived to our pad in the sticks quite suddenly quick-like &
surprised at the ease of the entire primo experience.
It knocked our socks off.
The 2.3 mile walk cranked like the blink of one big hairy eyeball.
You bet your sweet bippy.
It blew our minds.
We on Cloud Nine.
We bust a gut.
We went ape.
No sweat.
We rule.
We kept the faith.
It was truly a night to remember.
So memorable, in fact,
that we named our new musical group after the evening :
Long March Home.
Seattle's Long March Home
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Long March Home
Gandhi's Long March Home
A Kashi (City of Light) / Banaras / Varanasi resident's Long March Home
Kris & Joe's Long March Home.
the end. I hope you liked our journey.
