New York trip

[tedwords]

Time is a funny thing. When I saw Steve in London during the summer (2024, 41 years after these entries took place), I mentioned the NYC trip and that I remembered a long drive in the middle of the night, and he corrected me, adamant that he headed out to NYC while he was in school and so happy to be able to play hooky. I just had to look it up after I returned to the States, and sure enough, by this point in June, school would have been out for at least a month. That really is the one advantage to keeping a journal--you can capture what happened, even if it is influenced by your point of view. And that's not always a good thing...in this instance, I really wish I had not been so sulky and moody and just enjoyed a trip to New York City. It would have made life so much easier.

Thursday June 23, 1983: Steve asked Chet and Frank if they wanted to go to the movies (of course Todd had to go). I went too. Beforehand, Holly called me and asked if I wanted to go with Steve sometime in August to visit her in New Hampshire. I said “yes.” Chet and the rest got to my house at 8:30 roughly, so we rushed to get in and Steve and I only had one chance to play Star Trek. We saw the Survivors and it was wicked. Steve has a habit of curling into a ball during bad moments. We started for home, and while we were singing our Mel Brooks selections, the other three decided to go to New York. Before we could object, they had decided, New York it was. First we tanked up, then we drove to Frank’s house, where I called Mom to let her know I was sleeping over Frank’s. Chet brought us to Steve’s, where he had to get clothes for me. Steve left telling Sandy where he was going but told her not to tell his mother. Sandy said she did this once herself. We went back to Frank’s. Craig was there, drunk with some of his friends. He was obnoxious, especially to me, because of the Jelly Belly-Teddy feud between me and Kerrie. Steve and I quickly went outside, while Chet went to bed in Frank’s room. Steve went for a run while I went into Frank’s tent. Craig hit his girlfriend and the party inside broke up. Steve came back from his run and we got some sleep in Frank’s trailer, around 230. I napped to the sound of Frank screaming at Todd and Craig.

Friday June 24, 1983: Woke up roughly half an hour later. Before we left, I insisted on showering (a thing that irked Steve to no end). He put his foot down when I started drying my hair. Steve is not thrilled with Todd and says he cannot stand him. We started on our way—Todd in the front talking, Frank listening in the back, while I slept in the back. About four, disaster struck, when Chet ran over a dead animal (I think a deer) and it knocked out his muffler. After much discussion, we went to a 24 hour repair shop and got it fixed (Todd paid). We were on our way again. I took over driving for a while, Steve moved to the front. I was nervous on the superhighway, even more when Todd almost killed us by urging me to move into the next lane and almost smashing into a truck (Steve claims it was all my fault.) I finished up my duty and Chet took over with Frank in the front. Well, it was terrible. 80 degrees with 5 tired and hot guys. I slipped and feel into catatonia very quickly, and stayed there til we entered NYC. We visited the Empire State Building. I was hot and tired, and Todd thought I was sick, but Steve knew I was being a jerk and avoided me, which pissed me off so I ignored him. But I woke up in McDonalds after Steve and Todd went alone to the top of the Empire State. I talked with Frank and cooled down. Todd insisted on seeing the Statue of Liberty even though we were tired and had a slight accident as a taxi forced its way into a truck (it scraped the paint off Chet’s car).Todd paid for us to go on the ferry and for parking (Todd was pissed off. Steve knew I had $20 extra dollars but kept mum.) Steve and I climbed up to the top of the statue and were late getting back. It was fun, though. Todd felt that no one appreciated what he did and also that Steve hated him, both of which are true to some extent. Anyway, we ended our day and headed back. I got miffed on the way home as I finally saw what Chet had typed about me on Steve’s biology notebook and tried to tear up the page. Steve yelled at me and we weren’t talking. Todd felt bad and paid for a soda for me. Back in the car, Steve managed to cheer me up by doing homo impersonations. Todd was a bit nervous about his actions (a pillow over his head to do Elephant man?) Steve and I wanted to go swimming but were voted down (Frank had work to do). So Chet drove me home and I took a long bath and lied to my parents about where I had been (I said Rocky Point).