"In Too Deep"

Well, this is a most hateful time of the year.  Too much snow outside to do spring activities, but not enough snow (and nobody is in the mood) to do winter activities.  Right now, I'm watching the local news channel talk about Oak Fungus.  As it turns out, the only way to prevent this is to prune the trees in the fall.  A little late to broadcast this "news."  So, because nothing is going on here, this is a good time to go back in time and recall another old college memory...

The year was 1987....We were listening to "Gotta have Faith" by George Michael, "How can I get you Alone" by Heart, " and we were "Livin on a Prayer" with Bon Jovi.  Big hair bands were still in, like Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again."  But, new a new "pop-artist" sound was emerging..."Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle, and "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany.  So, music was big in the 80's.  And so much better than today's "Kay-dollar sign-Ha", but, I digress...

Anyhow, it was around this time when my friend Wendy and I learned that Genesis was touring and doing a show in Detroit.  It was their "Invisible Touch" tour!  Man, to see Phil Collins live singing Land of Confusion, Invisible Touch, and Tonight, Tonight, Tonight!  Unreal!  We HAD to go!  So, we had a friend who had a friend with a car and could get us there.  We didn't know this friend of a friend, but, hey, she was our friend's friend, she had to be cool!  We scored the tickets, and all met up to head to Detroit.  Getting to the concert was crazy.  The friend was from some little small town up North and she had no idea how to drive in Detroit traffic on a Friday night.  I remember sitting in the backseat just sweating and praying we wouldn't die.  So, we get to the concert and find our seats in the back of the balcony.  Couldn't see a thing, but, we could hear it fine, and we thought the concert ROCKED!  The driver girl disappeared, we didn't see her the entire concert. It's probably hard to imagine it, but, this was 1987 and there were no cell phones.  If she disappeared, she disappeared.

So, the concert ends, still no driver.  We walk back to where we had parked the car, and she's not there.  We just stand there for a long time waiting and waiting and waiting. Finally, we see her.  As she approaches, she's with a group of people we didn't know, and they're all taking turns smoking something that is not a cigarette.  She finally gets to the car and stares at it for a long time.  Wendy and I were only 19, from the U.P., and neither of us really wanted to drive out of Detroit after the biggest concert of the year.  So, in our youthful wisdom, we decide that this girl, who is high as a kite, would be able to drive better than either of us.  We were not correct.  She somehow made it to the freeway, with Wendy and I grabbing the wheel and yelling at her, and her laughing the entire time, but that's when things got really weird.  She slowed down and practically stopped.  Freeways in Detroit do not have "stopping" lanes.  They have 6 side-by-side lanes of steady, fast, crazy traffic.  We managed to talk her through the act of pulling over to the side of the freeway, where we were still at risk for getting hit.  At that point, I just remember Wendy and I screaming at her for being so stupid and high, and reluctantly getting in the driver's seat to drive home. 

actual photo of Chrysler Freeway out of Detroit

Anyhow, first time driving the "Chrysler Freeway, I-75" out of Detroit!  Fun memories!  What did I take away from that event?  A concert tee shirt that shrunk so much I never even wore it once.  Oh, and "don't do drugs and drive!"  Oops, I mean, "don't do drugs, ever!"