Esoteric Bowl

I asked Dad if I could borrow his car for the night. I didn’t have any special plans for the evening, but a friend had invited me to come over to her house to hang-out for a while. Dad handed me his keys, then asked when I would be home. By the time my brothers and I were in our teenage years, Dad never told us to be home at a specific time, rather he would ask when we would be home and then expect us to be in the house at that time.

When I arrived at Tammy’s house, she greeted me with that great smile of hers that made her eyes twinkle and shine. I always liked Tammy. She was bright and funny and a bit of a rebel, and she was certain that she was a modern-day witch. We had first met when she was dating a friend of mine, and when that relationship ended we continued our friendship.

The two of us sat outside of her home and talked while her mother peeked out the window at us every so often. Tammy suggested that we go cruising, and soon we were driving around the familiar streets of Kaneohe listening to Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti with no particular destination in mind.

At one point in the drive Tammy pointed to a road, a dirt road, and suggested that we take that path. Unbeknownst to me, the path led into the banana patch. Always willing to please, I took the turn. A few moments after taking that turn, Tammy placed her hand on my thigh. I won’t go as far as to say that it freaked me out, but I never thought of Tammy in that way before. I mean she was beautiful and a friend and a very cool chick, but in my mind she would always be my friend’s ex-girlfriend. The man in me now would know how to handle such a situation, but for the teenage boy that I was, it was all new territory.

I continued to drive. The further I drove, the more we became surrounded by the long stalks of bananas. It was only then that I remembered hearing about The Banana Patch, a secluded place where couples sometimes made out and a place no parent knew about. The music blaring and Tammy’s hand were enough of distraction, but now it was difficult to see on either side of me. Soon I was off the main path and driving over bumpier and bumpier little hills.

And then the car go stuck. The front wheels of the car were slightly in the air while the rear wheels and axle were buried in the soft dirt. Everything that had happened up until this point was quickly forgotten and panic ensued. I had to get this car unstuck. I dug the dirt with my hands. I dug dirt with the tire iron. I pushed the car, I pulled the car. Still, I couldn’t get the car out of the hole that it was in.

The early morning light began to shine and Tammy had to get home. Covered with dirt, I walked her back to town where she called her Dad to pick her up. She suggested that I call my Dad, but I was hopeful that with a little more time I could eventually get the car out. Besides, I certainly didn’t want to face my father and tell him that I got his car stuck in the banana patch.

I walked the long road back to the banana patch and headed towards the car. In the distance I heard a car coming down the old dirt road. Maybe, I thought, the person could help me pull the car out and I could be on my way home. That thought quickly vanished as the car slowly approached and I looked towards the driver and recognized my father’s familiar gaze.

Considering that I had bent the rear axle of his car and that the car had to be towed, Dad was rather cool and understanding about it all. However, for years later whenever I would borrow his car, Dad would always remind me to stay out of the banana patch.

Have a Great Aloha Friday!

This entry was posted on Friday, July 29th, 2005 at 12:28 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.