#and Snow White looks like she’s wearing elementary school high lighter colors

[wizardofpalmsprings]

Something wild and sinister about watching a video about the Disney renaissance through the lens of Howard Ashman’s body of work and how one of the things he instilled in the creative team in the animation department was that drawing from life experiences can be super beneficial to the creative process and really helps you connect with the audience, only for the video essay’s author to say at the end how Disney admitted that they were pivoting how Pixar operates to be less based in personal stories and more about sequels in order to boost profit margins.

Idk man…that just feels so sinister on the part of the company

[writingcommons-blog1]

“Untitled” by Bug E.

The 574, G-Town, Granger Indiana; a boujee suburb situated north of South Bend Indiana on the border of Michigan. Range Rovers, Jaguars, three storied houses and white people permeate the suburban landscape. There is nothing anyone can do in Granger Indiana, except drive around on the open Michigan roads, see a movie in the theaters or get intoxicated off various substances. All the high schoolers smoke weed or drink alcohol out of sheer boredom. To make things worse, lake effect snow and humanities effect on the climate, creates frigid conditions. No rational person would want to leave the warmth of their homes and step foot in the snow of the suburban jungle. Unless you are my homey Sommer.

My homey Sommer is one of the most quiet, mysterious girls I know. She wears hoodies, sweat pants and puts zero effort into her look; she doesn’t have to. Not much comes out of her mouth. When it does, it is a well thought out observation about the inherent nature of humanity, society and the universe. She is mysterious and quiet, the mystery stemming from her silent disposition. We sat next to each other in Calculus class. We knew each other previously (from smoking reefer at an elementary school with a group of people) and we eventually started talking a lot in class. The teacher got annoyed by how much we talked and commented, “Do you two ever shut up!”. We didn’t interrupt other students and we still maintained good grades in the class which is why the teacher never stopped us. I could tell that she was adventurous and wanted to live her life to the fullest. I did not know how much this girl would change the way I viewed the world, until one extremely cold school night.

Who wants to step out into the cold winter, risk getting arrested and or grounded? My homey Sommer of course. One school night we were texting about how boring Granger is and how routine our live were. Wake up, go to school, go home, do homework, go to bed, repeat. The monotony of the Granger life was getting to us. We came to the conclusion that we should sneak out and smoke some reefer. I have never snuck out of the house in my entire life. I did not want to risk getting in trouble with my parents and I did not want to leave the comfort of my house by stepping out into the cold winter air. However the mystery and allure of wondering where the night would go prompted me to make a move that I, to this day, don’t regret or expected myself to make.

My heart was beating, the hall was silent. The anxiety of wondering what my parents would do if they found me in the hall while wearing sweats, heading toward the garage past bed time was running through my head. The hall was dark and silent except for a small blue nightlight and the creaking of the floorboards. I was worried that the creaking of the floor would cause the brown beagle alarm to go off. Thankfully the beagle alarm was on snooze as I heard his snores echo through the living room. I made it past the hall and to the garage door. I cracked it open and snuck into the garage. It was cold in the garage, but it wasn’t as cold as it was outside. I snuck out through the back door in the garage, instantly ankle deep in a white powder that chilled me to the bones. I walked around the house to the driveway where The Pegasus was regally parked. The Pegasus is a 2011 Dodge Journey Mainstreet with a beautiful interior and a solid sound system. I hopped in and started the car hoping it wouldn’t make too much noise. The car came to life with the small console touch screen reading 11:45 pm. I put the car in reverse trying to get out as fast as I could. I got on the road and headed toward my homey Sommers house, wondering where the night would take me.

I arrived at her white house and sat in my car while listening to my music on the quiet volume with the heater at full blast. I was nervously checking my phone hoping I didn’t get a phone call from my parents. I waited in front of her house in my warm toasty car and saw a silhouette come around the house. She walked to the car and hopped in. I greeted her with my typical greeting of, “Whats poppin my dude!” She responded with “Ayeeeeeeeeeee!” She asked where we should drive to in order smoke that young marijuana and I knew a place really close to her house. We drove through her neighborhood, on white winding suburban roads to an opening that was across from an elementary school. I parked next to the opening between a road and the suburban houses. I reached into the glove compartment and pulled out my bowl, lighter and bag of sticky icky. We stepped out, instantly feeling the biting cold of an Indiana winter. My hands were shaking because the cold numbed my hands as I broke apart the herb and packed it into the bowl. I said, “My dude, take the first hit. Its all yours.” She put the pipe to her mouth and I tried lighting the lighter. My hands were so numb and cold that I was shaking as I tried working the little metal wheel. I eventually got the little flame to burst up. I held the lighter up to the pipe and saw the flame hit the green goodness. There was a crackling sound and a sharp skunky smell that permeated the cold air. She produced a phatty of a cloud and let out a little cough. She handed me the pipe and I held it up to my mouth. I took the lighter, lit the front and felt the warm, dank smoke fill my lungs. I breathed out a big cloud of smoke and condensation. We both started laughing at how big the clouds were. The night was not over yet.

The air was a biting cold and the snow muffled all the noise. I went back to the car and put all my illegal paraphernalia in the glove box. I felt the mellow buzz hit in my head and body. I stepped out of the car and saw my homey Sommer look around very peacefully. She quietly said, “Its so silent and beautiful out. Nobody is experience what we are experiencing right now.” It truly was a beautiful night. We walked across the road the to the elementary school playground. We sat in one of the tunnels next to the slide; side by side. I felt the warmth and shivers of her body. We both sat there commenting on how beautiful the night was and how relaxed and mellow we both felt. I felt vibrations tingle up and down my entire body, my thoughts turning into gibberish yet I still was able to think clearly. A calm numb feeling overtook my body. I was thinking about how if I decided to stay in my room, then I would not have experienced that night. My homey Sommer said, “How are you supposed to experience life if you’re so complacent with routine.” It rang so true to me. I always wanted to live my life to the fullest, and for the first time in my life, I felt like I was truly living and experiencing the world. We both started getting VERY hungry as the munchies started setting in.

Our hunger led us to Steak and Shake. The time was around 12:30 am. We walked and giggled to the Pegasus which was parked in the neighborhood across the street. I pressed the ignition button in the car and the heat went on at full blast. I put the car in drive and told her to put on the song “This Is The Life” by Two Door Cinema club. We both started singing the lyrics, “Because if this is the life, this is the life, this is the life, this is the life then who’d argue.” The lyrics and beat of the song matched the mood I was feeling that night. The weed amplified the music, highlighting all the notes and sounds, engulfing my entire body in sound. I piloted The Pegasus to Steak and Shake, going about 25 miles per hour. We got out of the car singing and giggling as we walked in. The workers gave us weird looks, presumably because we kept giggling and had bloodshot eyes. We sat down and waited for someone to take our order. After about fifteen minutes somebody came to our table and asked us what we wanted. My homey Sommer ordered a Coke and burger with nothing but ketchup on it. I got Hi-C and a Fresco Melt. We waited about twenty minutes and talked about how good our beverages tasted. Our beverages tasted WAY better than they should have, the taste hitting every taste bud. We talked about how alive we felt, that life is supposed to be adventurous and not monotonous. The food came out and it tasted fantastic. Each note of taste was amplified, the burger juices tasted rich and the fries were salty. The colors around me were amplified, the whites whiter and the reds redder. It was a sensory overload. After we ate, the tiredness set in. We decided to head back to our houses.

I dropped her off at around 2:00am. I told her that I had an amazing night and that we should do that again. She left the car and I drove back reflecting on the night. I wondered what else I missed out on in life because I wasn’t brave enough. I decided that from now on I should be more open minded to new ideas and possibilities. I got home, snuck inside, stripped into my boxers and still felt cold from being out in the freezing cold. I slinked under the covers and fell into a deep slumber. I woke up the next day feeling fresh and ready for school. I was excited for second block to see my homey Sommer and talk to her about the night. We sat in class and reflected on how beautiful and silent everything was. I looked next to me at my homey Sommer and asked, “What is our next adventure?”