Fuel - Shimmer

I forgot what summer it was that this occured in, but my friend and I went for a walk to Dunkin’ Donuts for iced coffees and then to a local store for egg. It was around 11pm when we started heading back to my house. During that time we where just We had this whole crazy night planned out, but it was stopped abruptly by death. We were just doing what most kid did in their mid-teens. Egg cars/houses and make prank phone calls. I remember during that time hearing popping noises, but just figured it were fireworks. We found ourselves a block away from my house with 2 eggs left. My friend had to poop really bad, but I didn’t want these eggs to go to “waste”. I decided that we would cut through the park to the other side of the block. Just when we entered the park, this black Cadillac Escalade turned the corner. We quickly rand and hide behind this pine tree and waited till the right moment. I remember standing there all ready and my friend saying something to me, but I didn’t really hear him. The SUV was in throwing distance now, so I went to leap from behind the tree but ended up tripping over something and fell to the ground. It was a man laying on the ground face down. How could I have not seen him? He was but 3 feet from the tree. At first I apologized, but he didn’t respond. Thinking he was some passed out drunk guy, I started patting his back to wake him up. It then turned in to nudging him with my foot to yelling in his ear. Something was obviously wrong. Then what none of us expected, happened. I shined my cell phone light on the side of his head and there was a hole in his temple. He had been shot in the head. Time from then was at a stand still. Swallowing the saliva in my throat was as difficult as running a marathon. I didn’t know what to do. It was like a cheap shot of thoughts to my brain. I tried calling my mom and the line was busy because I had dial up at he time. I called 911 and the lady asked me a ton of questions, them told me to wait there. Waiting there with a lifeless body is like being alone in the same room with someone you just met. We both sat until the ambulance showed up. They mistakenly pulled in to the parking lot of the park and I had to run as fast as I could to and bring them to where the body was. I ended up passing a couple of kids drinking by the swing sets and my only thought was if they only knew what terror I was going through. Before we knew it, there were police surrounding the area and people standing outside. The paramedics flipped his body over and his chest was full of gunshot wounds. I’ll never forget that. I got a hold of my mom and she came with my little sister. They asked my friend and I the same questions over and over again, until we said we had enough and that we were to tired. When we got home around 3am, we didn’t say anything to each other. I just turned on my iPod shuffle and the first song was Shimmer by Fuel. I know the song isn’t about a situation like this, but my mind makes it about what happened that night. Now when I hear this song, I think of that night. My friend and I talk on and off. I feel that this situation put a hinder to our relationship; that and my girlfriend I had a the time. My friend did get to poop that night and the tree still exist till this day. I bring my friends to it sometimes and tell them out that night. His murder was never solved, but all I know is that he wasn’t a good guy. I believe that Escalade, where the people that shot him and thankfully they didn’t come back when we where there. I also believe that that tree is haunted for many reasons. Life is full of unexpected things that we think could never happen to us. I guess that’s life.

Foster the people -Torches

This album always reminds me of the summer of 2011. It doesn’t so much as define the summer, but what modes of transportation I had at the time. I lost my car in July of that summer and all I had to get to work was a bike. It was about a 6.5 miles bike ride that took about 40 minutes. I would have work at 6am, so I would wake up at 4:40am to leave at 5:20am. Luckly my friend got hired at the same store and we worked out a deal that I would ride to his house and he would drive the rest of the way. Every morning I would pop this album on to ride to his house. It helped me focus, give me strength and sorta keep me warm in the cold summer mornings. Later on he quit his job and I was back to riding my bike the full 6.5 miles. Soon after that I started taking public transportation. The album served a new purpose to drowning out ignorant people and keep them form talking to me. It was a life experience I never want to forget. I’m still in a rut with how to get to work, but it’s better than before.

Atmosphere – When life gives you lemons, you paint that shit gold.

This album is one of my favorites, all due to my brother. I forgot what year it was, but he just got out of the NAVY, so we planned a road trip from San Diego, California to Rochester, New York. I flew to California to drive with him and to bring his stuff back home. The whole way we talked about our lives and listened to music. This album, out of any other really stuck out to me. I played it more than any album on his iPod. This album takes me back to a lot of things that happened during that trip. The first time I ever flew in a plane, driving the boring flat lands, sleeping in sketchy motels, energy drinks in the morning, noon, and night, attempting to learn how to drive stick shift, eating at Denny’s, eating at Carl’s Jr., sneaking and sleeping in the barracks, stopping in Arizona and seeing my aunt and grandma, getting pulled over by a cop and so much more. It was honestly one the best times I have ever had in my life and I owe it all to my brother. I miss it a ton, but It’s good have this album to always remind me of that time.