Acquaintance With An Altered State Of Mind: July 2007

This little life event, I like to call it, took place when my computer crashed for awhile and when I have nothing to do I spend most of my time outdoors and I like to describe everything when I think and write but, if this story is somehow boring, I'd actually like to know, it's just an average day for me and I like to share life, anyhow here's the story.

The last day of June, on this day was both scary and interesting on this short travel with my bicycle. First off at the beginning of this trip, my bicycle didn't want to agree with me as the gears kept on shifting as I kept on riding because the chain wasn't on the right gear axle and every time I fix it it just kept on screwing up, troublesome I thought. Second, Texas heat and humidity is terrible, just getting to Central Market which is only about 2 miles away from my house severely dehydrated me. So I stopped by to get a drink, I pulled out a chair in the outside lounge area but before I sat down I needed a drink so I started to head to the vending machine. Before I arrived, a lady who worked for Central Market in her late 50's or early 60's with her hair that looked like it had the length of about three feet was bound in a hair net, however she came before me. She asked, " You can go before me?" I said politely, " No, no that's okay you can go ahead of me." So she slipped in her 50 cents in the machine and pushed the Diet Coke button but as she was doing this she asked, "Do you need any change?" I said, "No thanks ma'am." After she received her Diet Coke she said, "I don't want to open it just yet because it will explode from falling out the vending machine so fast." I laughed a little and said, "Yeah, you've got to watch out for that, I usually tap on the top of the can to help and prevent it from exploding out." She said with a laugh, "Yeah I do the same thing." Then she walked away.

After that I went ahead and put in my two quarters then pushed for a Dr. Pepper. I sat down as I opened my drink, which didn't explode, then I pulled out my Ipod and my cigarettes. I put on my earphones, scrolled down the menu to The Jayhawks, pushed the OK button then selected the song entitled Angelyne, lit my cigarette, took a sip of my Dr. Pepper then a gulp and relaxed while listening to good music. Once The Jayhawks quit singing my cigarette was only halfway down so I switched the artist to Hem, a wonderful female country singer, I selected the song All That I'm Good For. I chugged more of my Dr. Pepper, took another drag, and rested some more with her singing through my head. Once my Dr. Pepper and cigarette was finished with, I happened to decide that I wasn't fully replenished with energy yet. But it doesn't help to be smoking and drinking a soda when you're doing any kind of exercise but strangely it never bothers me though. So I sat some more, I was all alone no one was near, I was just by myself, thinking, lost in thought. I casually pulled out another cigarette, lit it, puffed it, and... well relaxed while still listening to Hem sing. After she quit singing I only finished a quarter of my KOOL 100 cigarette. So I switched the artist to Israel Kamakawiwo 'Ole and that sweet song Somewhere Over The Rainbow. During the song I stared at a huge, old Live Oak Tree that is at least 500 years old in age. While looking at the tree Sparrows were flying around, playing, fighting, and even resting in the Live Oak. I gracefully thought just how incredible it is just to view nature in it's own habitat, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Anyhow not long during that both the song and my cigarette were finished with.

I put up everything and packed it in my backpack but before I went to get my bike off of the bike rail, I decided to get two more Dr. Peppers for the road, and of course, they didn't have any waters in the vending machine the waters were sold out or I would have bought water. After which I rode off and turned left to go down the driveway ramp, while heading down I noticed a 2004, tan, Toyota Camry right behind me following me. As I was going down, I obeyed the stop sign ahead as another car a 2005, dark grey, Honda Accord pulled up to the stop sign perpendicularly left to mine. So I slowed down with my foot grazing the asphalt while I applied the brakes, the Toyota slowed down and when I stopped I waved at the Honda to pass by. Then I went on riding along Patterson Road and rode off to the Nature Trails while listening to Hem's All That I'm Good For song once more, I just couldn't get enough of that song.

As I was riding along I noticed that I was becoming very sweaty and hot but you know I thought that it was just from the heat. But as soon as I arrived at the sidewalk that travels along with the road called Olmos Basin Dam Drive I realized that I wasn't sweating anymore. So I quickly rushed down the sidewalk to where there is 13 step, concrete stair case that goes down into the Nature Trails. I stopped immediately at the top of the stairs underneath plentiful shade of the trees. As soon as I stopped blood came rushing out of nose and I became light headed. I knew automatically that I was having a heat stroke. So I quickly sat down and rested my head on my backpack while I tore a sheet of paper from my notebook to absorb the blood. Then I turned my head towards the sky keeping the blood in my head and not on my body and clothing. My head felt so light, like it was balloon, and I almost passed out, my whole entire body was shaking tremendously. I feared that I was going to die, my body felt so strange and weak. Luckily after a while of resting, my body started to calm down and I slowly rose onto my feet and pulled out one of my two Dr. Peppers while immediately chugging it down my throat. The sweat, after a few moments, came back and I started to feel more relieved as my body was rehydrating itself. I walked over to the sidewalk railing that looks out towards the Nature Trails. I stared at the trees and out of the green background a green female cicada landed on a branch not to far from me. I stared and stared and stared at her just thinking about how close I came to never seeing a cicada again. The thing about all this is how after my body calmed down I didn't even rush to a person's house to call 911 or even asked for help from the few people that occasionally jogged by, they just thought that nothing was wrong and everything was fine with me. I didn't rush for help because I knew I was going to be okay. But they didn't know that just ten minutes ago I was starving for rehydration and had a very bad accident with the heat, I just left that thought as that.

I sat back down and pulled out my last Dr. Pepper I had left in my backpack and smoked a very soothing and calming cigarette for my hands and body were still shaking from the mishap. Although the vending machine didn't have any waters I was glad that I bought those Dr. Peppers and had something to drink for if I didn't I believe I would've been in a worse troubled mess. However, after the entire incident I realized how close I came to seriously hurting or even killing myself. So to soothe myself from this I listened to more Hem and many other bands on my 60gb Ipod until I fully felt ready to head home where I rested and fell asleep in an air conditioned room.

But seriously be watchful of yourselves out there in the heat anywhere in the world because it's a silent killer. So like always drink plentiful fluids while outside in the summer heat. Please take care of yourselves out there, that sun can be brutal, at least it is here in Texas.