Meet Me in St. Louie Chapter 3
The next thing I know, I can hear two people talking.
'He was out there pretty long Hazel' says a man.
'Yes, I just hope that he'll be alright. You know, Schocke, for the first time in 35 years, I actually thought about seeking the attention of healthcare professionals' says the woman who must be Hazel.
I take this opportunity to open my eyes, hoping I didn't pick a bad time.
I look the two people over.
Hazel has long gray-white hair that comes down to the middle of her back, and is wearing a tie-dye sweatshirt and faded blue jeans.
Schocke also has long gray-white hair, only his is pulled up into a ponytail. He also has on a tie-dye sweater and faded blue jeans.
I also take a look around at this house, well cottage, I'm in.
It's a small place. The kitchen has a wood burning stove, and wood cabinets. There is a window above the sink, and a window behind the bed that I can't see, but I can feel a draft coming through. I can't see anymore than that though.
'Well looky here Schocke, the boy's awake' I hear Hazel say.
'Let me get ya some soup, sweetie' Hazel says politely.
I try not to think about how much this reminds me of mom when I'm sick.
Oh my God, mom!
She must be…wait... She probably doesn't even know that anything has happened to me. She probably thinks I'm in St. Louis right now, having a ball.
Oh my God. How will I be able to tell her.
'So son, what on earth were you doing on the Mighty Mississippi?' Schocke asks as Hazel brings me a bowl of soup that looks like…yuck! Chicken noodle soup. (Gag me).
I never did like chicken noodle soup before I became a vegetarian.
'Well sir, I'm not even from around here. I'm from Michigan actually. I'm here on a-' I get cut off mid-sentence by Hazel.
'Schocke, leave the boy alone and let him eat the soup' she scolds.
'I'm sorry, Mrs. Uh, I'm sorry, I don't know your name' I say apologetically.
'I'm Hazel Palmer, but you can just call me Hazel' she says.
'I'm sorry Hazel, but I'm a vegetarian, so I can't really eat this' I say as polite as I can.
'Oh that's fine sweetheart, we have some tomato soup over here you could have. You just need something to warm you up' says Hazel.
She then fetches another bowl and ladles some tomato soup into it, and takes my bowl from me.
'Anyways, like I was going to say, how did you get here to Missouri if you're from Michigan?' Schocke asks, pronouncing it the way I do, Miz-er-uh, instead of Miz-er-ee.
'Well, I was on a trip with some people from my school, and we were coming down here to St. Louis to see some sights for about a week' I explain.
'Oh Lordy son, you really have been out of it. This isn't St. Louis, we're in the suburb of a city called Columbia' Schock says, well, shocked.
'Well where's Columbia?' I ask.
'It's about two and a half hour from St. Louis' says Hazel.
'Two and a half hours?!' I exclaim.
'How did I wind up here even?' I ask.
'Well son, I guess maybe we should ask your name instead of just calling you sweetie or son, huh?' says Schocke.
'My name's Randy Taylor' I say.
'Well Randy, Hazel and I were on our annual ice fishing trip on the Mississippi, and yes, we know that isn't allowed, but no one's caught us for the past 30 years, so we still do it anyways. Anyways, we saw you, and heard your cries for help, so I skated over there to you, and brought you back to the boat' says Schocke.
'So, when will you all be driving me back to St. Louis?' I ask.
'Drive? No, Randy, we don't own a car. We just have one motorbike' says Schocke.
'You're kidding. Then how will I get to St. Louis? How will I get back to Michigan? How will I ever get back to my family?' I ask hurriedly.
'Now just calm down Randy. You know what I think works in times like this? Meditation. It's very simple to do' Hazel says.
'I don't want to meditate, I want to get to either St. Louis or to Detroit, not be stranded out here in Louisiana or whatever' I say, getting flustered now.
'Hey now, this isn't Louisiana, that's not around here, that's up in Northern Missouri, by Hannibal and where you can cross over into Illinois' says Schocke, rather offended.
'Calm down Schocke, he doesn't know better, he's not from around here' says Hazel warningly.
'Still, how will I get out of here?' I persist.
'Well, you could take a cab. We'd have to drive you in town though to use a telephone' Hazel says.
'Yeah, and I could chop off a foot to pay for the cab fare too' I say, not that jokingly.
This gets nervous looks from Hazel and Schocke.
For the first time, I notice that my foot's asleep. I move my legs to where there hanging off of the bed, then I'm met with a feeling of pure terror. My right foot is missing!
Now I start to panic. What the hell else is missing from me? A kidney, or maybe some other organ.
Hazel and Schocke see the horror in my eyes.
'We had to amputate your foot, Randy. It was completely blue by the time we got home. Don't worry, I don't think you felt anything' Hazel says.
'So about that cab, when can we call one?' I ask, wanting to get the hell out of here as fast as humanly possible.
'Well, you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning, its 10:00 now' Schocke says, glancing at a clock on the wall.
'Okay, so, what time can we call a cab tomorrow?' I ask, trying not to sound rude.
'Around 10:30. The cab place is open before then, but neither one of us will be up and have you there before then. I was going to ask you too, do you have any money so you can pay the fare. I just wasn't sure after the foot comment and all' says Hazel.
'Umm, yeah. I have enough money to get me to St. Louis. What day is this by the way?' I say, then ask.
'Oh, the 26th' says Schocke.
'You've been out a while' Hazel adds.
'Good then. I can still make it home with the rest of the people from school' I say, glad something is finally going my way.
'Randy, dear, this is February 26th' says Hazel.
'Damn it!' I mumble.
'So I guess I'll just figure something out after I run out of money' I say.
'We're truly sorry, we wish we could help you with your journey home, but there's no way we possibly can' says Schocke.
'Just try to get some rest, alright? Tomorrow will be a better day' Hazel says with a beaming smile.
What hippies. Next thing you know, they'll be giving me "love grass" to smoke, and making me listen to Peter, Paul, and Mary.
Actually, that doesn't sound half bad. The Peter, Paul, and Mary part, not the "love grass".
Maybe Hazel's right. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. Maybe I just need some rest.
Yeah, I'll just get some rest, then get up bright and early tomorrow.
I guess from Illinois on I'll just have to either walk or hitchhike.
That reminds me of a Creedence Clearwater Revival song. (Sweet Hitchhiker).
Wow. I really am tired.
I get shivers up my spine though whenever I close my eyes, just from the experience of passing out on the Mississippi River.
But I still manage to somehow sleep.
A/N: So, what will happen with Randy? Will he be able to make it back to Michigan?
BTW, I hope no readers out there take offense to the hippie couple.
I have no idea where I came up with the name Schocke, I just needed a kind of off the wall name.
As always, please R&R.
-Yours truly, Randy Taylor.