"Hey man how are you, do you remember me?"
I looked around to my horror, it was Dave, from Uni, my first attempt at it 10 years ago. He had been doing chemistry but dropped out after learning enough to make speed.
"Yeah Dave long time no see"
"Well what a coincidence to meet you here, a friend of ten years"
Dave had always been a bit strange, he was dressed like some sixties hippy, Jesus Christ sandels in all. I hadn't really known him enough to considered him a friend 10 years ago. Now his pale eyes looked a few 100 yards behind me, he had a stupid grin fixed to his face, as if he was trying to convince, you, the world, and himself, that he was happy, in reality he was a mess. The stories about him said massive abuse of extremely high quality amphetamines.
"Ah yeah, well I come here all the time. So it's not a supprise for you to see me here, but a supprise for me to see you."
He giggled for a moment and then asked
"Where are you living these day anyway?"
"Oh I share with Matt, John and John's girlfriend in a warehouse in Waterloo."
"Wow I haven't seen them for years, I must drop round, a warehouse, it sounds fantastic."
"Yeah it is, but fucking hot right now."
"I intend to move from my parents place in a couple of months, Do you have any room where you are, I'd love to share with people I know, I've known all a total of, what thirty years. I don't know if I could handle living with strangers"
I wanted to say, no Fucking way, but replied more civilly with."
"No we have a full house"
"Ok well let us know if anything comes up, like a sudden vacancy, what's the address? You must give me your phone number."
A couple next to us had been discretely smoking a joint, now totally stoned, their lips had only room for the others, so they passed the end to the most hippy person in reach, Dave of course. Dave got two good tokes from it before it went out. He held the smoke in for as long as he could with a manic grin from, ear to ear. He discretely dropped the centimetre long roach into his trouser pocket.
"Wow! That's only the second time I've had pot in the last two weeks, and that time two weeks ago was the first time I'd had pot in two months, and I only had two cones then."
"You were in Byron right ?"
I prompted deciding to keep the topic away from where I lived.
"Yeah, I came back to Sydney two months ago, I'm working for my Parents"
"How long were you in Byron?"
"Two years, I had a place right down on the beach."
"Sounds good."
"Yeah it was, first to see the sun each day, you know it's the most eastern bit of Australia, thats why all the dolphins go there."
"Hmm-m"
Was all I could muster.
"When aliens come to earth they'll go there first, because there are so many switched on people there."
"What's work like?"
I asked more as a plea for reality.
"Oh it's Ok, a little boring, though all the same it's OK. I tell you what though, it's good to back in Sydney, working, getting money, waking up in the morning bright and early to get to work before 9, come home tired at the end of a long hard day, feel good, to go out with friends, catch up with old friends, to be normal. It's great to be back in Sydney amongst friends, you can get so lost in Byron. It's so good here in Sydney I feel normal."
He stared at me with a manic grin, before adding
"Well almost."
After that tirade all I could say was.
"Have you given up the hard drugs."
"Now and then. Now and then I give them up that is.
I"m going to harmonise my drug taking with the moon. Did you know that the moon influences us just like drugs do, different phases are like different drugs?"
"No"
It was as if the gears of his mind were stripped.
"The new moon is a sedative, so then I'll take smack
The first quarter is a fifth circuit activator, so I'll smoke pot.
The second quarter is depressive, so I'll drink.
The third quarter is uplifting, like speed and cocaine.
and the full moon like a psychedelic, so I'll take acid and ecstasy eh eh-eh.
I'm going keep my drug intake in phase with the moon that way when the lunar forces pull me towards a state, I'll already be there. "
I asked why not nullify the moons effect instead of going with it, suggesting he should balance out against the moon to be in harmony.
"Yeah Sure, Yeah man that is it!
I'll take coke in the new moon,
drink in the first,
pot the second,
acid on the third
and smack on the full moon.
That way I'll nullify the lunar forces on my pyke and be able to get on with my life.
Like get a girlfriend, I had a couple in Baron but it's been two months now. It would be good to have a girlfriend again. Hey you don't know any single girls do you."
"Would I be here if I did, do you want a drink"
"No I've already had a couple, I'm driving."
I excused myself saying I'd be back in a TWO minutes, I'm not sure he got it but I was gone more like TWO hours.

Email james@jvodan.com