Chico - My Middle Eastern Friend

I woke up naked except for socks, with throw up all over my body and the wall. There was a note from my sister on the nightstand: “You totally blew it, ralphing all over yourself. Chico was pounding on your window and woke up Mom and Dad. They’re pissed. Where’s the car?” Chico was my Middle Eastern friend who we called Chico because we thought he was Latino; The car was on the neighbor’s lawn at the end of the cul-de-sac. The night before me, Chico and the Thrush brothers drank Old Granddad in my car at the end of the Cul-de-sac. Even though we had moved to California from Virginia 3 years earlier, my friends liked to remind me that I was a “Virginia Pussy” anytime I refrained from doing something that could get me killed, arrested or in big trouble. This night I proved them wrong by drinking the most of the Old Granddad. They still called me a Virginia Pussy, even though I puked, drank the most and parked the car on the neighbor’s lawn.

The note has traveled with me for 30 years. It's one of my favorite possessions!