I wound my way south through the misty twists and turns of Pacific Coast Highway at 3:00 AM as it snaked down toward Sunset with my brain buried under the sweet, humming insulation of too much alcohol.
Grinning vacantly, I took another hairpin turn at a reasonable but exhilarating speed and spied traffic cones ahead forcing me toward the center of the road. Oh bother.
I came to a near-stop behind several other cars just before the Sunset intersection. The cones ambiguously either wanted us to turn left onto Sunset or to continue south in the far left lane. Some cars turned onto Sunset, some went on ahead. I chose the second option.
Around another bend, frantic activity and grim faces in uniforms confirmed that we had made a mistake. At least I wasn't alone in my error. The night was lit hallucinogenically with ambulances and police cars flashing and clashing their garish, assaultive lights.
A few cars ahead, a figure waved emphatically for the line of cars to turn around. As I slowly backed to turn around, a blinding light shone in through my driver's window and a gruff knock followed. Startled, I stopped and rolled down my window.
"What the hell are you doing? Can't you follow directions? Don't back that way, you fool." An unexpected note of panic, or fear cut through the officer's voice.
I mumbled apologies and things about following other cars and this and that. The cop smiled and held his hand up for me to be silent.
"Have you been drinking peanut butter cocktails all night? I think you'll be spending the evening with us, buddy." The cop sounded strangely calm and almost kind. "Straighten this thing out and get out of the car."
I turned the truck so that it again faced south, my original direction. My headlights shone on the ambulance in front of me and on a long white, billowing object on the ground between my truck and the ambulance. A sudden wet gust up from the breakers blew the white covering off of the object, over the ambulance, and fluttering into the darkness.
Immediately before me was a red, blue and white object that, in a sickening jolt, I realized was a dead, male body. It — he — was impossibly broken and naked except for socks and shoes. Mortified, I turned away. The officer and I stared at each other in silence.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Matt Wardlaw
Eric,
I missed the news about Steve's death.
Quite a story you have presented here.
Glad that it has a happy ending on your end.
2 - Christopher Rose
When I saw the headline, I thought you meant the geezer from Yes.
3 - Eric Olsen
thanks Matt, so far anyway!
Chris, you are so not American.
4 - Phillip Winn
A masterpiece. Thanks for sharing.
5 - Christopher Rose
That is so true, Eric.
6 - Eric Olsen
thanks Phillip!
Chris, Recognition is half the battle.
7 - JELIEL³
Phew... I thought Steve Howe (The Guitar God) had died...
8 - Eric Olsen
he's way over 48 and probably can't hit 50 on the radar gun
9 - Christopher Rose
There's hope for us all, Mr Olsen!
10 - zingzing
you mean, it wasn't an over-the-hill, zonked out has-been who died? damn it, i really want Yes to go the way of the dinosaur. oh yeah... that happened 30 years ago...
11 - zingzing
no offense to the pitcher. fuck Yes. sheesh. cape wearing freaks.
12 - Eric Olsen
zz, so you're not outraged Yes isn't in the Rock Hall?
13 - zingzing
um... who cares about a hall of fame? i don't really think about the place.
14 - Eric Olsen
so you're a nihilist?
15 - zingzing
no... why do you ask? i don't care for Yes or the idea of a "rock n roll hall of fame..." but does that make me a nihilist?
16 - Eric Olsen
I have heard many nihilists often denigrate both the Rock Hall and Steve Howe, the guitarist
17 - Matthew T. Sussman
Much like Howe, who was himself in denihil.
18 - Christopher Rose
No, he was in Yes!
19 - Christopher Rose
Oh yes he was.
20 - zingzing
i am not your typical steve howe-rock hall hatin hater. but, really, i don't care if you want to label me a nihilist. whatever.
21 - DJRadiohead
EO, this reminds me of our conversation and your piece about your friends in TN: humanizing the tragedies in the newspaper. Well done, Sir.
22 - Eric Olsen
thanks Josh, or at least making it about me!
ZZ, just messing with you - joke!
Chris, you're talking to yourself.
Suss, classic line
23 - zingzing
e.o.--you must have missed the joke in mine... maybe it wasn't a very good joke... nope... it wasn't... oh well... i don't care anymore...
24 - Eric Olsen
ZZ, sorry, get it now, my bad! The Internet doesn't convey nuance very well.
25 - Dawn
I am so thankful that you were the observer that night, not the observed.
Great writing, as usual!