It's been hot as all hell in Ithaca lately, so yesterday I went swimming with two friends, (let's call them Frodo and Sam), and a few friends of Frodo's. We drove out to First Dam to cool off, and there I accomplished my summer goal of "making friends with a townie". Donna and I had tons of ambitious plans and goals to reach this summer, and thus far have only completed a few. This one was a bit of a joke, to be honest, but who doesn't want Ithacan townie friends?
Frodo and two accomplices were climbing a rocky waterfall with, you guessed it, more townies, while Sam, Frodo's remaining friends and I were relaxing in a shallow area of the swimming hole, when my future friend wandered over. He was making his way across some precariously slippery, algae-covered stones when he paused and called out to us "seen any lake monsters?"
I was the only one to respond, calling back "Nah, still looking!" He had dirty blond, shoulder length hair and was wearing some low-riding, filthy, red plaid shorts. He was sporting a hemp necklace with a psychedelic mushroom, and all in all looked to be a typical dirty hippie. And in true townie-hippie form, proceeded to inquire, "got any hash?"
Sam and the friends didn't move to speak, so I jokingly responded, "not on me!", although I would have thought that would have been obvious, given that I was standing knee-deep in water. The dirty hippie took this joke as a cue to strike up a conversation, and he proceeded to talk with or at us for the rest of the time we were at First Dam. Over the course of the time we were there, I learned many things about Townie Friend, but what comes to mind about him is that:
He is not actually from Ithaca, but rather neighboring Cortland. But he still counts as a townie.
He left Cortland because his ex-girlfriend started fucking his best friend and he lost all of his friends after that. I'm unclear on the particulars of how that happens.
He complimented us on being "cool people" and said it was hard to find cool people in Ithaca. I'm not sure why he thinks we are so cool, or where the other "cool people are hiding". My guess is they all went home for the summer, or don't respond when strangers ask them for weed.
On that note, he grows weed.
He also alluded to having done E, among other fun illegal substances.
He wants to study Cognitive Science at Cornell or another school I can't remember the name of. He seemed quite intelligent, but I would be surprised if he actually came to Cornell. Dreaming big seemed to be his thing.
He loves rope swings into water. But not vines. Those aren't safe.
He and his friend had an in-depth, 5 minute discussion about how to make a turkey club sandwich. They disagreed.
He works at the State Diner and attested to how all the cooks there get high on breaks, so if you are in a fight with a co-worker you better fix it fast so that you can all smoke a bowl later in the day (or night). If your fight continues, people will throw things at you.
He is an expert crawfish catcher. So good, in fact, that he snagged one from where it was resting near Frodo's feet. He named said crawfish "Jerry", and built him a new home, complete with couch, driveway, and inscribed mailbox.
Townie Friend was arguably one of the friendliest people I have ever met. And although he seems quite eccentric from this description (he certainly was), and was very high energy, hanging out with him was kind of enjoyable. Hilarious, for sure - I kept having to keep myself from laughing at his nonchalant, ludicrous mannerisms, and loud proclamations about what he really wanted to do with his life - but definitely the best part of my day. I fully expect to find myself (and Donna as my buddy, since Frodo and Sam refuse to accompany me) at the State Diner some day soon, in hopes of catching him on one of his 15 hour shifts. I'm sure we'll find him if he's there - he's pretty hard to miss.
