A New Life in Lawrenceville

Chapter 5

That edition of The Lawrenceville Herald sold better than any previous edition ever had. Miller came knocking on everyone's door the next morning to show us documentation of the sales numbers. It was rather funny to see a grown man skipping from door to door with pure delight over our recent success. In truth, it is a rather mild success. Other major papers still outsold us, but I wouldn't have told Miller that for the world. It was too beautiful of a sight to see our editor so happy.

Miller shook my hand as he skipped back over to me. He said, "Thank you, Albert! I know a big part of this victory is excitement over having such a well-known reporter on our team."

I chuckled and said, "You are too kind. Hype over me may have drawn people in, but our amazing team is what is going to keep them coming back."

"I couldn't agree more!" Shouted Miller as he practically danced with joy as the staff were smiling and laughing.

Once Miller settled down, he got a bit more bashful and mentioned there would be a meeting in his office later to discuss assignments for the next edition of the paper. As I started to head back to my office, Phil approached me.

Phil put his arm around me and asked, "Would you be up for celebrating later? I've been wanting to hit up this new club but didn't want to go without a wingman."

I reached up and removed his arm from my shoulder. "I'm not really a club kind of guy," I responded, "Thanks though."

"Come on guy," Phil continued, "There will be music, dancing, and everything."

I wasn't all that interested in going. Phil was persistent though, and I remembered I did promise myself I would try to live more and not be such a workaholic. "I guess I can give it a shot," I relented.

"Great!" Phil exclaimed as he handed me a piece of paper with the address and time.

The place was called The Vibe. When I got there, I saw the dance floor was overcrowded with people. They were like a herd of wild cattle. The music was also quite loud, making it difficult to hear. I thought I heard a sound vaguely like my name amidst the pounding music and looked around, spying Phil sitting at a table. He waved me over as he called out for me again. I sat down across from him.

"Hell of a place. Am I right?" He asked while sniffing.

"It is certainly reminiscent of hell," I said.

Phil laughed a bit too loudly at my joke. Then he said, "I'm glad you could make it man. This place is awesome." He appeared to be sweating quite a bit, and his eyes were dilated.

"Do you feel okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," He said sniffing again, "Just need to hit the restroom. Be right back." He got up, bumping into the table as he went to the bathroom.

I looked around and started to get a bit of a headache. There were so many flashing lights that my eyes couldn't stay anywhere too long. The music was still aggressively loud, and the crowd seemed to be one giant pulsating mass. All five senses seemed to be getting bombarded with information overload. It was hard to think properly, but I get the feeling the appeal of this club is just that. To stop people from thinking. Thinking can be painful in its own way. We spend a lot of time in our heads trying to figure out what decision to make, and how we feel about everything around us. We also think a lot about the things we can't do anything about. The way the club scene does it is so violent. Instead of coaxing the mind into a relaxed and empty state, it assaults it with an array of sensations to try and overwhelm it. It tries to destroy thought, rather than silence it.

I looked around for a few minutes when Phil had not returned. After a bit of walking around the perimeter, I saw Phil with no shirt on near the bar. He was attempting to talk to some woman by showing off his abdominal muscles and flexing. A moment later, a guy rushes up and punches Phil square in the jaw. Phil falls back and the guy starts to walk away. Phil trips him up and they begin wrestling on the ground.

I decided that the version of fun Phil wasn't really in tune with my idea of fun. I got in my car and headed back to the office/motel. As I was pulling up, I saw Misty and a few of her friends sitting in a circle in the lot across the street from the building. They were playing bongos and dancing around quite gently. I pulled over and walked towards them.

Misty saw me and smiled. "Hey there brother," She said, "Had fun with Phil?"

"I would describe it a lot of ways, but fun was not it," I said.

"Bummer," She said, "Come and dance with me."

I chuckled and said, "Thanks, but I'm pretty tired."

She rolled her eyes and walked over to me. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the middle of the drum circle. "A little dance will bring you back to life," she said.

I began to step in time with Misty and remained close to her. As the dance went on, it felt as though my heartbeat was thumping in time with the drums they were playing. The cool air of the evening seemed to be enveloping my entire being. I couldn't help but smile at Misty, the way she put her arms up in the air and seemed to let her whole body just move with the energy of the stars in the sky. There was something so serene and beautiful about her in that moment. The whole experience had the feeling of being a tangible spiritual vision. A sort of meditation in motion.

The club is an angry and nihilistic place. It wants to stop the mind with force, much like the drugs Phil had probably consumed in the bathroom. That is not the real way to stop the mind though. Thoughts may no longer occur, but the negative energy of such a primal place remains. The best way to stop the mind is with peace, not force. Allow yourself to breath and feel your heartbeat move in time with the heartbeat of the world.

After the dance, I felt much better. "Thank you, Misty," I said, "I really needed that."

"Happy to help you out brother," She smiled at me.

I turned to head back to my office, but she grabbed my shirt.

"Give me some sugar mister," she said playfully as she kissed me on the lips.

I kissed her back. I looked at her for a minute, stunned by what happened.

"Goodnight," she said.

"Goodnight," I echoed back as I went to my office to get some rest.