In the winter of 77 I ran away.
I had skipped school the day before, spending the day at my favorite hangout- the downtown library.
I got a friend to write an excuse for me. My regular excuse writer was busy so I used an alternate. Instead of the customary “Please excuse Pat, she was not feeling well. She decided to write, “Please excuse Pat, she had an ear infection. And then she signed it with my mother’s last name spelled wrong.
When my mother got home she asked me sarcastically, how my ear infection was. Then she got mad and said that she was tired of being nice about this.
I walked into my room, put on a warm sweater and coat. Then I left the house while my mother yelled, “you are not to leave this house!, or something like that. I said goodbye to my cat, and started walking. I didn’t know where I was going but a voice in my head said, “Keep walking, if you turn back now you will never get out. I hitched a ride downtown and then decided to head south. My second ride was a guy in a pickup; I hopped in the back. I was riding in the back of his pickup with the wind in my face, it was dark and the city lights were shining. I was 15 and I was free. It’s a cliché but I really did feel like a bird released from its cage.
I didn’t return home again for almost 3 years and when I returned I had a 1 ½ year old child with me. My only regrets were that I didn’t run away sooner and that I didn’t have some gear.
My life doesn’t need to be easy or comfortable, as long as it’s mine and it’s interesting.
