I remember the days of long, when I was a child of 21.  I saw the world through different eyes -not the eyes I have now, but young ones.  Ah, those eyes saw greatness in everything.  They loved to do many things and many things is what they did.  I remember that day and night that changed my whole life like it was just a day ago.  I am talking about the day of December 16, 1990.

It was a very cold day and I was hanging out with several of my friends when we decided to get together and have a small party.  We enjoyed these things; it gave us a chance to talk out our dreams and let the concerns of the day go with our dreams.  I really thought those were the days.  Anyways, we got together around six thirty in the evening after we all ate at SAGA.  We needed to have beer to kill the taste that was left in our mouths by the mystery meat that was served for dinner.

We began to discus the way we each have had a hard semester and complained about all the ways teachers can be unfair.  After all we were seniors and we only had one last semester before we hit the real world; they should cut us a break.  In fact, I told Tom and the rest of the guys about the problems I was having with a teacher and how I just gave up even though I was right.  The problem was that I put my journal under the wrong door and the other teacher never gave it to my teacher.  Two weeks later I was informed that my journal was graded an F.  I went to the teacher to inquire why and he told me that he never received it.  Just then the other teacher came in with my journal and said, “I over heard you two talking and I realized this notebook belonged here.”  I was delighted that it had turned up, but it did not help.  My teacher said that the F would remain, due to the fact I was irresponsible with my work.  Needless to say I left pretty pissed off.

All of my friends gave me support by telling me that I was right.  Tom had suggested that we protest this with a note to the Dean.  Everybody agreed and all wanted to sign it.  Well, it never got written and no one signed it, not even me.

It was now ten and we were all ready to go downtown to toast the letter we were going to write, -besides the beer ran out.  We all piled into my car and drove to Rasputin’s, where the serious bachelors hang out.  The night went on and we all drank and flirted with different women.  Tom although had a problem with the flirting part.  The girl he was talking to was sitting just about on his lap when his girlfriend, Pam, walked in.  She saw him before he had time to run and hide.  From that moment on it was very cold and dangerous for anyone in the bar and especially for Tom.  She wound up beating the hell of him.  Poor Tom would have to leave to go back to the school because his nose was broken for the third time.  Pam had broken it the other two times.  

It was getting late; I really do not remember what time it was but I assumed that since they stopped serving drinks that it was at least two thirty.  We all got together and piled back into my car.  On the way home we took the interstate; it was only three miles from school.  I got the car up to about seventy when I heard a crash and screaming.  After the noise went away, I could see sun light in my face and it was warm.  There were many people running around in the sun.  I thought “gee they must be having fun.”  I then fell asleep.

How wrong could I be.  When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar place, everything was white and the smell was clean.  It was then I realized that I was not in my room.  If you have guessed that I was in the hospital, you would be right.  The doctor looked down at me and was waving a light in my eyes; it really bugged me so I went to push him away.    Well, my hand never appeared to push him.  At that point, I became very irrational and tried to get out but my body would not move.  I was paralyzed from the neck down.

I found out later that no one else had survived the crash.  In fact, the semi was also totaled.  What went wrong?  Well, I had been drunk and got on to the interstate going the wrong way.  I had killed six people; this includes the other vehicle’s driver.

I guess I do know why I looked at life through different eyes back then, I could walk.  I did not have to dream about it; I could just get up, but now I dream.  It is the only thing that I can really do on my own.  One last thought for you before I go back to dreaming, would you like to see the world through different eyes?