Monday, July 14, 1980, 1:47 p.m.

The sun shines brightly and the wind remains suppressed as Eric Gordon steps outside, closing the front door behind him.   He just had to get out, even though there was no real reason to get out. He could be just as bored and aimless inside his room.  With his window open, he could still capture some of the fresh air as well as some of the white fluffy seeds breaking loose from all of the old cottonwoods in his neighborhood, one of the first ones constructed as the village of Casper grew and grew, thanks to the discovery of oil nearby at the turn of the century.

Eric heads north.  He passes one block, then another, wishing that he could be at least wandering with his two buddies, but they were vacationing with their families, leaving Eric pretty much disconnected from any peer sustenance.   More troubling thoughts begin to race through his mind, thoughts from the last two girls he interacted with earlier during summer vacation, which isn’t turning out the way he hoped it would.

I think we should just be friends, Eric.  I want to date other guys. You’re nice and all, but—

As Eric relives that rejection in his mind from his first real girlfriend, he stumbles over a bulge between two concrete blocks of the uneven sidewalk and almost lands face first, but catches himself just in the nick of time, waving his arms frantically to stay vertical.  He notices that his right Converse white hi-top shoe no longer looks brand new as his near fall has left it scuffed.

Eric screams, “And to think, Andrea, I bought a nice lunch for us with what was left of my mowing money, then you dumped me at our place, and our own special table where we always sat at every week!!!  And now this!!!  I can’t even keep my shoes lookin’ new for a week!!!  Damn!!!  Damn!!! Damn!!!”

The Donaldson’s German Shepherd begins barking behind the chain link fence that separates it from freedom as Eric walks by.  It is one of the one of the yards he mows on a weekly basis, and is due for another trimming in a couple of days.   Champion always stays inside during the mowing because he is unpredictable about biting strangers, even strangers who have been coming into his territory regularly since late spring, when Eric secured the lawn-mowing job.

Oh gee, that’s flattering Eric, that you’d ask me to go with you to The Empire Strikes Back, BUT you do know that I’m dating Tim Schulte now, don’t ya?

“This is going to be a long summer.  Every girl I would want to be with is taken or dumps me!!!”

A robin nesting above him in one of the taller Cottonwoods starts singing a cheerful melody as a surprising gust of wind blows, offering some respite from the hot rays beating down on Eric’s bare head and arms, the latter which are exposed since he is wearing a tank top that has Darth Vader screened onto it. He had forgotten to apply sunscreen before leaving the house.

As Eric’s pace quickens, he notices that across the street the sign on the neighborhood Baptist church’s yard has been updated for the upcoming Sunday services, which are officiated by the self-righteous Rev. Berst, who once told Eric that lusting after girls was a sure ticket to hell.  The sign reads:

“THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE: GOD IS LOVE. TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY!”

If you don’t stop lusting, dear Eric, no love from Me, the Almighty, either!

Eric comes to the street known as “Badger Ave,” a street mysteriously named for reasons that seemed to make no sense at all in a stately neighborhood whose streets were basically named for dead presidents. A block to his left, he hears a stereo playing full blast as it mingles with the roar of a loud engine that is racing toward the Badger Ave intersection.  Nonetheless, he crosses the street safely as the mix of noise gets closer.

Something inside of Eric tells him to turn around, if for nothing else, to satisfy his sense of curiosity over this boisterous entity encroaching upon his sense of isolation. His hazel eyes zoom in on a mid-70s Ford Bronco painted fire engine red as it shows off its humungous wheels and Goodyear tires.  It seems as if the monstrosity of the vehicle wants the attention of everything it comes into contact with, and that the young male driver inside is just along for the ride. The Bronco halts for the time being, its idling engine burning more of the commodity that has made Casper “The Oil Capital of the Rockies,” especially since another Middle East crisis in Iran has almost doubled the price of crude oil since the year began.

Over the engine’s high decibels, a singer named Johnny Lee laments even louder through the stereo about his futile search for love in his Number One hit country song called “Lookin’ for Love.”

Eric stands there, staring at the spectacle as the singing sermon continues on, rubbing salt into his hurting heart.  The Bronco’s driver turns the steering wheel to the right and the sport utility automobile roars southbound down Lincoln Ave., speeding off into the opposite direction from where Eric is proceeding aimlessly.

In the distance and above the grand cottonwoods, he sees the mountain, now painted in lush green, thanks to the plentiful rains.  It has stood for eons and has been functioning as the southern sentinel for the city and its peope since 1888, recording all the highs and lows of each resident, including one teenage boy’s string of bad fortune.

Eric turns around and continues walking.   He is just a few blocks from the hustle and bustle of downtown, where the Beef ‘n’ Taco’s sign proudly looms just ahead.  It’s the place that feeds countless Casperites daily, while serving up broken hearts along the way for dessert.

--I’m not in love with you anymore, Eric.

More of the white fluffy seeds of the looming but silent cottonwoods blow past him, thanks to another gust of wind, as if they, too, are trying to escape as quickly as possible from what they were once attached to but now have broken up with.

Eric begins singing loudly and off-key the sad, yearning refrain from Johnny Lee’s “Lookin’ for Love,” making sure the robins above can hear his retort to their sweet melodies.

Eric’s 14-year old body edges closer to the city’s heart but his restless mind wonders where he’ll end up and if he’ll ever stop walking.