Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2002 12:48:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: Roddy Schmidt <roddyschmidt@yahoo.com>
Subject: Docking Jas

	I turned out of my driveway and headed into the sun
on Lincoln Avenue.  The air was heavy and warm with
the aroma of ripening fruit.  Thank God for air
conditioning.    The grape crop would be early this
year. Peaches and Plums were in their prime. In less
than three weeks I would be 20 and I was `headin' out
on my own' leavin' all this behind,... well, it seemed
like it to me at the time.

	As I crossed Orange Avenue the radio announcer said
something about it being `high noon in New York'... I
understood it being three hours ahead of  local time,
but what's with the `high noon' stuff?  I puzzled that
for awhile until I reached  Old Hi Way 99 just above
Kingsburg.  I was really on my way.

	I had traveled this route dozens of times before, but
today it looked totally different.  Usually, when I
was heading south on 99 it was at night.  My brother
and I  in the pickup with the horses, my folks
following behind or sometimes ahead of us towing the
Airstream.  Show time.  Until the crops were actually
being gathered we showed all summer, nearly every
weekend.  It was our `family thing' as  my Dad put it.


	But today, I was on my own.  Even though my birthday
was still some two weeks away, the folks had given me
the family car... a Ford Aerostar.  Leather Captain's
chairs with all the bells and whistles.  The new
Windstars had come out and instead of trading the
Aerostar in, my dad  bought one of the new Winstars
and had our  Aerostar detailed and repaired to mint
condition, which included a  a new set of Michlin's.
The fact I might have liked something less "soccer
mom" escaped them, and my Dad was so excited about
fixing the Aerostar up to perfection, well...  it was
never discussed...

	Actually, I was grateful for it today seeing how it
was loaded.    I had to take out the rear bench to
give me enough room for my stereo and computer stuff.


	I figured if I didn't have to make any pit stops I
could make L.A. by about one one-thirty or two.  It
was a straight shot.  I was on my own!  I kept mulling
just what that meant for me, along with trying to
figure the `high noon' thing.  I understood
noon...twelve o'clock, lunchtime, middle of the day...
ah, the hell with it.  Concentrate on the road.

	Traffic was light.  My dad always counseled leaving
early... he always leaves early.  `Never be on time;
always leave early and be early...'  that was his
motto.  I hate mornings.  Ten or eleven o'clock was
fine with me, but  with my Mom nagging about every
damn detail ... Mothers can get on your nerves like no
one else in the world....nine o'clock was the time to
leave.

	It had been agreed that as soon as I finished summer
session I'd head south and find a place to live at
S.C.  (I'd really wanted to go to Stanford, but U.S.C.
had a better dance department...) I couldn't tell my
Mom that, though.  I just made it sound like the extra
cost wasn't worth the difference.  Anyway, she bought
off on it, partially because she had a brother who
lived in Huntington Park.

	My plan was to get down before most of the other
students and find a nice suitable apartment not too
far from campus, get moved in, and do some auditions.
The Shrine Auditorium was almost adjacent to the
campus where the Western Circuit of Ice Cycles made
its home... another draw for me, but one I couldn't
mention to my Mom either.  For her, college was a
place where you `prepared yourself for a respectable
career'... dance, or God forbid, Ice Skating for a
living.... well, she didn't even think about that,
much less discuss it.

	Out of habit I pulled off at Castaic at the top of
the Ridge, got out to stretch and went to the restroom
 grabbed an Iced Tea/ Lemonade mix to go, and got on
the road again.  I was on my way for real and I was on
my own!

	Traffic was fine until I got into the San Fernando
Valley, then because I had to keep tabs of my route on
my laptop (another pre-birthday present from my
grandparents) I had to slow down my pace.

	I negotiated my way right onto campus and  found the
Housing Office with absolutely no hitch.  I even had a
few fumes of gas left; I was set!   It was good to get
out and stretch.  The air was cooler but a little
muggy.

	Two thirty and the place was dead.  I went right up
to the desk, gave my name and told the woman what I
thought I wanted, she motioned me to a sort of cubicle
and  pulled out some beat-up  three ring binders and
began to show me various listings.  Just about the
time we were getting down to the close-in location
stuff, this pear-shaped guy blusters in.  He wasn't
exactly geekey, but he also wasn't all that suave.
What he was, was self assured and had a million dollar
smile.

	He had kind of a pointy head.  His hair was close
cropped, not skinned, but close.  He wore fairly thick
glasses that made his eyes look really close together.
 His mouth was big and very used to smiling.  He had
perfect white teeth.  He was wearing a white oxford
cloth shirt, sleeves rolled up below his elbows, with
his monogram on the left breast pocket.  His pants
were an expensive khaki and he wore no socks in his
tassel loafers that looked like some kind of crocodile
skin or something.  Everything about him reeked of
money.  I noticed when he stuck out his hand to shake
it with the woman at the reception area, a thick
gold-link I.D. Bracelet,  a manicure and his nails
were polished... clear, but polished.

	He took the cubicle next to me.

	The lady helping me refocused and she began to tell
me about a place only three blocks from the north edge
of campus... the fact that most of my classes would be
either in the center or even south of campus did not
seem to creep into her sales pitch.  The place she had
in mind, for a `more mature, serious student' like me,
was at the entrance to Fraternity Row on 29th Street.
 I could just go out the front of the office here,
make a right and walk up to the corner of 29th and I'd
be right there...

	She described the apartment as being in what once had
been a fraternity house and now served as an overflow
dormitory on one wing for the fraternity, whose
`House' was now on' the Row'.  Two very nice
apartments that had formerly been three, and used by
the officers of the fraternity,  had been completely
remodeled and refurbished...

	The two apartments were described as being `large'
for university housing, sharing a very adequate bath
with the other apartment.  It took me awhile to
realize that `apartment' had a different connotation
here from what I was used to... here it meant a
`sleeping room with a nice shared bath facility',
where to me I envisioned a sleeping room, bath and
some form of kitchen facility...

	I was disabused of that idea for the price I was
willing to pay, and the proximity to the campus...

	This was considered a very fine `apartment'.  (I had
a lot to learn about living in a big city and going to
a major university.)  She did offer that meals were
available at a very nominal cost and that this was the
finest chef on Fraternity Row.  The meal plan
consisted of breakfasts every day except Saturday and
Sunday, which was more of a Continental Brunch, and a
sign-up for meals at other times with the exception of
Monday nights which were Fraternity Meeting.  I could
also sign up for lunch and dinner every day but
Saturday and Sunday.

	Sounded pretty complicated after a nearly five hour
drive... but it was better than some of the other
places she had suggesting.  Mrs. Bartle, I learned her
name was, seemed very much opinionated that this was
the very place I needed and that I would find it most
appealing if I would just look at it.   She even
proceeded to call to see if anyone was there now,
since it was so close...

 	The House Manager, a Mr. Herbert Basmajian was there
now taking delivery on the new  furniture for the
rooms and if I wanted to run down he'd wait for me...

	She gave me the original and a carbon of a referral
form she had been filling out as we talked.  She said
I had to have Mr. Basmajian sign it and that I needed
to return it whether I took the apartment or not .
She also went into her `used car salesman mode' and
encouraged me to look at this carefully, because in
the past these apartments had not stayed on the market
long... yada yada yada...

	Her directions were precise.  I made every turn out
of the parking lot just as she said and found myself
looking at a building that some Frank Lloyd Wright
intern had probably drafted for a project in the late
forties or early fifties...  One side was a low flat
roofed building  that Eled into another two story
structure connected by a sweeping curved roof...  all
if which was surrounded by tropical plants.  It looked
like what I imagined a Banana Farm to be... The most
prominent feature was the roof line which sort of
swooped out at you and almost lured you in  whether
you wanted its protection or not.  The windows were
all well above 8 feet off the ground and made a band
of glass around the top of the first floor.  This same
motif was repeated on the second floor wing.  The
entrance had two massive mahogany doors flanked by
irregularly shaped paned windows set in shadow boxes
on either side which made for both privacy and
invitation at the same time.

	I walked up the tree steps of the front stoop  to
ring the doorbell, but there was none... just two very
massive hammered brass curved door pulls that appeared
to be a tubular circle split where the doors came
together.  The back of the pulls was a hammered brass
solid circle  some inch and a half thick.  Very
impressive.  I was prepared to make a hefty tug, but
the doors were perfectly balanced and  almost took me
off balance with their ease of swing.  The foyer
itself was on a cant so that when one entered you'd be
facing half-right into a gathering room.

	I stepped into a foyer that looked the shape of  a
squashed pentagon.  Directly in front of the doors to
the left was a faceted mirror with a modern chandelier
and a low moulded mahogany bench.  Directly in front
of the path of entrance you faced into a gathering
room which could be divided by mahogany accordion
doors.  Through those doors on the farthest wall you
could see a mammoth natural stone fireplace.
Immediately to your right was a mahogany closet kind
of structure whose doors went from floor to the (at
least ) twelve foot ceiling.  There were no knobs or
any kind of decoration on the plain doors.  Behind the
closet were stairs leading to a second floor.

	Between the mirrored wall and the wall into the
common room was a long hallway running the length of
the El.  On the left side of the wall there were two
doors. On the right side of the hall wall was a long
bulletin board.  At the end of the hall you could see
that the door went through some sort of ante room and
outside.

	The entrance was impressive to say the least.
Everything was very highly polished, most especially
the very dark green, nearly black, floor.  The smell
of new paint waft through the halls.

	Out of nowhere appeared a guy who obviously
considered himself a cool dude.  He wore flip-flops, a
 pair of string colored cut off pants that had frayed
from washing and a nearly clean T-shirt advertising
some `Sailor's Ball' with a sorority the previous
April.  His blue black hair was thick and wavy.  He
had sharp features and swarthy skin.  He was handsome
in his own rugged way.  "Hi, I'm Herb, Mrs. Bartle
said you'd be coming by..."  He stuck out his hand in
an honest, friendly way.

	"We just got the furniture today and the mattresses
and box springs just arrived abut an hour ago", he
said as he opened the first door behind the mirrored
wall.  I was impressed with the size of the room.  The
dark floor had a room sized low shag rug on the floor
that I guessed was about a 10 by 12 and there was
plenty of space around that, so this was a big room.

	"Nice", was all I could think of, "very nice, very
spacious".  And indeed it was.  You came into the room
into about a five by five space that butted into the
massive closet.  More mahogany, but at about 8 feet up
there was another door indicating that there was space
above the closet for storage.  The Closet was deep,
but not a true walk-in... The doors were opened by
tapping and when opened revealed full length mirrors
in opposition so you could see yourself for and aft.
Under the very high windows was the bed, a queen size.
 On the opposite wall directly to the right of the
door was a nice desk bookshelf arrangement... sort of
an ettigere with a built in desk.  The decor was not
quite oriental, but smacked of a bamboo-ness to me.
On the wall opposite from the closet was another
closet, but that proved to be a built-in sink,
electric burner and refrigerator all in one unit, and
beside that a very neat table that folded down from
the wall into the room and there were two chairs that
fit in the built in space.  In the corner was another
leather-look wing backed chair with a round table.

	I was sort of awed by it all.  Herb had me look at
built in dresser in the hall space that went into the
bathroom area.  The bath had a basin, stool, large
shower then another stool and basin.  The stools were
in their own little cubicles affording privacy, but it
was obvious that this was a shared bath.

	Herb explaind that `privacy' could be afforded by
turning the  `occupied' sliding dead bolt on the
inside of the bathroom door of the other apartment.
He gave a stage wink as if to convey a special
message... As we were enjoying the `private joke'  we
heard the front doors fly open and Pear Shape came in
bellowing, "Is Basmajian here?"

	Herb excused himself and went to the foyer and
introduced himself and suggested the newcomer join us
in the `apartment'.

	Pear Shape came in and acknowledged my presence by,
"Hey, I remember you from the Housing Office... Hi,
I'm James Alvin, but everybody calls me Jas."  He shot
his hand at me and gripped in a very masculine hearty
handshake.

	"I heard your counselor telling you about this place
and I told my counselor I wanted to see it. ... Man,
this is nice."

	Herb smiled and shot me a glance.  I smiled back and
made up my mind that, `if that kid moves in here, he's
gonna take that back room...'

	Herb must have read my mind, because he said, "Here,
let me show you the other room, it's just a reverse of
this one.  Unfortunately we haven't finished getting
the furniture placed or the bed set up, but everything
is exactly the same.  Herb led Jas through the
bathroom into the rear room.

	I opened a few more doors, peered into the desk and
checked out that funny little kitchen thing... Jas was
very verbal and open about his enthusiasm for the
place. I heard him ask about the board arrangements
and prices.  I listened as they discussed the terms
and payment schedule.

	The terms and the prices were good.  I especially
liked the fact that I didn't have to mess around
making breakfast, and the fact that even though you
were on a meal plan and tentatively scheduled, two
hours was enough to cancel or add a meal, and there
was no minimum.  The `no heavy duty cooking' left me
with a few questions... exactly what constituted
`heavy duty?'....  But that could wait.

	I quickly calculated my budget.  I could afford this,
especially if I got any kind of stipend or work
study... things looked pretty good.  The only real
question was parking.  I could hear Herb and Jas
negotiating as they came back to the room where I was
still trying to be nonchalant about the apartment.

	"Well, what do you think?  We just listed them this
morning when we found out the furniture would be here
today.  Usually, we don't get a response so soon, but
this is only the third time we renovated them in five
years.  Most of our tenants stay until they graduate."

	"I'm impressed.  I have only one question, what about
parking, I have a car?"

	"Parking is $30 a month additional.  Let's go out
back and I'll show you where you park.  There is a $50
deposit for the remote, but you get that back when you
return it."  We headed out the door into the long
hall.  We moved through the kitchen and pantry area to
the back door.  There was a key pad on the back door
as well as a keyed dead bolt.

	The parking lot was fenced with barbed wire on top.
It was all but hidden by a growth of some tall bushs
that were very neatly trimmed to the top of the 10
foot Cyclone fence.  Only the roll ofbarbed wire was
really obvious. Must be a nice neighborhood.

	 The gate was operated by a remote and you had an
assigned space.  Spaces were also rented to Fraternity
Brothers, but two spaces were reserved for the tenants
of the rental apartments.  Slots were assigned on a
first-come, first-served basis.  Mine would be number
1, directly opposite the gate.  It seemed like an
ideal set up for my needs.

	At the door Herb explained that generally the back
door through which we came was locked with the key pad
at all times, on weekends, or times when the cook
wasn't there, you also had to use a key for the dead
bolt.  Added protection for all of us.  The dead bolt
had to be key operated both from the inside and the
outside insuring maximum protection for the cars.
Fraternity brothers had rigid times when they could go
in and out; only the paying tenants had unlimited
usage.  Also, Herb explained, Fraternity Brothers had
to go around to the front of the house and were not
allowed through the kitchen area.  So there were a few
perks for the `paying customers'.

	I had about decided that this was the place for me.
Granted, it was the only place I looked, but it was
fairly priced, new and clean and I could walk to
school most of the time and I.... well I just liked
it.  But then, there was Pear Shape...

	When we came back in he was going through the front
apartment opening and closing drawers just as I had
done, but already I felt resentment that he was `going
through my stuff'.

	I knew he liked it as much as I did, but I would be
damned if he were going to get my room!..... I told
Herb I'd take it and asked, "\when can we do the
paperwork....?"

	He smiled and replied, "Right now if you'd like, in
fact, if you sign up for the year, you can move in
right now and I won't start the rent until Orientation
and Registration, but you won't have any meals until
then..."

	"Fine, I'm ready to move in this afternoon."

	"Does that go for me too?" from Pear Shaped Jas.

	"Well, yeah, if you  want it we can arrange
something... sure. I'll need to round up a crew to get
your room assembled... Let me have your referral
slips."  He scrawled his signature and said to wait
right here... where else would we go?

	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

	I sat at the desk arrangement.  Jas sort of ambled
around the room.  I decided that maybe I could be a
little cordial since it appeared we would be
housemates, and said, "You know, I didn't even go in
that back room, how is it?"

	"Looks the same as this one except it is reversed.
The furniture is all piled up in one corner and the
rug is still in its wrapper.  I wonder if it is the
same as yours?"

	"Probably, ...they probably got everything at the
same place and just duplicated it.  I think I'll go
out tonight and buy some sheets and a mattress pad...
I don't think I'll need a blanket in this weather... I
can't imagine it will get cold at night...  I wonder
about towels... I brought only one set..."

	Herb came in with bunch of papers... as we signed we
talked, and I asked him about laundry facilities and
such... linens and towels and such were on our own.
The fraternity had a washer and dryer, and he said we
could check it out, but it was usually kind of messy
and ate quarters... He suggested that we go to the
laundry on the corner of Hoover and Figuroa.  He said
for an additional 10 cents a pound they folded
everything for you.  Most of the guys used Mel's at
the entrance to the campus for shirts and stuff.

	In the sign-up process we learned that Jas' dad was a
physician in the Bay Area.  That he was being sent to
SC because his dad was an Alum, that he was on
probation and the reason he didn't have a car was that
his folks wanted to make sure he concentrated on his
studies.  If he passed all his classes he could bring
his car up the next semester.  He made it rather clear
that his father would be footing the bill and that
Herb merely needed to send his dad the notices.

	I began to like him less... I worked my ass off
keeping up my grades to get into this place.  I was
getting a very small scholarship and they made me feel
like they were doing me a big favor.  I brought them a
strong B average... this punk is on probation from
high school.  His dad's an alum, big money, writes him
a check and he gets in just like that...

	Paperwork finished, I asked Herb where the nearest
Sears might be found.  He gave me directions and said
that stores generally stayed open until nine and I had
plenty of time.

	With that Herb left the room and came back with a
remote for the parking area, two keys; one for the
dead bolt and one for the room.  He said the our room
keys opened the front door if it ever got locked... He
said he'd insure that it was locked until the
Fraternity started using the rest of the house for
their dormitory spaces.

	Herb explained that the gathering room, the sitting
room, and dining room were common areas and we should
not hesitate to mingle.  We were invited to any
parties held here, we just had to pay our share.  The
Fraternity appreciated the income derived from our
rental and in the past the relationships had always
been cordial.

	With that he took his leave.

	Jas asked me if I had any plans for the evening.  I
told him  "No, the only thing on my agenda is to get
some bedding, towels and a few supplies for my
fridge."

	"Mind if I tag along?  I don't have any plans either,
and I don't have to go back home until Wednesday.  I
told my folks that if I couldn't find an apartment or
a roommate by then I'd stay in a dorm... I really
didn't want to be in a dorm."

	"Be my guest... where is your  luggage?  By the way,
how did you get here so quickly?  When I left you were
still looking at the pictures ...?  Did you take a
cab?"

	"No, I walked. It's a straight shot from right out
the Housing Office to here.  That's the thing I like
about this place... You think they'd mind if we
rearrange the furniture?"

	"My guess is, no, but there don't seem to be too many
ways you can make it fit better and still be as usable
as the space is now.   What did you have in mind?"

	"Nothin' really.  MIne's all piled up in a corner, I
just thought, if I have to move it anyway I'd just try
something else."

	"Are you planning to stay here tonight?"

	"Yeah, I  guess, I mean, Yeah.  I'll get some sheets
and stuff too, I guess.  I don't have any towels and
never use a pillow ...just something to get by until
my flight on Wednesday.  My bags are still at housing,
would you mind if we swung by there on our way to
Sears?  I'll buy you dinner."

	"That won't be necessary.  From the directions Herb
gave us, it looks like the Sears store is on the way
and we have to take these forms back to the Housing
Office anyway...  If we're going to get your stuff,
though, we'd better leave, it is getting on to 4:30
and they probably close pretty soon."

	We locked our doors,   went out to the car and headed
back to campus.  We turned in our forms.  Mrs. Bartle
fairly beamed when I told her I'd taken the place and
would be moving in tonight.  She allowed as how those
apartments are always the first to go and she was so
glad to know they were going to two fine young men....

	We got Jas' bags.  He had a wheeled carry on and a
little duffel bag.  Nicely matched in a very deep
maroon with gold piping... Wow! already into the
school colors...

	We snaked our way into traffic.  It was now quarter
to five, not the best time to be going anywhere in Los
Angeles...  On our way to the Sears store we came upon
a huge WalMart Superstore.  We could see Sears from
the parking lot pull in.  I suggested we try WalMart
first and if we didn't see what we wanted, we could
always go to Sears later.

	We went to bedding and both bought sheets.  I chose
some fitted tan bottom sheets and some more colorful
top sheets.  I bought two sets with pillow cases to
match.  I also bought a king sized woven thermal
blanket in a shade darker to use as a bed spread.  I
chose two sets of towels, one tan set and the other
darker brown.  I had a chocolate set in the car
somewhere that my Mom had picked out.  She was one of
the precursers to Martha Steward.  Always choose
colors that will match or go together... Jeezus, would
I ever be rid of that woman?..... Jas bought white
flat sheets and dark green towels...

	I bought some fruit and a box of Chex, a quart of
milk and some orange juice.  Jaz bought Pop Tarts.  I
had a small microwave, a toaster oven, a crock pot and
a set of stoneware dishes and cutlery that my Mom had
gotten as premiums at our local Safeway.  I had a set
of four of everything plus 8 more teaspoons.  Mom
believes you can never have too many teaspoons.

	I found space for our new purchases behind the seat
and we decided to go back to the new digs.  I got a
little lost coming back, nothing serious, but on that
detour found a real nice little steak house.  I wanted
to celebrate.  Jas thought it would be a good idea too
so we stashed the food, dumped the bedding.  It was
still about  a quarter to six and I wasn't yet hungry
so I decided to unload my van.

	Jas helped for awhile, until it was obvious it was a
job I had to do myself.  He retreated to his room and
I heard him moving furniture around.  He came back
into my room and announced, "We forgot to buy T.P. and
Kleenex."

	"So we did.  Bad planning.  I'll make a list of stuff
and you do the same.  The items we can share, we'll
divvy up, the personal stuff we'll pay for ourselves."
 I was getting tired of this moving stuff anyway.

	It was about 7:30 when I suggested we go to dinner.
Jas was only too eager.  He'd run out of energy to do
much else and admitted he was famished.  So we
retraced our steps and found Chris' Pit,  a small, but
truly good steak house.  The salad dressing was to die
for and the Iced Tea was a flavor I'd never had
before.  The potatoes tasted like they'd been baked
all day and there was an abundance of real butter,
chives, sour cream, real bacon, shredded cheese and an
onion-garlic mix I'd never tasted before.  Bread was
steaming when it was delivered in little French Rolls
and you could have your choice of Whole Wheat, White,
Dark Rye with caraway seeds or a very sour Sour Dough.

	We passed on a dessert.

	After a very satisfying meal, we pulled our our
respective lists. We discovered that we used the same
shampoo, body wash, tooth paste and Listerine.  I
suggested since I would be here for most of the time
until Registration, I'd just pay for it all and he
could use it the next two days until he came back for
school.  He agreed, if he could pay for dinner.  Deal.

	So, back to WalMart.  We buggied around the Drug
Center and got our stuff.  When we went to check out,
I did notice that Jas had squirreled away a very large
tube of KY Jelly and a big box of Trojans...  This guy
must be a real lover...

	Jas paid for his `personal' items, I bought the rest
and we went to the car.  There was a Marble Slab Ice
Cream Parlor across the street from WalMart and I
suggested we have a cone.  That was a good suggestion.
 Jaz paid for the ice cream too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

	The day and the drive was catching up to me.  I had a
long day ahead of me tomorrow.  I wanted to make the
rounds of some of the Dance Academies and I needed to
check out the University Dance Program. Undoubtedly
there would be auditions scheduled.

	As we turned on to 29th to get to the parking lot, we
noticed that the lights were on in Jas' room.  We
parked and I was able to manipulate both the deadlock
and the keypad.  As we came down the hall, two heads,
then a third popped out of Jas' room.  They were
attached to bodies that were glistening with sweat,
stripped to the waist with shirts tucked into the back
of their shorts.  Obviously, they had been working..

	I proceeded to my room and found a large manila
envelope attached by a push pin.  Inside were copies
of the rental agreement, maps of the area and stuff
you needed to find your way around.  Nice touch.
Also, the air conditioner had been turned on, to just
above freezing.  Your breath didn't show, but a few
more minutes running and...

	I walked over to the thermostat and discovered it had
been turned down to 55 degrees and on full cool, fan
high.  On the floor in the bathroom aimed at  Jas'
opened door was an oscillating fan on high...

	The three `Brothers' were busily trying to get the
room arranged.  Unfortunately the thermostat for Jas'
room had been damaged , because he had no air, so they
improvised...  The desk and wing back and table were
set.  The rug was on the floor, the mirrors were being
attached to the backs of the closet doors, it looked
pretty good, except for the bed.  The Headboard and
Foot board were fine, but the necessary side boards
that attached them and held the boards that supported
the box spring and mattress were not available.  Also,
there seemed to be something awry with the mattress,
wrong size or something.  Herb had been called and he
would not be able to solve the problem until tomorrow
when the store opened where the bed had come from...

	The Brothers cleaned up their mess and  busily buffed
the floor.  They would be gone in a matter of minutes.
Their task had been to get everything set up before we
got back... but,

	The Brothers left and an apparently bewildered Jas
came in and explained exactly what I had heard myself.
 He may have been Mr. Personality, but he was also
helpless when it came to improvising...

	For whatever reason, I said that since it was a
`queen sized' bed he could sleep with me.  I explained
that I normally slept alfresco, but that maybe that
wouldn't be too great an idea, especially with the
freezer still going.

	Jas perked up and I turned down the thermostat to a
more reasonable 72...
Jas first words were. "I'm not Gay, you know."

	"Meaning what?"  was all I could muster...

	"Well, I don't mind you sleeping naked, in fact I do
myself, but, I'm not gay you know..."

	"No, I don't know.  Sounds like that is an issue for
you.  How would I know something like that?"

	"Well, you probably are, I mean, I saw your dance bag
and all... I mean"...

	"It's dangerous getting all your exercise jumping to
conclusions like that"...

	"I wasn't trying to be rude or anything, and I didn't
mean to say you ...."

	I cut him off, ... "well you were but, since it is so
important to you, I happen to be Homosexual.  If you
have a problem with that, then it is just as well we
get it into the open right away, because I don't
anticipate that I'll be making any changes about that
during the year, and if you're going to be
uncomfortable,  you might want to  look for another
roomie, or figure out how you'll be safe in your room.
 There is a lock on the bathroom door you know."

	"Hey, that's not what I meant... I just, well, I'm
not gay and I didn't want you to think that, well....
I'm sorry, I'm making  this worse."

	"Yeah, I agree.  You are.  Do you want to trust the
fact that I'm not all that attracted to you and that
you have my word that you'll be safe... nothing will
happen unless you want it to, and then I reserve the
right..."

	"Hey, I didn't mean that.  Honestly, it's just...."

	"Yeah, I know, you're not Gay... I picked that up
along the way... but pardon me if I observe that, `me
thinks the boy protesteth to much' with apologies to
the Spear Shaker..."

	"Hey, I said I'm sorry... can I sleep here tonight or
not?"

	"Suit yourself, but you're not gay...  and I do sleep
nude."

	With that he went into the bathroom, leaving the door
open, took a whiz in my
 toilet.  He then went to his basin  and started
brushing his teeth.  I found my stuff, stripped,
wrapped myself in a Bath Sheet and prepared to take my
shower.  We didn't say much after that.  I showered,
wrapped myself back in my towel again and came into my
room and started sorting my dirty clothes into
`whites' and `coloreds'.  I had closed the door
between my room and the bath...

	I heard the shower turn off.  A few minutes later
there was a feeble knock on the door between the
bathroom and my apartment...

	"Yes...?"

	"May I come in?"

	"Come..."

	Jas cam in buck assed naked and approached the bed
and stood there looking forlorn and pleading...

	I stepped around to the opposite of the bed and
dropped my towel and stared to get into bed.   I
waited until he  pulled back the sheet and  lowered
himself into bed before I reached for the light
switch. I couldn't help noticing that he was well
hung, but what caught my attention was that he was
uncircumcised.  I'm not all that turned on by uncut
guys, but this thing had a proboscis hanging off the
end of it... I'd never seen such a preponderance of
skin.  I have to admit I was staring...

	He smiled, rather smirked, and said, "Never seen
anything like that before?"

	I turned out the light and said, "Can't say that I
have"...

	He pulled the sheet up under his chin and said, "It
has its advantages sometimes..."

	Huh?  Advantages?  This was my day for enigmas. "High
Noon" and now "advantages to having two inches of
unnecessary skin on the end of your dick"... just the
hygienic problem... hell, I have a long day ahead of
me.  I'm not going to even ponder that one...  I
rolled over on my side and stared at the closet... He
was safe... very safe from me...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

	I had trouble falling off to sleep.  Tired as I was
his constant motion kept me awake.  He jiggled.  Every
so often, he sort of lift himself or something.
Eventually though, I must have dozed off...

	When we first got into bed, there was enough space
between us that a normal person lying on his back
could have been all but spread eagle between us and
not have touched either of us... I turned over on my
back and even in my stupor I was cognizant that
someone was very close beside me.

	I returned to the arms of Morpheus and must have
turned on my left side because this time I was up
against Jas' very warm body.  Shit!  This is going to
go ever great...

	I am in bed with a homophobe and my stiffening disk
is dangerously close to his ass.  I could feel his
regular breathing, so I assumed no harm had been done.
 I rolled back onto my back and lay there, now wide
awake.  Within seconds, he did likewise and our hands
touched.  I tried to pull my hand from under his, but
he gripped it... not hard, but it was definitely a
grip.

	I contemplated how to get out from this situation and
he spoke.  "Interested?"

	I was sure that is what he said, `interested?' with
the rising inflection of a question, a provocative
question at that.

	"I beg your pardon... I ... I ... didn't realize you
were awake.  You are on my half of the bed..."

	"Yes, but you were interested, weren't you?  I mean,
I could feel it."

	By now I was getting both pissed and somewhat
frustrated.  What was going on here...?  "Actually, I
am a bit confused.  You are lying clear over here next
to me and..."

	"Look, I know you want to. ... Go ahead."

	"Go ahead and what?"

	"I'm not gay, but, well if you want to fuck me, go
ahead."  And with that he turned on the lamp on his
night stand.  "I am not interested in any kind of
foreplay, whatsoever... I am not gay..."

	"I know, you've said that repeatedly... but your
actions are telling me something a whole lot different
right now, and I frankly don't like it.  Mind fuck is
not one of my favorite games..."

	"It isn't a mind fuck.  I'm serious.  I am not gay.
I don't do any of the regular stuff that ... that...
well, gay people do.  I just like to take it up the
ass.  I really dig women, but there is one thing a
woman can't do for me... she can suck me, she can jack
me, she can do all of those things leading up to a
good fuck, but she  obviously can't..."

	By this time I had sat up.  I was looking him square
in the face.  My peripheral vision caught his Wal-Mart
bag on the night stand.  Sometime after we'd gone to
bed, he'd fetched it and it was on the night stand!

	"Uh, exactly what the hell do you have in mind
here... I mean, you go through this drill of how you
aren't gay, you make all that fuss before we bed down,
now I see you've got your stash of props... What the
hell gives here?"

	"Simple.  Fuck me."

	"Ah, just like that, fuck you..  No warm up, no
foreplay, just stick it in..."

	"Works for me."  He pushed himself on to his stomach
and got into a semi-doggy position.  He actually
`winked' his asshole at me!  He had incredible skill.
He could open and close it at will.  Yeah, you got it.
It turned me on... in a funny kind of way...

	"I knew when I scooted over to you and you got hard
you were interested."

	"You take a lot of stuff for granted.  I was asleep.
I was in REM sleep, at that.   I wasn't dreaming of
you.  I wasn't plotting, like you seem to have
been..."   I positioned my now turgid member at the
entrance of his chute.

	I touched the head on his hole and moved it around.
He said,   "Wait... put this on," and he handed me an
unwrapped reservoir condom. Condoms I knew but I had
never used one of these before...  "Let me put a
little lube back there."  He greased the entrance and
with what was left put a bit on the tip of my now
sheathed member.

	Once again we lined up and I put my head at the
entrance and pushed.   I drove it home in one thrust.
He gave a little exhale when my testicles slapped
against his.
I started slowly undulating in and out... he caught my
rhythm and I began to increase my speed.  He had an
uncanny ability to squeeze and relax which produced a
sort of milking effect.  He had done this before.  He
knew what he was doing.  I began to breathe heavily,
and then he said, "Wait.  Stop."

	Shit!  What's going on here?  He reached over and
deftly slipped a condom over his own now throbbing
member.

	"Go", he commanded.  And I did go.  I was getting
more and more frustrated by the minute.  I fairly
pistoned him and he obviously enjoyed every thrust.  I
began to feel the banging on my balls and had to slow
the pace for the pain I was causing myself!  I was
throwing him a mean fuck.  The harder I pounded the
more he squeezed and released.  Just then, he really
clamped down and I had one of the most horrendous
orgasms I had ever experienced.  I'm not one of those
who counts how many spurts, all I can say is it was as
good as I had ever had.

	I collapsed on his back and he slowly let himself
sink to the bed and we lay there for, how long I don't
know, but then with an expulsion motion, he pushed me
out and said, "We'd better shower."

	I was ready for a shower.  I walked into my stool
area and stripped off the now full condom and watched
it float momentarily in the water below.  Urination
came a bit slowly, then with a cleansing burst I
emptied my bladder and it splashing into the bowl.

	Meanwhile, Jas had gone to his cubicle and left the
door open.  When I went to start my shower, I could
see him very carefully washing himself, paying great
attention to cleaning his foreskin and applying some
sort of green liquid to it and washing it with a
washcloth.  He smiled and said, "Thanks, that was the
best I've had in a long, long time."  Somehow, I
believed him.  It certainly was true for me, but I
wasn't quite so gracious and just stepped into the
shower.

	I was still wide awake when he returned from his
shower.  It was about four o'clock in the morning.  I
was higher than a kite.  I lay on my side of the bed
on my back. He got into bed and reached over and took
my hand and squeezed it.  "Thanks", he said.

	I really was bewildered. We talked for awhile and Jas
told me about his childhood, how he grew up in a
`nice' neighborhood.  He talked about his neighbor kid
who was Jewish and three years older than he.  He
talked about how this boy taught him about anal sex.
Jas admitted to being `not all that popular' neither
in the neighborhood, at school or even at the Country
Club.  He told me how would submit to Heime and Heime
would `like him'.  He told of how when he and Heime
were caught his dad passed it off as `boys will be
boys' and `curiosity is normal', but it wasn't enough
for his mother and Jas couldn't `play' with Haime any
more, but how they'd sneak off and `do funny' anyway.
He told me of how he realized that if he let other
guys that he wanted to be with `do funny' with him, he
had instant friends and was accepted.

	It was at the country club that he learned a new
thing just a few years ago.  He asked me if I had ever
`docked' with anyone.  I admitted I hadn't.  I didn't
know what it was.  I soon found out.

	The discussion had given me about a three-quarter
erection.  Even in the dim light of the nightstand
light it was obvious.  Both of us were semi aroused,
but Jas with all the grace of an elephant put his hand
over my dick and said, "I see you're ready."

	With that he proceeded to tell me to kneel in front
of him on the bed. He put a towel between us on the
mattress. There we were, kneeling face to face and he
pulled his foreskin back until his head was fully
exposed.  It was a bright reddish-purple and
absolutely glistened.  He explained how after he would
wash it with green soap and cleanse it thoroughly he'd
put a little bit of K-Y Jelly on it, which he did, and
then pulled my dick so that both our piss slits were
`eye to eye'.  He then slipped the foreskin back over
both of our dicks and gently massaged them.  It was an
incredible feeling.  I was totally unprepared for the
sensation and almost shot my wad on the first one or
two motions, but Jas warned me it was better if you
held back as long as possible.  Very gently, almost in
massage fashion, he stroked the skin over our cocks...
never moving the foreskin farther back than the rim of
my head...  Finally, I just couldn't stand it any
longer and he realized it and did some incredible
motion on the underside of the two `docked' dicks and
there was an explosion of ejaculate that squirted onto
the towel beneath.  It took my breath away.  I fell
forward on to him, but he steadied me.  I nearly
blacked out.  The fuck was great, but this was
something so totally different for me, I have no words
adequate to explain it...

	When I regained my composure enough to walk to the
bathroom I proceeded to urinate again, and then wash
my precious manhood.  What a night.  All this from the
guy who `wasn't gay, you know.'

	We finally got to sleep around six o'clock.  By then
I was emotionally drained and physically spent.  I
finally awakened around 10:30 or so... Jas was gone.
There was a note saying he was off to `explore' the
neighborhood and that he'd `catch me again tonight'.
The note was signed with a drawn smily face with a
curly hair out of the top...

	He caught me again that night... and even though the
mixup on the beds was solved, there was no reason to
mess up his new sheets since he was leaving the next
day around noon and wouldn't be back until
Registration and Orientation.

Epilogue

	Jas and I lived together there until I graduated.  He
never did get his car.  He spent 4 semesters on
`academic probation'.  The first summer he managed to
bring up his average so he could start the second
year, but he got involved with a sorority gal he met
at a function at the house and they married during the
summer.  I was his best man at his wedding.

	We have drifted apart and I don't even know where he
is right now.  He divorced after about 15 months and
remarried another girl from San Jose where he was
attending school at the time.  I wasn't able to make
either his second marriage or his eventual graduation
from S.C. because of my own graduation from the
University of New Mexico...


	By the time he had completed his baccalaureate
education he had amassed enough hours and proper
courses that he received a Bachelors Degree in
University Studies from U.S.C. and then just 8 days
later received a Master of Arts in American Studies
from San Jose.

	I've never docked again...