Subject: Rave Story(LONG)
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 94 02:16:00 -0600

Greetings. Someone wanted a rave story to be posted, so I have decided to put down my expirence of my first rave, which was Dec. 10th, in Atlanta.

Interloper
The wind blew hard against me as I closed the door to my car. I had heard about raves through the internet, and had gone to a techno club back home in Birmingham, but I didn't know what to expect. It was a leap of faith(and possibly a lapse in logic) to travel from Birmingham,AL, to Atlanta, GA for a rave, but it was a little late for that now. I noticed a faint thumping in the background as I headed for the club.

The rave was scheduled to start at 3, I arrived early, to scope the place out and to meet some of the people involved. After talking with some of the people, I noticed that the tales of a "rave vibe" were true. As people showed up for the party, I noticed that most of the people knew each other, or at least it seemed like it. The friendliness that I noticed is ,in other circles, reserved only for the best of friends, or in a tightly knit clan that is nearly impossible to join. As I was to learn, neither was the case here.

As the music started, the familiar surge of energy flowed through me, displacing all doubt as to whether I should or should not have come here. Perhaps the look in my eye, one of almost oblivious pleasure, was apparent. As I walked down the stairs to the dance floor(this was a two floor club) someone put his hand on my arm as I passed by. I looked up at him, straining my memory to see if we had met before. He smiled and greeted me, and after a moment of conversation I realized that we had never met, he was just that friendly. I told him that this was my first rave and he nodded as I continued to the dance floor. "Curiouser and curiouser", I muttered under my breath as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

When I reached the dance floor, it was as if all thoughts were wiped from my mind, it was almost as if all that exised was me and the music, and there was no difference between the two. After dancing for a time, I felt the fatigue of the long trip, and the concert I went to before the rave come upon me, so I decided to go to the smart bar and see if these "smart drinks" were all they were all cracked up to be.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I noticed the smell of clove cigarettes. Being one of the few people that enjoys the scent of clove, I headed to the source of the scent. There was a girl of extraordinary beauty, sitting on a couch. I inhaled deeply and knew that she was the one that was the source of the clove scent. She noticed me after a moment, looked puzzled for a moment, and then smiled. "You are a friend of Brian's? You're cool." I shrugged my shoulders and sat down next to her. As the evening progressed I slowly began to notice, really notice the other people. Beauty was the rule here, I noticed, and everyone seemed very happy.

After a time with this girl, whose name I cannot remember, I visited the smart bar. I engaged the man who was serving in conversation, and I realized quickly that he was a man of honor and great kindness. I volunteered to help him take down when the rave was over, and he accepted.

Other than these things, only one more telling thing happened. While I was sitting on a couch, a man who I met earlier in the evening came up to me and asked me for a brush. I honored his wish, knowing that it was a reasonable one, and followed him to see what he was going to do with it. He went over to a lady and started combing her hair. I smiled and went back to dance, trusting that he would get the brush back to me. After an hour or so, I went back upstairs to get the brush, which he had left with the lady. About 20 minutes after that, I ran into the man, who was deleriously happy about combing this girl's hair(he told me he had been interested in her for some time). After a few minutes of conversation, I realized that the brush was worth much more to him that it was to me, and gave it to him. He thanked me, and I told him no thanks were needed.

As I went into my car to drive back home, I realized how much I really enjoyed the rave. As someone who is a wanderer by nature, it was interesting to see a group that was so quick to accept a stranger. Perhaps we all have alot to learn from that.

That is my story. I hope you enjoyed it, flame it if you wish, but remember, the lowest and most vile blow that you can deal a person is when you strike at his heart.

Later
JTJ-The Interloper