I'm Ashamed of This, but Its a Good Story Anyway

New Years Eve is coming up in about four days, which reminded me of a New Years Eve story: Remember this event happened when I was a teenager with a very low ethics code. I’m a nicer person now. I think it was 1958, my junior year. Then Cobb County was a dry county. Selling hard booze was illegal. So, we had to drive to the Fulton County, at the county line, The River Package Store, to get our whisky. It was December the 31st and we had a party we were invited to, but it was a BYOB party. We were under age to buy alcoholic beverages anyway. At the River Package store, hanging out in the parking lot we could not talk anybody getting out of their cars to go in to do us a favor and buy us a bottle. So, finally we drove back to Marietta empty handed. We were sitting in Monty’s mother’s car wondering what next when I saw my uncle stumbling down the street. My uncle was a casualty of WWII. He never got over all the killing he did and saw in the war. I think he was homeless off and on. He saw us sitting in the car and walked over. I’m not sure he recognized me or not. He asked how “You boys doing?” “Fine, what about yout?” Then he asked would we mind giving him a ride someplace. “NO, of course not.” He asked us to carry him down to a Shell Station on Powder Springs Street. We did. He asked us to wait on him. We did. He went in and came back out with a brown paper bag, about pint size. He then asked us to take him north of Marietta where a new subdivision was being built. We did. The new subdivision was off Kennesaw Avenue. It was Keeler Woods. He asked us to wait on him. We did. He, with his brown paper bag, went behind a partially built house and behind some foliage and returned without the brown paper bag. We carried him back to the North Park Square and let him off about where we picked him up. After dark we went back to Keeler Woods, with the car lights burning went back to the house my uncle left his brown paper bag and looked behind every bush and tree and found what we were seeking, a pint bottle of moonshine. We went to the party and with the moonshine and grape juice we made “Purple Jesus”. Purple Jesus got a number of us teenagers drunk that night and even temporarily blinded one. Well, not really blinded, but he could only see blue and red smears of light. HAPPY NEW YEARS!