Acid for the Children by Flea

Author:Flea
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2018-11-26T16:00:00+00:00

As it stood, in the broad and baking L.A. daylight, while I shoveled dirt down onto the cold darkness of his coffin at the Mount Sinai cemetery, his grandfather sternly asked me in his thick Eastern European accent, “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US?”

Long before this tragedy smacked me about the head and heart, when we first bonded at Fairfax High, things were lovely and hope abounded daily.

Hillel and I had gone to Bancroft Junior High together. He was just on the periphery of my awareness then. I first really noticed him when he and Jack Irons showed up to school one day dressed as KISS. Hillel was Ace Frehley, and he blew me away because it didn’t feel like a goofy Halloween costume. He transformed from a geeky kid into a bigger-than-life rock star. I was impressed, and I didn’t even like rock music.

With the type of arrogance that only a teenager can muster, I judged it. Rock music seemed silly, a dumbed-down form, for people who didn’t really care about music, just a bunch of haircuts and advertising. I didn’t feel KISS at all (except for the one time when Raoul and I listened to “Detroit Rock City” on angel dust). I understand they mean a lot to many people, and I’m happy they influenced so many of my respected colleagues, but I missed it. However, when he and Jack and a couple of other kids enthusiastically lip-synched some KISS songs for the school talent show, pursing lips and high-kicking, their commitment affected me. That talent show was also the time Hillel and Jack decided to start playing real instruments, a decision I gratefully applaud.

I was in love with Hillel. His Picasso face, long curly hair and slim physique, the red Messenger guitar slung over his shoulder, his rock star aspirations. Man, he was awesome. He was a great addition to Anthony and me, a little more poetic, flowing with pen, paintbrush, and guitar. Anthony was the tough handsome actor with the contrarian confidence, I was the shy insecure crazy one with the funky groove, and Hillel was the artist. Hillel made me feel like I was a part of something special, that we shared magic bonded by a secret understanding. I knew something exciting was in store. We all came from broken homes and lower-middle-class backgrounds.

While waiting in line at McDonald’s, a large man ordering at the counter became argumentative and angry. He was a furious psycho, he snapped and lost it, his anger escalating insanely, spinning around to the rest of the patrons and yelling, “I’M GONNA HAVE TO HURT SOMEBODY!” Fear shot through the fast-food crowd. He stared at Hillel, who calmly deadpanned, “How about Mayor McCheese?” pointing at a standing cardboard cutout of said character. The maniac’s hardened face softened and the situation defused.

We became “The Faces,” a kind of inside joke of a gang. Hillel was not a thief like me and Anthony, nor was he willing to take the physical risks we took daily.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.