Scandalous Behavior
During my junior year in high school the winter blues was sitting in and a couple of friends and I decided to go camping one weekend. Greers Ferry Lake was one of our popular summertime hangouts that had campsites so we decided this would be our destination. Once there we found the campground mostly deserted and pitched the tent near the water. There was only one other group of campers nearby which consisted of a husband and wife with a young daughter.
We rented a party barge, they're a lot cheaper in the off-season, and rode around the lake until we found an isolated cove then stopped for lunch. A small cliff with an outcropping provided us with a place to set up the hibachi grill and cook. Being a little bored with the day and daring each other we shed our clothes and jumped into the water. February in Arkansas isn't the best time to go swimming and the water was ice cold. It didn't take long for us to scramble back onto the party barge and, well wouldn't you know it, another group of about 10 people on another barge just happened to come into the cove at that time. There we were in all our glory, freezing cold and butt necked. Much to the amusement of the others it didn't take long for us to get dressed.
That evening we went to the bowling alley in Heber Springs where we met several other teens and we struck up a conversation with a couple of local girls. Things were looking very promising until several rednecks walked in and saw us. We didn't have really long hair but it was longer than theirs and we certainly dressed differently plus it didn't help that we were strangers. The situation got pretty intense and, well lets just say we didn't inflect many bruises upon them.
Back at the campsite we had supper and settled down for the evening swapping stories and enjoying the quiet. Not far away we noticed a car whose occupants seemed a little preoccupied. We had a discussion as to what might be done to liven up the night and formed a plan.
Being nighttime there didn't appear to be anyone around other than the couple in the car and the other campers who were inside their tent probable asleep. I'd been adventurous but not very bold in then past and we decided that I would streak (note: For those unfamiliar with the term Streaking, it is the act of running amuck without benefit of clothing preferable in a crowded location.) by the car, bang on the side and scream as I ran into the woods where clothes were to be waiting my arrival.
Everything went fine until I hit the side of the car. My so-called friends had gotten their flashlights and spotlighted me then began yelling, "Streakier, Streakier". There wasn't much of a response from the car, however, another car we hadn't noticed suddenly roared to life and starts racing toward us. This confused all of us and we scattered. I ran like hell toward the woods and realized the headlights were lighting me up so ran harder and as I reached the edge of the woods heard a crashing sound. I hurriedly dressed and found my way back to our campsite. My friends had ran for our tent but were disoriented and instead ran into the where the couple with the daughter were. You could hear the frightened cries of the mother and daughter along with the angry shouts of the father as my friends scrambled out of the tent and ran.
A deputy sheriff arrived to investigate the disturbance at the tent and the accident; the car chasing me had struck a tree. Thankfully it was nighttime and the couple in the tent mistakenly thought the occupants of the crashed car were the ones who had come into their tent. The driver was arrested for driving while intoxicated and his friends for being drunk. The whole incident was blamed on them and my friends and I escaped any implication of being involved.
The best part of the night was that the four who went to jail, well, they were the same ones we'd tangled with earlier at the bowling alley.
© Randall J. Beers
February 21, 2002
