99 or Aurora runs north and south through the city I was born and raised in. It is closed down restaurants next to ones just opening. Car lots, motels, tobacco stores. It has been a part of me for as long as I can remember.
I had a friend named John Hunter. He was from Chicago, actually had been kicked out of Chicago, told to go and live with his father after numerous brushes with the law. Not that that would change now, just he wouldn’t be in Chicago. He was longhaired with home done tattoos. I was 15 naïve as lily-white north Seattle could be.
We caught the bus to go down 99 to try and buy a ticket to a Foghat concert. Once you got downtown you had to cross 99 and walk about a half mile to the old Coliseum. We had around fifty bucks and a small bag of pot. We crossed 99 on a warm night in Seattle. It was already dark so it must have been late summer, even September. There were lots of people on the walk up the hill to the concert. Quite a line around the little water park built for the ’62 World’s fair. Soon we were milling about and found a guy selling tickets. He had them in one of those small envelopes. John and I worked up a deal 30 bucks and some pot for two tickets.
It was agreed on, the envelope was handed over and the exchange was done. John went to open the envelope and saw that there was just two pieces of paper in the envelope. He looked up at the would-be scalper and said “what the hell”. Scalper looks right at him and says, “They are in there” and starts to back away. John looks again and says “No they ain’t!” Scalper dude has an umbrella and whacks John over the head! John says “you are going to have to hit me harder then that for 30 bucks". Scalper man just boogies, I mean he is outta here. I am standing there in disbelief and John is right on his ass.
I follow, John is running like I didn’t know he could, around the buildings and paths that surround the Coliseum. I lose sight of him going around a building and when I turn the corner he is scuffling with the scalper. A few people are just standing around watching. John finally is sitting on the ground with his arms around the scalper’s legs. He says “get him now!” to me. But I freeze, so not a fighter. My delay gives the scalper time to wriggle free and take off again. John shoots me a look and takes off after again.
I am right with him this time and we turn another corner and scalper is with a bunch of his friends, winded and says “what up now, dudes?” Needless to say John and I turned around and walked. He gave me amazingly little crap for not jumping the guy, for all his hardness, he knew me. We were friends.
