Lately, Ric has been slowly-but-surely building up to his own Koyaanisqatsi time. Though he, and it seems everyone around him, have always had (to my recollection) an unsteady lifestyle, pervaded by mis-steps and foolish alligences, it really now seems to be coming to a head. Since he's always involved with rather dramatic characters, I'll call this new round "The Houseboys of Lake Mary".
Last night, after unsuccessfully trying to goad me into joining him for a liquored-up, bar-hopping night on his home town, Ric called back later, from the hospital. He'd been mugged and the "assaulter(s)" hurt him badly. He was bleeding from his head and his bike was gone.
Ric has had his run in with danger in the past. He had very vocal and even physical altercations with Gary at several bars in the early 2000's. His loud and brash, in-your-face attitude had gotten him into many fights, mostly smack-talk but often grating on the patience of bar personnel and security people, so he'd been banned at over a handful of different places and even arrested a couple times.
We ourselves had even gotten into a pretty heavy fight involving smashed glass and wielding of kitchen knives back in '98 which the cops responded to.
Friends of mine, years ago, warned me when I was just getting to know the Orlando gay crowd, that Ric had a reputation as a trouble maker. One night he reportedly pissed off a burly bear patron of a leather bar enough to have a dart thrown at the back of his neck. The dart stuck in and Ric apparently hadn't even felt it since it stayed there for the rest of the night.
Now with his party boy roommates who are constantly high on pot, pills, coke and who-knows-what-else, he's bound to get into more shit and I think this "mugging" was just the beginning of a new round of drama to come out of the "The Houseboys of Lake Mary".
He's out of the hospital now but sounds all busted up. Oh, and his bike and belongings were never stolen so it's not much of a mugging. Plus, after 15 years, you'd think I could smell a rat in his "stories" and this one's reaking. Don't know what really happened and a part of me says I shouldn't really get involved.