Hands over a half-unrolled map on a wooden table at dusk, with a candle and a beer bottle

A Friend's Thirtieth

September 26–29, 2013

August 20, Max Withdrawal stacked Megabus bookings. One overnight was already on the books for mid-September coffee and a Tabernacle show. Then he mailed Drew one more line: another MEM to ATL ride, this one for a friend’s thirtieth.

Thursday September 26, Memphis 11:59pm, Atlanta 8:45am. Sunday the 29th home at 10:30pm. Fifty fifty total. Two days later he told the crew he now had three future Megabus trips booked — about fifty each — and that he had paid over five dollars round-trip to Atlanta across the habit.

The party itself never got a venue, a guest list, or a post-trip report in this mailbox. The seat is locked. The thirtieth is a label on a reservation.

The fare hit fifty. The reason to go was the birthday. What happened in the room stayed off the thread.

All field notes