living for the moment

Otto woke up to his phone going off loudly, it was sitting on his beside table charging. His ringtone was "Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant, which always put Otto in a good mood. So he woke up in a pretty good mood. Otto reached over, grabbed his phone, disconnected the charger, and read the caller i.d. To his surprise it was Scott Rowe. He was intrigued because Scott usually only calls Otto about once a month to buy drugs, and Scott had just visited Otto only a couple of days ago concerning the matter. Otto answered the phone, "Hey, what's up man? Run out of weed already this time?", he said jokingly. "Oh yeah man, I just blew through an entire ounce single-handedly, its been a wild three days, I've pretty much been high ever since I left your apartment that day", Scott said laughing and obviously joking around as well. " "You know Scott, you're turning into one of my favorite customers.", Otto replied. "Nice dude, because you're definitely one of my favorite dealers", Scott said laughing, "Anyway, I called because I just scored a trip for two at this sick ski resort up in the mountains. The guy I was DJing for last night, didn't have any money so he just paid me by giving me his ski trip reservations, pretty sweet huh? You wanna come with?" "Yeah dude, that's awesome, I'm totally up for a little skiing. I'm surprised you're not bringing a lady friend instead though? What's up with that?", Otto asked. "To be honest with you, I'm just tired of hanging with bitches all the time, I need some bro time.", Scott explained. "Oh alright man, I gotcha. So when do we leave?", Otto said. "I'm about to grab a taxi and I'll be at your place in about 20 to pick you up. Just throw some warm clothes in a bag and you'll be good to go, the guy even rented skis for us.", Scott said enthusiastically. "Alright man, sounds like a plan, I'll see you in a bit.", Otto said and hung up quickly to begin packing.

When they got to the ski resort it was 2 o'clock in the afternoon and the snow was thick and fresh and still falling. So they decided to hit the slopes right away. On the ski lift up the mountain, Scott pulled a flask of whisky out of his jacket. “You wanna get a little tipsy before this expedition, you know maybe make it a little more interesting.” “Damn Scott, you really do live for the moment don't you”, Otto said chuckling, “maybe even a little too much, alcohol will screw your liver.” “Yeah, but it makes the present moment awesome and that's what life's all about, or at least that's what it's about for me.”, Scott said. “I like the way you think man, let's have a drink then.” By the time they had reached the top Otto was feeling a little unsteady on his feet and was beginning to wonder if drinking before skiing was such a good idea after all. “Whatever, live for the moment, make the best of it”, Otto reminded himself in his head. “Race to the bottom!”, Scott yelled and took off down the mountain.

Otto was quick to follow but still feeling quite uneasy on his skis. Scott tucked his poles and crouched for maximum speed, and Otto didn't want to loose so he too tucked his poles under his arms and crouched. Otto began gaining on Scott and was building up pretty good speed. As Otto passed Scott, he turned his head back to taught him, taking his eyes off the course ahead. “Haha, suckaahhh”, Otto was saying when all of the sudden. WHAM. He got clotheslined by a low branch going about 50 miles an hour. He felt his ribs crack as he lost his breath immediately. Had he been about a foot to the right, it would have been the entire tree which probably would have killed him.

The pain was dulled by the whisky so Otto was able to stand up slowly and ski gently to the bottom where Scott was waiting for him. “Damn! You got annihilated by that tree so bad!”, Scott said while laughing, “Let's do it again, let's do it again!” “I don't know about that man, I think I have a couple broken ribs, you got anymore of that whiskey?”, Otto said. “Nope, we killed it.”, Scott replied. “Well then I'm definitely done for the day, I'm going back to the lodge.”, Otto said. “Alright, that's cool, I can ski all day by myself, this shit is so much fun! Plus I got a joint that we didn't even smoke yet!”, Scott exclaimed. “Alright, well have fun with that, I'm gonna go lie down and maybe seek some medical attention.” Otto went back to the lodge, wincing in pain. When he got to his room, he lied down and counted his blessings. He began realizing the true importance of living for the moment, because at any moment life can be taken away. And in that moment, lying on the bed, Otto became extremely grateful for simply living.

 

Taking it easy

Otto was reclining comfortably in his lazy boy, watching a game of hockey with his third bowl of Captain Crunch for the morning (or rather afternoon, Otto had slept until noon). He enjoyed doing this often in the winter, since he figured no one really wanted to buy or sell any crap at his second-rate pawn shop anyway, especially on a frigid winter morning. He usually rolls in to open up around 4:30 though. But in the early afternoon of this day at about 2:00, Otto heard a knock on his door. It was his new friend/customer Scott Rowe. Otto liked Scott, he thought he was a pretty cool guy, and plus he gave him good business on a regular basis. "Scotty! What's going on, good to see you bud." "Hey man, you too, listen I'm DJing at this block party later on over at the roller skating rink, you should be there, pretty girls, good music, and plenty of mind altering substances", Scott said to Otto as they did their business transaction. "Oh alright dude, sounds sweet, I'll probably be there. My schedule is completely clear, I don't ever have shit to do anymore, this town is a pretty dull place". "Yeah I hear you man, but you just gotta live for the moment and make the best of it, that's what I try to do, every night my man", Scott said. "Alright well I'll see you later tonight then, enjoy yourself", Otto said. "You bet, bud, right back at ya", Scott said and walked out the door.

The hockey game was over and Otto started watching an old episode of Good Times. A few moments later Otto heard a knock on his door yet again. He thought maybe Scott had come back for something, since he only walked out the door a few minutes ago. But to Otto's surprise it was one man and one woman, dressed in black casual suits. Otto noticed they had pamphlets with crosses on them and immediately assumed they were Jehovah's Witnesses. Otto never really understood these people, but perhaps it was because he never really took the time to. He used to always shoo them away in a hurry and in a rather rude manner. This time, however, Otto was somewhat intrigued with the people that stood before him. "Good afternoon sir, my name is Joseph and this is Margret." "Uhh, I'm Otto, nice to meet you", Otto said in a tone that sounded almost confused. "Well Otto it's nice to meet you too. Now tell me, do you have God in your life Otto?", said the woman. "I don't know. Do I have God in my life? Do any of us have God in our lives? How can I really know?", Otto asked inquisitively. "Well it's called having faith, you just have to trust and believe, and be willing to accept God into your life to help you.", said the man. "We have a pamphlet for you here that should help you in your spiritual journey to finding God.", said the woman has she handed a pamphlet to Otto. "Oh, wow, thanks so much.", Otto said in a dull but genuine voice. "Our pleasure Otto, have a blessed day.", the man said as they moved on to the next door.

Otto decided that he would read through the pamphlet later and reflect on his thoughts of God when he felt the time, it just seemed like too much at the moment. So Otto spent the rest of the afternoon watching Good Times and laughing hysterically. For dinner he went to Casa d'Waffles, just because he hadn't been there in a while. He noticed a familiar looking man sitting at the counter as he walked in. Otto didn't know the man's name, but he wanted to find out. So he went up and popped a squat on the stool next to the man. "Hey, my name's Otto, Otto Vandersloot. You look strangely familiar for some reason, but I don't think I know you from anywhere, do I?", Otto said. "Not that I know of, Vandersloot...Vandersloot, wait, are you related to that guy that just escaped from prison?", asked the man. "Oh, yeah that's my brother, but I don't really even know him that well anymore, what's your name by the way?", said Otto. "Lucas Shaffer, I do plays down at the theater, maybe that's where you recognize me from.", said the man now known as Lucas Shaffer. "Ah yes, that must be it, I've been to one or two plays there." Then out of nowhere Otto got the guts to spontaneously ask Lucas about his thoughts on God, "Are you a religious man Lucas, do you believe in God?" "Well I wouldn't really call myself very religious, I don't attend any church services very often, but I do think that God exists.", said Lucas. "Well what makes you think God exists?", Otto asked. "I guess because it's the only way to really make sense out of all this shit.", said Lucas as he got up and walked out, leaving Otto to ponder deeply on his spiritual life.