Steve and Geno go on a Road Trip

In the summer of 1980 my brother John got married to a young woman named Peggy. Everyone was mostly happy at the event except for Steve who kept telling anyone who would listen that, "She's just not any good." Steve would not back down that this was a mistake. ( he was right. The marriage ended 5 years later.)
Steve wasn't in a good mood that summer to begin with because he was unemployed. 1980 was a bad time for this area. Many lay offs and factory closings plagued our part of Illinois. Many people were leaving for other parts of the county. Both Steve and Geno found themselves without jobs and plenty of time on their hands.
My Dad on the other hand was very busy with work . Dad had changed remarkably over the last 5 years. He was now a pillar of our community, working with law enforcement and lawmakers to get his message out to the community. Dad seemed to thrive on what he was doing. We also found out the Dad was a great public speaker. One of the tools Dad used when he gave speeches was his Big Board.



The Big Board was a four folded board with displays in it of confiscated drugs and drug paraphernalia. This way Dad could show what drugs had seeped into our community and what they looked like. Dad had speeches and fundraisers every few days or so. When he wasn't doing that he was in his office, working as an alcohol and drug counselor, doing his best to help whoever walked in. It seemed as if Dad was happy for the first time in my memory. (Again this didn't make him warm and fuzzy. Just a happier scary guy)
The only thing standing in the way of my happiness was that my brother Geno was spending to much time at home. Living at the private park my Mom was running gave Geno no incentive whatsoever to go get a job. He spent his days laying on the beach or swimming in the water looking at all the girls in bathing suits.
This interfered with me laying on the beach and watching the girls in bathing suits. Geno would make such a fool of himself that I was embarrassed to even go out there. A few times we would get into loud yelling matches . If I was in the water he would get out and yell at me. (Even then the water was my territory. Only a fool would pick a fight with me there.) Geno would scream at me to get out of the water and fight him like a man. I would get out and we would fight. Our fights would be broken up very fast but the tension was getting worse between us. It didn't help of course when I would taunt Geno.
" Little Jerk!", Geno would yell at me.
" Well at least I don't go running into the water every time we get into a fight."
One time I caught Geno in the deeper part of the swimming area. He saw me and tried to swim for shore. I would almost let Geno get to shallow water when I'd grab him by the leg and pull him back out to deeper water. I kept this up for almost half an hour. By the time I was finished Geno was screaming. Mom and Dad yelled at me to stop it.
Geno hit me that night. I lay on the floor and laughed at him. It just made him more angry. Before he could do anymore Dad came out of his bedroom and broke it up. Dad was so mad at Geno he told him that the next day he was looking for a job whether he liked it or not.
Dad woke Geno up at 7 in the morning. He told Geno to put on some decent clothes and shave. He wanted him to look as nice as possible when he asked for applications. Dad had the day off and told Geno he could take the car. Dad even gave Geno some money for lunch and gas. Dad told Geno to be back home by 3.
I was happy. Even if he didn't get a job he'd be gone for at least a day. Before Geno left Mom pulled him aside and gave him some "extra" money just in case he needed it.
This was all a huge mistake.
Geno drove the 13 miles to Kewanee and didn't bother to look for one job. He stopped by Steve's to complain how bad his life was. (And what a bastard I was) Steve offered Geno a beer and they began to talk about how much life sucked in Kewanee and the surrounding area. Soon Steve ran out of beer. Geno remembered the extra money Mom gave him and they went out and bought more.
My two oldest brothers went to a local park to drink the new the beer. The more they talked the more the subject came up of how much life would be better some where else. (Anywhere where I wasn't there would be good for Geno) Steve wanted to have a better job to provide more for his wife Kathy and 4 year old son Kris. Geno just wanted to get away.
Soon the "extra money Mom gave Geno was gone, as well as the lunch and gas money. Steve and Geno had worked themselves up into a drunken idea that they'd go and find a better life "somewhere" else. The problem was that all they had was a full tank of gas. This wasn't going to get them far.
At this time John was gone on his honeymoon with Peggy. They weren't due back for another 4 days. Geno and Steve, in their drunken believe that it was their destiny to find a better life somewhere else, drove over to John's house. Geno found John's 1978 silver firebird in the garage. It was locked, but the sunroof was cracked open.
I've said before that Geno is a little scrawny fellow. So bear that in mind when I tell you that he somehow squeezed though the open sunroof and into the car, like some drunken snake. He opened the glove box and found a checkbook.
Steve and Geno then drove to a local bar and with the checkbook bought 2 cases of beer. They also wrote the check out for 50 dollars extra. In their minds this surely was enough to get them to where they wanted to go.
The problem was they didn't know where they should go.
Then Steve had an epiphany. They would go ask their Uncle Kenny. Kenny was a kindred spirit, only a few years older then Steve. Kenny would know what to do.
Problem was Kenny lived in Milan, Missouri. Milan was good 3 and half hours away. So they turned the car south and began their little odyssey. The further and further away from home they got the happier Geno got. They were like a couple of real life Cheech and Chong's. Except all they had was beer.
At about the time that Dad was expecting Geno to come home, Steve and Geno were pulling into Kenny's driveway. Kenny was happy to see them and their beer. Steve and Geno shared their dream of a better life with Kenny. Kenny was thrilled. He knew exactly where to go.
The promised land was Texas. "That's where all the jobs are now", Kenny told them.
With Kenny helping to drink it down, the remaining beer didn't last long. They resolved to get some more on the way out of town. By the time it was dark Kenny was ready to leave Milan for good with my brothers.
As they were getting ready to leave, it was at this point for some reason that Geno opened Dad's trunk.
And there shining brightly in the moonlight like some holy grail was Dad's Big Board. A veritable smorgasbord of mind altering drugs had been in their trunk the entire time. Almost one third of Dad's board was devoted to various types of pot. In the board there was also a one hitter and a bong.
Geno and Kenny shared some of the other types of drugs while Steve stuck to that old reliable standby of marijuana. Soon Kenny was passed out dead to the world.
Sometime after 10 in the evening Geno and Steve pulled out of Kenny's driveway towards the shangri-la of Texas. It was half an hour after they left that they remembered they had left Kenny behind. The thought of turning around and going back to get him was never even discussed. Cheerfully they drove on.
After mignight I saw Dad just sitting in his chair. His eyes stared straight ahead. The anger vibrating off of him was so intense I wasn't going to leave my room for the restroom until after he went to bed.
It was around 1 in the morning that reality and lack of money began to hit my brothers.
"We've got to go home", Steve said. "I never told Kathy where I was going. Oh man what are we doing?"
"Dad's going to kill us", Geno said gloomily.
Realizing they had no choice they turned the car around and headed back towards home. Reality hit them even harder when they came to the understanding that they didn't have enough money to make it back home. So at some out of the way 24 hour gas station Geno sold my Dad's CB radio for a tank of gas and 10 dollars. Hopefully that would get them back home they thought.
At 5 in the morning I woke up and peeked out my door. Dad was still sitting in his chair. His eyes blazed with fury. I'd wait a little more before I went to the restroom I thought. I laid back down in bed.
It was a little after 6 when our phone rang. I heard Dad pick it up. When he hung up I heard him say to my mother, "Steve's back home. He's on his way here."
Geno stumbled in the door at around 6.45 in the morning. He was hung over and tired. Two seconds after he came in the door my Dad descended on him like a swarm of locust. I had never ever heard my Dad so angry. It didn't even sound like he was speaking words, just loud scary angry noises. I swear to God it seemed as if the walls shook from his fury. Dad yelled until he had to get ready to go to work. While he got dressed Mom yelled at Geno.(This was shocking onto itself. Mom was so mild mannered usually that she almost never raised her voice.) When Dad was finished getting ready he yelled some more. People who were camping down the road told me they could hear every sound Dad made. Many were frightened.
Finally around 7.30 Dad threw my door open.
"Get Up! NOW!" I jumped out of my bed like it was on fire. Dad grabbed me by the shoulder and tossed me into HIS chair. "Stay there!" Dad walked over to the side door and opened it. From my spot in Dad's chair I had a view of the vast picnic area next to our house. I could see Geno out there walking back and forth mowing the grass.
He was using the push mower that Dad had used for punishment back in Cambridge.
Clack Clack Clack.
I could hear the mower from where I sat. Geno looked like the living dead. He actually appeared to be a shade of green I'd never seen before in nature.
"You watch him! If he stops before I come back home I want to know!" Dad stormed away. I usually loved it when Geno got into hot water but this was getting just too scary. Dad walked out to his car and stopped in shock. His car which had been gleaming clean the previous day was now covered in dust, mud and a little road tar. His CB radio was gone and the back seat was filled up with beer cans. Dad opened the door and was greeted with the smell of vomit. (Geno said he threw up from too much beer and whatever. Steve later joked that Geno was so scared of what would happen to him when he went home he vomited.) Dad told me he was so angry when he saw his car he was afraid he'd kill Geno. So he got into his car and drove back to his office. It was after he got there he found out what happened to his Big Board.
Back at home I continued to watch Geno.
Clack Clack Clack.
Geno would walk from one end of the huge yard area to another. This was more then a football field in length. When he was at extreme ends of the yard I couldn't see him. But I could still hear him.
Clack Clack Clack.
The day got brighter and hotter. Geno turned more green.
Clack Clack Clack.
Back and forth he went. Mom served me breakfast in Dad's chair. Her usual smile was gone.
Clack Clack Clack.
Geno walked out of view.
Clack Clack..........................
Silence. I sat there not sure what to do. Maybe he was just taking a break. At first I thought, "I'll let him. He looks really bad." But then I remembered Dad's wrath and got out of my chair. I'd better see what he's doing, I thought. Outside I walked over to the end of our picnic area.
No Geno. I looked around. I saw his trail on the ground from where he had mowed. I followed it to the road. There about a quarter of a mile down the road I saw Geno walking. He still had the mower. Not sure what to do I followed him. When Geno got to the railroad tracks he parked the mower on it and following the tracks began to walk to the small town of Annawan a mile away. When I got to the tracks I was only about 300 feet or so from Geno.
I shouted his name. He just kept walking. I stood there unsure of what to do next. Finally I shouted out, ''You're gonna get it now!" Geno kept walking but he held up his hand and gave me the finger without once looking my way.
I turned to run back to the house. The mower remained on the tracks. Hopefully a train would come by and destroy it before I ended up having to use it.
I called Dad at his office to tell him that Geno had split. Dad was gone. He was dealing with Steve. Kathy was very angry with Steve as well. With both Kathy and Dad against him Steve agreed to go into rehab.
Dad later called the police and told them someone had broke into his car and stolen the Big Board. He had me wash and clean the car that night.
What's funny is that Geno got what he wanted. He would end up far away from home.
When John got back from his honeymoon and found out what Geno had done. John went into a rage. He hunted Geno down at a friends house. He gave Geno a choice. Geno could join the military for no less then four years or John would press charges. So around a week after all this happened Geno enlisted in the navy.
6 months later he was on a ship halfway around the world. Almost as literally as far away from me as he could be.




When I once asked Steve about this he frowned when he told me how mad Kathy was at him over it. He said it was just a stupid day that got out of hand.
But he smiled from ear to ear when he talked about how Geno kept crying on the way home, "He's going to kill us Steve. He's going to kill us."