Charlie on the Rollercoaster

Charlie would always go on the rollercoaster with me

Every year
The drama club would go on a trip
To this amusement park

And every year
I would get persuaded to go on the rollercoaster
And Charlie would go with me

Now, I have to think about how to explain to you
What it means to ride a rollercoaster with me

It's probably the equivalent of going on a canoe ride
With a rabid dog

There's hysterical crying
There's snot flying everywhere
There's clawing, some biting
Screaming--lots of screaming

You should see the photos

Charlie's face is dead white
And I look like someone's just told me
There's an axe murderer sitting behind me
When really it was just that super religious girl
Who shot her dad a year after we all graduated

...Hmm, maybe I did have reason to be afraid

In one photo, I'm actually strangling Charlie

I have my hands wrapped around his neck
And I'm just throttling him
As if he's forced me to go on this ride
When really I was the one who asked him
To sit next to me
Because I was afraid
But I didn't want to be afraid

Because I didn't like that something like a rollercoaster
Could conquer me
So I fought it

But I didn't want to fight it alone

Now, I'm sure you're hearing all sorts of stuff about Charlie today

That he's this and that

But let me tell you something

Aside from the fact
That to ride that rollercoaster with me every year
He must have been a complete saint--

I now run a youth organization
That helps troubled teens
Get past their fears

Except they have way bigger things to worry about than rollercoasters

What happens is that the rollercoaster
Becomes a metaphor for something else

They get on the ride
They scream, they cry
Snot flies everywhere
And when they're done
They feel like they've accomplished something

These are kids who are told they're nothing
And that they're always going to be nothing
And here they are taking on a monster
And winning

And I ride that rollercoaster with them

I ride it with every single one of them

And I can do that
Because Charlie rode with me

That's my Charlie story
And I know it's just one story

But the stories I have because of Charlie?

Well for that
You'd need a lot more time