When I Was Young

Many years ago, when rocks were new and I was a teen, I went to a keg party that was held far out in the country.  Like most teenage boys, (back then) I drank until I passed out.  That's when my friends thought of a way to have fun at my expense. 

When I awoke about midday the following morning I found myself in a very old, long forgotten graveyard.  I was lying in a sunken grave, surrounded by waist-high weeds, and with my head resting on a gravestone. 

To this day, I remember what was written on that stone in letters that appeared to have been chiseled by hand.

REMEMBER ME AS YOU PASS BY

AS YOU ARE NOW SO ONCE WAS I

AS I AM NOW YOU SOON SHALL BE

PREPARE FOR DEATH AND FOLLOW ME

I was angry at my friends, but I did stop drinking for many years and when I did take another drink I was very careful not to get too much.  The guys that performed this prank did not intend to change my life forever, but they did.  Thanks to them I have lived long enough to become a husband, father, and grandfather.  Some of them didn't.