The Summer of 1981, Part 11: Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through

[Padraig]

For those of you who would like to catch up, here are links to the earlier chapters:

Part 1, The Best of Times: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16216
Part 2, Wasn't That A Party: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16225
Part 3, The Boy From New York City: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16229
Part 4, The Voice: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16235
Part 5, Feels So Right: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16238
Part 6, Sausalito Summernight: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16258
Part 7, The Waiting: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16274
Part 8, All I Have To Do Is Dream: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16283
Part 9, Urgent: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16307
Part 10, The Theme From The Greatest American Hero: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16344


Any feedback is very much appreciated - I would love to hear from those of you who have been reading. Or if you just want to reminisce about some of your favorite music or memories from 1981, please feel free to share. Thanks!!


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There's always something magic
There's always something new
And when you really, really need it the most
That's when rock and roll dreams come through

Tug was running. And running. And running.

He was running along the sand, all by himself. The sweat was pouring down his brow into his eyes, almost blinding him, but he staggered forward with each step.

Is any air getting to my lungs at all?

His body was covered in useless flab that only weighed him down as he tried to move, but thankfully it was covered with a white t-shirt and white athletic shorts. Tug kept running, getting weaker and weaker until he could barely feel his arms or legs anymore. At any second, he knew he would collapse.

But he also knew it was important to keep going. He knew he had to dig deeper. So he kept running, hoping for some magic to pull him through. He kept running and running on the unsteady, uneven sand.

Eventually, however, Tug had to slow down as all of his energy left him. He wasn't able to go on, and he began to lean forward so that he could fall...

And then it happened, just when he really, really needed it the most – a feeling of euphoria slowly crawling over him. It was taking over for the pain and the weakness. Making him feel better, and stronger, and faster…

He picked up speed and continued running down the beach, like a boat with a fresh wind caught in its sails.

Tug looked down at his flabby body, with his pecs and stomach bouncing as he ran. But as he kept running, he could feel his fat melting away. He could feel his muscles growing each time he put one foot in front of another.

As he moved down the beach, his body was changing. He was no longer the old Tug, but rather a new one that resembled an athlete.

Like Tim. Like Don and Jay. Like Ben.

His muscles grew tighter and tighter, bigger and bigger. He could feel his biceps and triceps expanding, forcing his shirt sleeves to expand. With each step forward, he knew he was getting closer to busting out of it like the Incredible Hulk.

Tug kept going and going, down the endless beach. He went faster and faster, gaining both strength and speed.

His shirt began to shred as it no longer could contain his engorged muscles. First at the neckline, then deepening as the tear spread down to the chest. Next the sleeves busted open as his pythons grew bigger and bigger, and then on the sides as his lats forced themselves outward.

His quads grew as well, causing rips in his shorts. They were like a mighty pair of engines propelling him forward, and nothing could stop their growth.

Oh, yeah…I’m a true muscleman now! Or have I always been one?

Tug’s memories started to fade as he charged along. He had never been fat and weak – he had always been a warrior. He was the tallest and biggest kid in every grade, always the first one picked for sports teams, and always a winner. He was the star athlete on the football, basketball, and baseball teams.

Growing up, his parents had to spend a fortune on clothes as he continually outgrew them. From small to medium to large in grade school, large to extra large in junior high, and extra large to double XL to triple XL in high school – his muscles just wouldn’t stop growing bigger and bigger. A few more workouts and he would need XXXXL shirts just to contain his massive bulk, along with the size 16 shoes that went on his mammoth feet.

Everybody had always wanted to be him or be with him. His muscles attracted them all. With every step he could see his blazing bright future as the most gifted athlete in the world.

Tug kept running and kept growing. Eventually his shirt just couldn’t hang on any longer as his torso expanded, and it simply fell away like a vanquished foe. He was sweating from the running, and the perspiration beaded up across his well-formed muscles, but he didn’t feel tired at all.

These muscles just don't get tired anymore...they are so huge and powerful...

His memories continued to be altered. He remembered winning every arm-wrestling challenge against all of his football buddies, even wen he left them use two hands. Because of his unstoppable power, he earned the nickname Tough, and hardly enyone called him Tug anymore. He thought about the time that his dad had that flat tire, and he had deadlifted and held the car off the ground because the jack was broken.

All the while, Tough Yates kept on running down the beach.

As he ran, he realized his shorts were about to pop off as well – they got tighter and tighter as his legs and butt become more and more muscled. He could feel things swelling up to the breaking point – another few steps and it would explode.

Bigger….bigger….bigger…come on, keep growing!

He remembered thinking that his thighs had always been immense, allowing him to barrel down the football field like a locomotive, and power his huge body around the bases when he hit a home run. And in the weight room, he often asked his spotter to jump on top of the hip sled because the weights on it just didn't challenge him anymore.

But now his legs were getting freakishly huge, bigger than Tough could ever imagine, nd rapidly disintegrating his shorts. Pound after pound of raw muscle were being added each second as he ran down the beach.

Then it happened – his shorts shredded off his body, leaving him completely naked and free running down the beach.


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Tug awoke with a start, as he usually did after these episodes. He didn’t have to check his groin to know that he had had another wet dream.

He looked over at his clock radio, seeing that the time was 4:46am. He then climbed out of bed and went into his bathroom to clean himself up and change his boxers.

After putting on a fresh pair of underwear and tossing his old ones in his hamper, Tug headed toward the kitchen.

He spent the next 30 minutes eating a half dozen cupcakes that his mom had brought home from an office party she had attended.

[Padraig]

Again, for those unfamiliar with the song, I have provided a link to the original video that Jim Steinman did back in the Summer of 1981:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KSYGQjWtSI

If the song sounds somewhat familiar, it may be because Steinman wrote the songs on Meat Loaf's original "Bat Out Of Hell" album. But in 1981, with Meat having some vocal problems, Steinman recorded his own album with a different singer and released this song as the first single. Meat Loaf eventually recorded the song during his comeback years in the early 1990's.

And yes, I not only borrowed lyrics for this chapter, but I also used lines from the song in the very first chapter as well, "The Best of Times."

P.S. Steinman also wrote "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler, "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" by Air Supply, and "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" by Celine Dion. His dramatic style is pretty distinctive and easy to recognize.