It went like this. He and two of his dude friends were going to the movies at the Palms to Pines Cinema (don't know if it exists today, probably not), a late show. I think it might have been the weekend, because Richard said the theater lobby was packed. He had bought his ticket and gone in, and was looking for his friends. According to Richard, he saw the two of them amidst the crowd at the back end of the lobby, nonchalantly standing, so he called out to them to get their attention. He said they didn't respond, so he kept calling their names at them, until they got obfuscated by the show-goers milling about, and he lost sight of them. He made his way to the area where they were, but couldn't find them. He waited till everyone was in the theatre, but his friends were nowhere to be found.
That night, about the same time Richard had seen his two friends, they had gotten killed in an accident. Supposedly they were riding tandem on a motorcycle without headlights, and though it was in a quiet residential neighborhood, they met their unfortunate fate; they were hit by a car as soon as they tried crossing the street. I don't recall the details, but it was some kind of very freakish accident, maybe it was something like the car didn't have its headlights on either, or something like that. But I can still remember to this day the place where they died, because it was practically in front of Richard's house. The vibe of their shocking passing never left that spot, at least for me, as long as I lived in Palm Desert.
It was one of those things, those mindstreams probably did not know they were dead, and had gone to the movies to keep their appointment with Richard. Or perhaps they were saying goodbye. I would think it was the former according to Richard's description. He told me this story in matter of fact, bewildered way uncharacteristic of him, because he had encountered something very strange, even stranger than the strangest buzz he'd ever had.
Palms to Pines Plaza, late 70's
