Heaven's On Fire |Dimebag Darrell

Pinky Promise?

December 31st, 1990

  The drive to the airport didn't take us long to reach. Grady filled me in on what exactly I'd be doing with him. While yes, I was to be his apprentice, I was also expected to pull my weight around where it was needed. During the drive I met the rest of the CREW, Mr. Daryl "Bobby Tongs" Arnberger and Vinnie's drum tech John "Kat" Brooks. Their energy level was way passed ADHD but still enjoyable, I was left laughing during the whole drive.

  Once the Van was parked, I hopped out and began helping the guys pull equipment and luggage from the back. Making sure that everything was here so that they could be checked in. Lucky for me, everything I own is in my backpack. The moment I looked up, I saw Grady wave me towards the entrance of the airport. Approaching him I did have a question that popped up during the drive. "Am I to pay for my own ticket?" I should've made sure before I left the gas station but everything kind of happened so fast. Grady shook his head, "Nah, management gave us a company card to pay for everyone. We will just cover your flight since you will be a part of the crew now," he explained.

  Looking around while everyone sat at the gate, I notice Bobby walking around with his camcorder while the same guy at the gas station followed. They were goofing off and acting silly to the lens. While watching the two spastics, I couldn't help but giggle when noticing people around them were confused with the two. Think I may actually enjoy my time with this group of delinquents. Taking the extra time to finally get a better look at Phil and Bobby's friend, I noticed his thick curly hair right off the bat. For me it was hard to find men with long hair attractive, but this guy pulled it off well. The facial hair only added more appeal to him. I was finding this guy very attractive and that was a problem. I knew that I have seen him around, especially now that I knew for a fact that he was part of Pantera. From what I remembered, Phil was their vocalist and Vinnie was their drummer. That curly hair was a dead giveaway, this guy was their guitarist. Phil called him "Dime"?

  "Sable, your shoelaces are tied!" looking down at my shoes only to shoot my glare at Bobby. "I should have known better," covering my face out of embarrassment. I felt a body jump into the seat next to mine, causing their body to collide to my own. It was Dime. Now that he was right next to me, I was now able to see his eyes were a striking blue, ones that I knew I could get lost in if I allowed myself to. Quickly I felt my cheeks heat up when I noticed that we were now starring at one another. Dime was also taking in my features just like I had been. This caused my pulse to speed up a bit. What was happening?  "Sable, this is Dim..." Bobby spoke up, interrupting the silent moment we were having but was quickly interrupted by the very person next to me, "Darrell," offering his hand to me as a smile broke out. Even his smile was captivating. So, this was the guy who threw a bag of chips at my face.

   Bobby frowns at his friend's mannerism. I could only laugh, "Sabian, everyone calls me Sable though," accepting his hand before shaking it. Something about Darrell that rung "unpredictable". While his personality was nuts, his looks was approachable. I could tell that Darrell had this natural pull that had people wanting to be around him, I was slowly becoming one of them.

  Darrell's eyes looked towards my neck, "I love the necklace," smiling when he noticed where my "British Steel" razor blade sat. That is the second time someone noticed in one night. These were my people. "Thanks! You a fan as well?" I asked, I was smiling from ear to ear around this guy. "Oh, I love them. At least, I would hope so since we are touring with them," he pointed out the obvious. Hearing his laugh had unleashed a small wave of goosebumps, I needed to control myself. I was starting to act like a cat in heat and I didn't even know him! Both Bobby, me and    Darrell who also went by as "Dimebag Darrell" or "Dime" for short sat and joked around for a bit as we waited for our flight. During the time we found out we had a lot in common when it came to music, what really astonished us was that we grew up not far from each other this whole time and never really hung out. I mentioned the time I saw them perform at the local bars but that was it.