Friday, January 14, 2005
And what did we learn this week boys & girls?
Me? I learned, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I could not live in the bible belt. Business took me down there and I've gotta tell you it was one freaky motherfuckin' trip. To quote someone, I was "edgier than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs" by the time I flew back.
Consider these random snippets of adventure:
1) Dining in a hole-in-the-wall Mexican dive, and suddenly discovering you're the sole gringo in a room full of Latin Kings. Like the cars in the lot shouldn't have raised a red flag. "What could go wrong", thinks I...
2) The woman at the grocery store (dressed in sweats) with the two kids (screaming at the top of their lungs) while she calmly chatted on her cell phone. The big hair and perfect fingernails clued me in to the fact that she was a world reknowned neurosurgeon, undoubtedly talking to a colleague about the latest techniques in sub-cranial suturing.
Yes, boys and girls, we're fucked as a country and perhaps a civilization. I sometimes think a massive comet strike would be a grand improvement...
3) Walking to lunch, when suddenly an episode of "Cops" breaks out at a neighboring apartment complex. Yelling, followed by broken glass, followed by screams and the sound of more breaking glass. My colleagues stand and watch, slack jawed, while I look for cover to call the police before the bullets start flying. Just another day in paradise...
4) The five AM drive to the airport (75 miles away) in an ice storm, driving a rental car, with religious programming and eighty seven different kinds of country music to listen to. Who knew that there's such a thing as "electric country", "classic country" or "hip-hop country"; still, all the basic country themes (trucks, drinking and being done wrong by a woman named Lucinda) are there.
On the plus side, I did finish "Ghost Rider" by Neal Peart. Decent enough book if you're a Rush fan or bike person, but not exactly a fun read. It's all about how tragedy shapes our lives and hardens us, and Neal knows a thing or two about tragedy. In a two year period, he lost a 19 year old daughter in a car accident, lost his wife of 20+ years to cancer, lost his dog and saw his best friend imprisoned. And you thought YOU were having a shitty year.
Consider these random snippets of adventure:
1) Dining in a hole-in-the-wall Mexican dive, and suddenly discovering you're the sole gringo in a room full of Latin Kings. Like the cars in the lot shouldn't have raised a red flag. "What could go wrong", thinks I...
2) The woman at the grocery store (dressed in sweats) with the two kids (screaming at the top of their lungs) while she calmly chatted on her cell phone. The big hair and perfect fingernails clued me in to the fact that she was a world reknowned neurosurgeon, undoubtedly talking to a colleague about the latest techniques in sub-cranial suturing.
Yes, boys and girls, we're fucked as a country and perhaps a civilization. I sometimes think a massive comet strike would be a grand improvement...
3) Walking to lunch, when suddenly an episode of "Cops" breaks out at a neighboring apartment complex. Yelling, followed by broken glass, followed by screams and the sound of more breaking glass. My colleagues stand and watch, slack jawed, while I look for cover to call the police before the bullets start flying. Just another day in paradise...
4) The five AM drive to the airport (75 miles away) in an ice storm, driving a rental car, with religious programming and eighty seven different kinds of country music to listen to. Who knew that there's such a thing as "electric country", "classic country" or "hip-hop country"; still, all the basic country themes (trucks, drinking and being done wrong by a woman named Lucinda) are there.
On the plus side, I did finish "Ghost Rider" by Neal Peart. Decent enough book if you're a Rush fan or bike person, but not exactly a fun read. It's all about how tragedy shapes our lives and hardens us, and Neal knows a thing or two about tragedy. In a two year period, he lost a 19 year old daughter in a car accident, lost his wife of 20+ years to cancer, lost his dog and saw his best friend imprisoned. And you thought YOU were having a shitty year.
// posted by John Patmos @ 5:58 PM 
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Hey Inked Daisy! Long time no hear - I hope you are well.
Yes, I am a gringo - do I lose points for that?
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Yes, I am a gringo - do I lose points for that?
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