HAPPY EFFIN INDEEEEEEEPENDENCE DAY I
HAPPY EFFIN INDEEEEEEEPENDENCE DAY
I went out for a mesquite grilled chicken breast and some steamed veggies at a steakhouse close to my place and ran into someone I completely did not expect to see the rest of my life. A while back, Sean and I ran into this girl... effectively a stranger... we started talking and before we knew it, hours had gone by... she ended up meeting us out later that evening and the three of up talked until almost 6 in the morning. I am abbreviating the story, but that is basically the 50000 foot view. I remember being so completely impressed with this person. That had one of the most unique and amazing personalities I have even seen and I know that Sean and I were strangely touched by that evening. I knew that if I never saw her again in my life, it wouldn't matter because I will never forget her. She has been permanently added to the list of women by which all women I meet are at some point and in someway compared. Everyone is an individual, but you know what I mean... everyone has one of those lists even if they have never acknowledged it or quantify it consciously into qualities or traits. That's kinda me... I don't really have a list, but I do have small vignettes in my mind of people, places, and things that were special to me and they, whether I want them to or not, shape the direction and decisions in my life in some way, because they are part of who I am. Anyhoo, I saw her there... working. She had that same gorgeous smile and sparkling eyes... and that same genuine tone in her speech. It's hard to explain really. This one special evening was in no way a romantic encounter... it was never about that. She is just a rare breed... good people. We spoke briefly. I thought she had said she was moving to LA this summer. She mentioned in the conversation that she had to work every day of the week just to make ends meet and that her trip was on hold until later. She looked really down about her financial woes. I've been there... many times. That feeling is terrible. Anyway, as it turns out, she is my server. I order my food and eat. We don't speak much again. She is busy and I am eating. Without conscious effort, I remember every moment of that night with each bite I take... silently remembering words and phrases... Sean laughing... that feeling of utter contentment. I quietly paid for my meal and left a hundred dollar tip. I left before she noticed. I hope she works her problems out. I hope she has peace and happiness wherever she goes. So, my phone rings and it's Harry. I love that guy! He's playing down at Baker's St. Pub and calling to let me know. Wednesday is not usually a gig night. I pick up a cab to get down there... highway robbery! It cost me $17 bucks to go a ridiculously short distance. Those Yellow Cab guys must be banking. When I arrive, the place is packed out. I have only seen it busier one time. I manage to get an excellent booth right by the band area by using real ultimate power to maneuver to it as people were leaving. A ninja would have simply killed everyone in the bar, but since I wanted drinks and was there to see Harry and Eric, I decided that gazelle quickness and cat stealth would have to do. A few minutes into the set, this older couple came into the pub... a large white guy wearing bright red stockings and a baseball cap and a slender black women with a full length denim dress. Most of the crowd in there was very young, so this couple stuck out like a sore thumb (wtf does that cliche mean anyway?). It didn't help that they were dressed like characters from Hee-Haw. The stood there looking for somewhere to sit... no luck. Standing room only in this joint. They made such a cute couple. I had the best seat in the place... now, it was theirs. I gave them my booth and went off the men's room. I received quite a few inquiries about the people that took my booth. I told everyone they were my parents. :-) I had my waitress send them a round of drinks for being do damn cute... they were recently engaged (I found out later). She called him little pet names in conversation that you don't normally hear (ie. not the standard stomach turning ones)... and you could hear the sincerity in her voice. He went on and on about what an amazing woman she was... they were in love. What a beautiful thing to see in that shallow, superficial, meat market-ish college bar. They were there to eat dinner together and left after their meal. I used real ultimate power to reclaim my booth. I did get the token hit toward the end of the night. This tall woman that looked exactly like Charlize Theron and was wearing a white silk suit and absolutely beautiful shoes. From what I could understand of her drunken babble, she was getting married to some oil baron type guy (she wafted her 9 carat engagement ring below my nose... yes, NINE carats), she is from a town 4 miles from mile home town and we graduated the same year... we were rival schools ("it's a small world after all... it's a small world after all..." ad nauseam), and she stopped to tell me "if I weren't engaged, I'd be all over you like a duck on a junebug"... charming. She was so scared that her fiance was going to get angry with her for flirting, she played this elaborate drama scene in front of him and his friends pretending I was some old school buddy. I struggled with all my will to keep the laughter in... it didn't work. Crazy drunk woman.. but hey, she did look exactly like Charlize Theron. I got up to the phone this morning. It was my friend Greg (not IN Greg, LA Greg). He was calling to tell me Happy 4th while the tips of his toes drew tiny circles in pure white sand and the crystal blue-green water stretched as far as the eye could see. Phucker. It was a nice call despite the nanny-nanny-boo-boo-ness of it all. I think Eclair and I will go to the park.
I went out for a mesquite grilled chicken breast and some steamed veggies at a steakhouse close to my place and ran into someone I completely did not expect to see the rest of my life. A while back, Sean and I ran into this girl... effectively a stranger... we started talking and before we knew it, hours had gone by... she ended up meeting us out later that evening and the three of up talked until almost 6 in the morning. I am abbreviating the story, but that is basically the 50000 foot view. I remember being so completely impressed with this person. That had one of the most unique and amazing personalities I have even seen and I know that Sean and I were strangely touched by that evening. I knew that if I never saw her again in my life, it wouldn't matter because I will never forget her. She has been permanently added to the list of women by which all women I meet are at some point and in someway compared. Everyone is an individual, but you know what I mean... everyone has one of those lists even if they have never acknowledged it or quantify it consciously into qualities or traits. That's kinda me... I don't really have a list, but I do have small vignettes in my mind of people, places, and things that were special to me and they, whether I want them to or not, shape the direction and decisions in my life in some way, because they are part of who I am. Anyhoo, I saw her there... working. She had that same gorgeous smile and sparkling eyes... and that same genuine tone in her speech. It's hard to explain really. This one special evening was in no way a romantic encounter... it was never about that. She is just a rare breed... good people. We spoke briefly. I thought she had said she was moving to LA this summer. She mentioned in the conversation that she had to work every day of the week just to make ends meet and that her trip was on hold until later. She looked really down about her financial woes. I've been there... many times. That feeling is terrible. Anyway, as it turns out, she is my server. I order my food and eat. We don't speak much again. She is busy and I am eating. Without conscious effort, I remember every moment of that night with each bite I take... silently remembering words and phrases... Sean laughing... that feeling of utter contentment. I quietly paid for my meal and left a hundred dollar tip. I left before she noticed. I hope she works her problems out. I hope she has peace and happiness wherever she goes. So, my phone rings and it's Harry. I love that guy! He's playing down at Baker's St. Pub and calling to let me know. Wednesday is not usually a gig night. I pick up a cab to get down there... highway robbery! It cost me $17 bucks to go a ridiculously short distance. Those Yellow Cab guys must be banking. When I arrive, the place is packed out. I have only seen it busier one time. I manage to get an excellent booth right by the band area by using real ultimate power to maneuver to it as people were leaving. A ninja would have simply killed everyone in the bar, but since I wanted drinks and was there to see Harry and Eric, I decided that gazelle quickness and cat stealth would have to do. A few minutes into the set, this older couple came into the pub... a large white guy wearing bright red stockings and a baseball cap and a slender black women with a full length denim dress. Most of the crowd in there was very young, so this couple stuck out like a sore thumb (wtf does that cliche mean anyway?). It didn't help that they were dressed like characters from Hee-Haw. The stood there looking for somewhere to sit... no luck. Standing room only in this joint. They made such a cute couple. I had the best seat in the place... now, it was theirs. I gave them my booth and went off the men's room. I received quite a few inquiries about the people that took my booth. I told everyone they were my parents. :-) I had my waitress send them a round of drinks for being do damn cute... they were recently engaged (I found out later). She called him little pet names in conversation that you don't normally hear (ie. not the standard stomach turning ones)... and you could hear the sincerity in her voice. He went on and on about what an amazing woman she was... they were in love. What a beautiful thing to see in that shallow, superficial, meat market-ish college bar. They were there to eat dinner together and left after their meal. I used real ultimate power to reclaim my booth. I did get the token hit toward the end of the night. This tall woman that looked exactly like Charlize Theron and was wearing a white silk suit and absolutely beautiful shoes. From what I could understand of her drunken babble, she was getting married to some oil baron type guy (she wafted her 9 carat engagement ring below my nose... yes, NINE carats), she is from a town 4 miles from mile home town and we graduated the same year... we were rival schools ("it's a small world after all... it's a small world after all..." ad nauseam), and she stopped to tell me "if I weren't engaged, I'd be all over you like a duck on a junebug"... charming. She was so scared that her fiance was going to get angry with her for flirting, she played this elaborate drama scene in front of him and his friends pretending I was some old school buddy. I struggled with all my will to keep the laughter in... it didn't work. Crazy drunk woman.. but hey, she did look exactly like Charlize Theron. I got up to the phone this morning. It was my friend Greg (not IN Greg, LA Greg). He was calling to tell me Happy 4th while the tips of his toes drew tiny circles in pure white sand and the crystal blue-green water stretched as far as the eye could see. Phucker. It was a nice call despite the nanny-nanny-boo-boo-ness of it all. I think Eclair and I will go to the park.
You look prettier than a new set of snow tires...what’s this about a duck on a junebug? Come on, Charlize. I get lines like that ALL the time. About your list of women you compare others to: it becomes problematic, when, if you’re like me, your list consists of only one person. I have another longer list though: Comprehensive List of People to Kill. Btw, I’ll be your server this evening and I would never sneeze at $100. I’m from a small town, but we didn’t really have any rivals, because everyone knew they could beat us at every sport and every...everything. We were a town in distress; an experiment in mediocrity. This was random, but then, so was your post. Btw, Houston is the WORST town for cabs. Not only do they rip you off, but they are the worst drivers in the city...if that’s quantifiable even.
cabs in houston.....well, actually, i haven’t had that many bad experiences with them.....and i have been in many a cab all over this here US....and find them to be quite polite comparitively speaking. So, we’re not a town that’s ready for mass transit...tell that to the fucked up mess going down Fannin right now...(argh).
And Ten C; you did a mighty fine thing - that waitress will be talking about you, forever.
I love hearing that there are other people in the world who get off on doing an anonymously (be it semi- or what have you)/unceremonious nice thing. It’s really fun in a big pure way to be in a position to give someone what they need at any given time, be it bucks, booth, bravado....
And the bonus is that it all comes back around in ways that we would never, ever expect.
I dunno, Clay, but as I was reading your description about this person, I kept thinking back to the conversation we had that one night....you know the one.
Step out. Cook this girl dinner, writeher a poem, send her a big bouquet of gerbera daisies (non-threatening, thoughtful, and just plain beautiful flowers) wrapped in ribbon. Sounds like she needs it....and, errrr, at the risk of bein’ all up in yer bidness, you do too....
I am rooting for you to screw your courage to the sticking place. Because I’m already married. And because you are THE MAN. You are wantonly testosterone-laden and I ph34r you.
Maybe I shoulda just fucking e-mailed this. Too late now....
*he blushes*
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