Dylan and the Angel (5-26-09)
Mama, put my guns in the ground he sings out as he stares right into the car waiting at the light. I can't shoot them anymore. The light turns green and the cars begin to move. That long black cloud is comin' down I scurry across the street and take a half look over my shoulder to see that he is in no rush to cross. In fact it looks as though hes decided to stop for the big part of the song; I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door. Hes really strumming it now. Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door Okay and were moving again.
Hes so full of enjoyment because he loves music and he loves attention and he is achieving both as we walk down Elmwood Avenue. Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door I on the other side of the street am feeling the opposite as I dislike attention and everyone from kids to drivers to dogs are staring or pretending not to stare and looking from the corners of their eyes at this guy serenading the world, or at least that block of Buffalo. Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door I am walking alongside Bob Dylan here, (or is it Axl Rose? ) and I feel exposed and visible to all despite my natural desire not to be and on top of it all I feel like a coffee criminal. Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door I feel like a coffee criminal because I am holding Dylans coffee. As we left Spot coffee 15 minutes and 1 block earlier I did bring the cup to his attention.
Actually he caught on as I was attempting to use a metaphor to work my way towards the fact that he was leaving Spot with a house mug. I think I was talking about what I perceived as his disregard for rules and norms of late and he knew where I was going... he took the mug with no guilt and used the rationale; Ill be back tomorrow. In reality his car was parked right across the street, so hed have the opportunity to return it after we finished our walk. My friend is antsy and doesnt like to stay in one place for too long so when he asked me to walk down the street with him I wasnt surprised.
At first we sat and chatted for a bit, discussed life and such. Im asked him how he was a few separate times and mentioned how I heard of some of his exploits of late. I was trying to see if he was okay and if he was doing too much. My friend doesnt always handle stress and big changes all that well and frankly, within the last month hes made bigger changes than he has in a long time.
He put some papers in his car and unstrapped his six string from his back as we started to walk. We stopped in front of a market only a few dozen yards away from Spot and he wanted to play his guitar. In order for him to play freely he needed me to hold his coffee which of course was in the borrowed cup. As he played I made an effort to hold the coffee in the hand farthest from view of Spot coffee. Heaven forbid someone saw me with the cup and thought I was the one up to no good. The chances of being caught with the cup were practically zero but in my mind I could see them so they could conceivably see me. I sat and stood and then sat and stood again mildly uncomfortable while my friend was making up songs on the spot such as the alcohol blues.
We were standing across the street from the Co-op when the strumming stopped. There was this little clothing shop to our left that still had lights on and was still open despite it being around 8pm by now. I noticed a sign on the window that said they make custom t-shirts. While I thought that was interesting I started to walk past the store with no further interest but my friend took his loaded six string and returned it to the holster of his back. I took the opportunity, this first opportunity, that his hands were suddenly free to return his coffee to him and relieve myself of the burden. I felt like Frodo after the one ring was destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. Well okay, maybe it wasnt that much of a burden and now Ive totally geeked myself out, but you know what I mean.
Before I could make another awful analogy my friend had gone inside this little store. I stood on Elmwood waiting on him. My stomach made a few noises to remind me that I hadnt eaten dinner yet and the Great Wall restaurant was only 2 blocks away, right on the way back to my house. If I listened closely I could hear the chicken with garlic sauce calling me.
Actually it was my friend, calling for me to come inside the store. As I made my way up the stairs he said that the guy inside was going to give him a free tarot reading. I walked into a little boutique with some house music playing softly and 2 guys manning the store. There were a lot of tight, cute little clothes for men and women and not much of anything that looked even remotely close to my size.
The man behind the counter was nice and friendly. He asked if I wanted a reading too but I declined. I am a natural skeptic about these types of things but I admit I was curious as to what my friends reading would be like. He asked my friend to draw the first card. He did but right before he turned it over he discovered he accidently drew two of them. The man behind the counter put that one aside for me. He sized me up and told me that I have a nice spirit.
As he drew more and more cards and told my friend things about his future, his past and what he should do in the present, it seemed like he nailed some things and had my friend mystified. I wondered if there was something to it or if he was doing a cold reading of my easily impressionable friend who wanted to believe.
In the middle of all this he would turn to me occasionally and tell me something about my life. He mentioned that I should watch out for hernia. How could he have known? For those of you who dont know, I had a bit of a hernia for a few months during the winter and I stopped lifting heavy things at work and home, especially from the floor up. Since Ive been careful with lifting tings, Ive felt a lot better and I dont even feel the hernia any longer. He told me that it was a concern and I shouldnt lift heavy objects and even went on to say if a friend asks me to help them move I should say no, lol. He also went on to mention my back troubles and that I need to take care of myself or else I will need some kind of back surgery down the road. Now I am a big guy, so saying I might need back surgery isnt a reach but I was still in awe about the hernia thing.
As time went on he asked me out of the blue when I drove a car last. When I revealed that its been a while and that I rarely ever drive he warned me about cars and mentioned how I have to be careful of them. He didnt allude to my accident last year but it was like he sensed Ive had a rocky past with cars. He said I had to be especially weary of black colored cars. He advised if I ever get a car that I should avoid a black one.
Meanwhile my friend is getting blown away by the results, the reading and the cards themselves which were beautiful 18 year old cards that had awesome illustrations on them. The man giving him the reading was a pleasant guy who had a happiness and joy for life. He seemed like he really wanted to help my friend.
As the reading ended we just stood in awe of the beautiful cards and just looked at them for about 10 minutes while chatting about life. It turned out we spent over a half hour in there and as we departed the store I finally got wind of the tarot readers name; Angel. My friend seemed like he couldnt believe it, but this man was a Hispanic man so Angel is actually a very common name. We both kind of walked out of there quietly, each pondering the revelations laid before our feet. I was trying to decide if I believed what was told to me or not although my friend had a lot more to marinate on since he received a full reading.
We were about to head out and my friend offered me a ride home in his black SUV but we both chuckled as I declined. Maybe I believed what Angel said a little after all. As I often say, chance favors the prepared mind and besides, I dont want to be knock knock knockin on heavens door.
Mama, put my guns in the ground he sings out as he stares right into the car waiting at the light. I can't shoot them anymore. The light turns green and the cars begin to move. That long black cloud is comin' down I scurry across the street and take a half look over my shoulder to see that he is in no rush to cross. In fact it looks as though hes decided to stop for the big part of the song; I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door. Hes really strumming it now. Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door Okay and were moving again.
Hes so full of enjoyment because he loves music and he loves attention and he is achieving both as we walk down Elmwood Avenue. Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door I on the other side of the street am feeling the opposite as I dislike attention and everyone from kids to drivers to dogs are staring or pretending not to stare and looking from the corners of their eyes at this guy serenading the world, or at least that block of Buffalo. Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door I am walking alongside Bob Dylan here, (or is it Axl Rose? ) and I feel exposed and visible to all despite my natural desire not to be and on top of it all I feel like a coffee criminal. Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door I feel like a coffee criminal because I am holding Dylans coffee. As we left Spot coffee 15 minutes and 1 block earlier I did bring the cup to his attention.
Actually he caught on as I was attempting to use a metaphor to work my way towards the fact that he was leaving Spot with a house mug. I think I was talking about what I perceived as his disregard for rules and norms of late and he knew where I was going... he took the mug with no guilt and used the rationale; Ill be back tomorrow. In reality his car was parked right across the street, so hed have the opportunity to return it after we finished our walk. My friend is antsy and doesnt like to stay in one place for too long so when he asked me to walk down the street with him I wasnt surprised.
At first we sat and chatted for a bit, discussed life and such. Im asked him how he was a few separate times and mentioned how I heard of some of his exploits of late. I was trying to see if he was okay and if he was doing too much. My friend doesnt always handle stress and big changes all that well and frankly, within the last month hes made bigger changes than he has in a long time.
He put some papers in his car and unstrapped his six string from his back as we started to walk. We stopped in front of a market only a few dozen yards away from Spot and he wanted to play his guitar. In order for him to play freely he needed me to hold his coffee which of course was in the borrowed cup. As he played I made an effort to hold the coffee in the hand farthest from view of Spot coffee. Heaven forbid someone saw me with the cup and thought I was the one up to no good. The chances of being caught with the cup were practically zero but in my mind I could see them so they could conceivably see me. I sat and stood and then sat and stood again mildly uncomfortable while my friend was making up songs on the spot such as the alcohol blues.
We were standing across the street from the Co-op when the strumming stopped. There was this little clothing shop to our left that still had lights on and was still open despite it being around 8pm by now. I noticed a sign on the window that said they make custom t-shirts. While I thought that was interesting I started to walk past the store with no further interest but my friend took his loaded six string and returned it to the holster of his back. I took the opportunity, this first opportunity, that his hands were suddenly free to return his coffee to him and relieve myself of the burden. I felt like Frodo after the one ring was destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. Well okay, maybe it wasnt that much of a burden and now Ive totally geeked myself out, but you know what I mean.
Before I could make another awful analogy my friend had gone inside this little store. I stood on Elmwood waiting on him. My stomach made a few noises to remind me that I hadnt eaten dinner yet and the Great Wall restaurant was only 2 blocks away, right on the way back to my house. If I listened closely I could hear the chicken with garlic sauce calling me.
Actually it was my friend, calling for me to come inside the store. As I made my way up the stairs he said that the guy inside was going to give him a free tarot reading. I walked into a little boutique with some house music playing softly and 2 guys manning the store. There were a lot of tight, cute little clothes for men and women and not much of anything that looked even remotely close to my size.
The man behind the counter was nice and friendly. He asked if I wanted a reading too but I declined. I am a natural skeptic about these types of things but I admit I was curious as to what my friends reading would be like. He asked my friend to draw the first card. He did but right before he turned it over he discovered he accidently drew two of them. The man behind the counter put that one aside for me. He sized me up and told me that I have a nice spirit.
As he drew more and more cards and told my friend things about his future, his past and what he should do in the present, it seemed like he nailed some things and had my friend mystified. I wondered if there was something to it or if he was doing a cold reading of my easily impressionable friend who wanted to believe.
In the middle of all this he would turn to me occasionally and tell me something about my life. He mentioned that I should watch out for hernia. How could he have known? For those of you who dont know, I had a bit of a hernia for a few months during the winter and I stopped lifting heavy things at work and home, especially from the floor up. Since Ive been careful with lifting tings, Ive felt a lot better and I dont even feel the hernia any longer. He told me that it was a concern and I shouldnt lift heavy objects and even went on to say if a friend asks me to help them move I should say no, lol. He also went on to mention my back troubles and that I need to take care of myself or else I will need some kind of back surgery down the road. Now I am a big guy, so saying I might need back surgery isnt a reach but I was still in awe about the hernia thing.
As time went on he asked me out of the blue when I drove a car last. When I revealed that its been a while and that I rarely ever drive he warned me about cars and mentioned how I have to be careful of them. He didnt allude to my accident last year but it was like he sensed Ive had a rocky past with cars. He said I had to be especially weary of black colored cars. He advised if I ever get a car that I should avoid a black one.
Meanwhile my friend is getting blown away by the results, the reading and the cards themselves which were beautiful 18 year old cards that had awesome illustrations on them. The man giving him the reading was a pleasant guy who had a happiness and joy for life. He seemed like he really wanted to help my friend.
As the reading ended we just stood in awe of the beautiful cards and just looked at them for about 10 minutes while chatting about life. It turned out we spent over a half hour in there and as we departed the store I finally got wind of the tarot readers name; Angel. My friend seemed like he couldnt believe it, but this man was a Hispanic man so Angel is actually a very common name. We both kind of walked out of there quietly, each pondering the revelations laid before our feet. I was trying to decide if I believed what was told to me or not although my friend had a lot more to marinate on since he received a full reading.
We were about to head out and my friend offered me a ride home in his black SUV but we both chuckled as I declined. Maybe I believed what Angel said a little after all. As I often say, chance favors the prepared mind and besides, I dont want to be knock knock knockin on heavens door.
thanks so much for your comment on my set
i really appreciate it