Vibin
2006-05-20 2:10 p.m.
Yesterday had a strange vibe to it. I strolled over the local watering hole in search of a seat and a drink. I found an unwelcoming crowd and no seat. Actually I had a seat, until some rhino with braids came to the bar pouting about not being able to sit amongst her herd. I offered my seat as I planned to head to the pool table as soon as my drink was poured. No thanks - nothing. Not even a lil steam from her snout.Bad vibes tend to emanate and eventually spread in the viral sort of way. This is why a party can go from relatively fun to a sly game of furniture ducking fairly quickly. It starts in a corner of bored / unfriendly people and within an hour the tactless amateurs are picking on each other. It�s all downhill from there. When I was a regular party thrower, I usually tried to keep the lower ends up to ensure the higher ends never dropped. These days when I see it, I just try to break free at first chance though the potential for entertainment leaves a lingering craving to set shit off.
As I finished my drink, I noticed some dude I�d shared the pool table with a couple times. Gave a nod and shook his hand. He walked off as if I�d been wearing a chicken suit (I was actually fairly crisp). My first instinct was to crack a pool cue across his ginormous forehead, take a swig from somebody�s beer and spit it in his face. Probably not the cordial way to handle things. Apparently the walls were closing in and it was time to break loose. One more hard swallow of whiskey and I was a half block away strolling to JP�s.
The vibe continued to hold a sour smell, with the shady looking fucker who was rolling beside me as I trekked through Venice. He would stop about 10 paces ahead of me and watch me walk by, then pull up 10 paces ahead again. I looked in every time to make sure he knew I was ready to hit him with his own car should I have the opportunity. After the 3rd time I stopped and stood, staring at him. Waiting for his move. He pulled off.
And the night settled as it always does in J�s world. Another old high school friend. He�s a hippy-type with long dreads and a freelance gig that pays well so he can take a couple months off at a time for big 5-day parties in the desert and various other grounds of drug worship.
Considering his present day demeanor one tends to forget that he grew up on the South Side of Chicago amongst some very real shit. We reminisced a bit about LP (the quintessential Mexican gangbanger) , C, Rb the maddog and various other mutual friends who got dirty off of nights full of dipped cigarettes and liquor.
I recalled a story about LP�
�Yeah man, we had to be about 15 or 16. We walking around the Rosemont parking lot at the grateful dead concert looking for some smoke and whatever else. I remember G and JB found a nitrous tank in some van. For some reason we were trading the responsibility of who would carry the shotgun. Nobody really knows WHY we had one, except that it was probably LP�s. Since I had my racking coat on (a huge coat with enormous pockets perfect for stealing paint, clothes and whatever else) I ended up holding it the most.�
�I still remember the one moment, JB with a couple oz�s in his pocket, G holding a balloon and I�m holding the butt of the shottee through the bottom of my right pocket. The nose just barely fit under my right lapel. 3 cops watching over the crowd looked me dead in the eye and I could feel my pores open wide. I nodded a hello and continued my sentence to JB without any clue as to what the fuck was coming out of my mouth. I could swear my mouth kept moving sans words, but he replied. A few paces later he nodded in acknowledgement.�
�Later that night LP ended up at my place to crash until morning. I was stoned, drunk and exhausted. LP had the great idea to run around my quiet lil mid-class Polish / Mexican NW side neighborhood to shoot the 12-gague off and see what would happen. It took me a while to convince him what a bad idea it was.�
JP had a couple of his own stories and I was reminded of how far we go back. Dealing with a strange world that was upright only when completely sideways. And here we are 12 years later, smelling 30 and talking about buying land.
Good Shit.