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Blind in one ear, Deaf in one eye... In my travels today, I was passing through a neighborhood I hadn't seen since 1972. I was trying to find an old venue my band had played at regularly. I made two earlier attempts this year but couldn't remember the exact location and missed it both times. I made a call to Jay... he was the guitar player in the band and told us he had been to see this place around 10 years ago. "It's the first right after the railroad tracks." he said. "Follow it around to the back behind the strip mall." Yeah Jay... I found it. The windows and doors are boarded up and it looks like it's been abandoned for quite some time. We chatted a bit more and I sent a photo of the place from my cellphone. His reply was "Let's buy the place" I'm sure we can find a band to play there was my reply. I could make pizza, my wife would make dumplings and Jay could grill fish. Jay asked about Mac who was the singer in the band. He knows I try to keep current with Mac at least once a month. I told him Mac's health is declining rapidly. With a spot on his lung and still smoking a few packs a day certainly has an effect, not to mention he's lost his teeth due to alcoholism. His degenerative nerve damage is to the point where a walker isn't enough to hold him steady. He fell over once smacking his elbow against the table and had to lay on the floor for 30 minutes or so to muster up enough strength to get back up. I say it was the alcohol he said he just lost his balance. Mac insists on living alone in a trailer... the same place for 20+ years now and since it's on the edge of wilderness his wishes are to be cremated and his ashes scattered around the back acreage of his home. I'm not looking forward to a call from his sister... It was good talking to Jay, I saw him last year at a reunion when a fellow musician came into town. We all seem to be holding up pretty well. Thinning grey hair and needing to do some sit-ups, but otherwise good. Our traveling musician friend is a vegetarian and works out on a regular basis... that combined with Clairol for Men and hair extensions (Shhh... I said I wouldn't tell) he looks the best of the bunch! For the record, I still have all my own teeth, however (thanks to aggressive tooth picking) I lost two fillings in the same tooth and had that one crowned last month. Yea, I'll get over it. Huh...?? No, I'm not at the Huh... stage yet but 10 years of really loud music and tinnitus reminds me of my youth and that one episode where I was on a scaffold troubleshooting why the high-frequency horn wasn't working... BLASTING at me and I didn't let go of the scaffold... morons at the control panel didn't have both wires connected. Then there was the time in 1970 when Harold the practical joker knotted a towel, called my name and when I turned, shot me right in the eye that swelled up for a week. A few years ago, I had my eyes examined and the eye doctor said "It looks like you had some trauma quite some time ago." I was thinking... does this guy have a crystal ball? sure I can see fine... except 10+ hours working on a computer and maybe some things on the distance are a bit blurry for a few minutes while my eye adjusts. I talked to an old friend from the 1960's who worked for the school board some 20 years and retired. He started smoking at an early age and was diagnosed with throat cancer. A mutual friend said he only had a few months to live... but that was news from a few years ago. When it happens... it will happen. My neighbor recently died at the age of 90. His widow put the house up for sale. I imagine she will give the money to her and move in with her family. I asked my wife, if something happened to me, would she remain in the US or return to China? She put her finger over my lips and said it's not to talk about. She likes to think happy thoughts. Thanks for reading. |
