Thursday, August 14, 2003
I was out Monday night checking out Richard Barlow, aka, The Limey spinning his set at the Memphis Lounge (the upstairs of Zythos, 2100 block of Carson), when I met his friend Jim. He and I began talking about the theater (Jim has a show going up this Monday at the Gemini Theater), plays, books, and found that we have a whole string of friends in common. Jim McManus? You're the guy whose name I've heard in a bunch of stories but never had a face to put with the name. We talked a bit about my student teaching at Andover's Summer Session a few years back, and without mentioning any specifics of what courses I taught or what materials we used, Jim began talking about Andre Dubus (pronounced "dub-YOOSE"). As jim described this author he just encountered a few weeks ago, his style, his life story, etc. I'm thinking it's probably the same guy whose essays in Broken Vessels we read for Writing the Personal Essay. Well I hadn't thought about Dubus for some time, and learned that he died since I had first read him, and that he is posthumously gaining greater readership. Go check out Dubus, I recommend him highly. And thanks Jim, for reminding me of what I had forgotten.
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
I was out busking two weeks ago on a Friday, and had a kooky turn of events. I played on my own for about two 2 1/2 hrs. After seeing a movie at the Melwood, my roommate Jim walks by, stops to say hey, and see if I'm up for getting a beer. Sure I say. he says he'll be back in 20 minutes cuz he wants to shower first. See you in 20 minutes I say. It's late already well after 12, and I'm ready to go get a beer anyways.
So I'm playing my last few songs when this cute Goth chick walks by, stops and sits down just to my right. Ok, Goth chick ... of course she's wearing all black, has blonde streaks in her short cropped hair, and a purple bruise under her left eye? Sorta like somebody socked her in the face? Hmmm. She seems a bit timid and scared, and so I'm a bit concerned for her. Are you alright, I ask. She says yeah, sorta like she knows I'm asking about her black eye, but she doesn't want to talk about it. I can play guitar she says, i wrote a song want to hear it? she offers. I'm hesitant to let anybody play my guitar, especially on the street, but she seemed cute and sorta like she needed a distraction. So I hand her my guitar. She sorta looks at it, and frowns, and Plink! Plink! Plink! is doing I don't know what ... but nothing approaching music or a song. mean while a crew of girls walks by, one stops, turns, comes walking back, says to nobody in particular, Uh-uh, that ain't happening, and sets down on the other side of me. Oh, don't mind me, I'm just checking my phone messages, she says. So I ask Goth girl to give me my guitar back and I'll play her a song while she tries to remember the chords. She does, and I start playin another song. Goth's looking sorta miffed or I dunno, maybe like the gig is up. The other chick smiles at me and says, you don't see what's going on do you? I'm thinking that she means, you don't realize that two girls are trying to pick you up, but somehow if I say that POOF! they're both gone. So i play dumb. No, what's going on? you really don't see it do you? No I don't what's going on please tell me what I'm missing. Then Goth girl, after writing something down, stands up, sets a piece of paper down by my guitar case and is walking away saying goodbye. You should kiss her ya know, says the phone girl. YOu're right says me. So I kiss Goth on the cheek , she kisses my cheek, and then she's off. The other girl (Phone girl) looks triumphant... and a little flirty or maybe just drink. looking back, i think she was just drunk. I remember Jim is on his way back in a few minutes. I should ask if she wants to go get a beer. So I start: "Well hey, i don't mean to be uhmmm ..." " Presumptuous? "she chimes in. Yeah, good word choice. presumptuous, but do you want to get a beer with me and my roommate? we're going right down the street to that bar right there. here he comes now. Sure she says. It;s looking good. Jim says he'll run my guitar back home right quick and meet us there. So I pack up my guitar, notice the piece of paper with a phone number on it, stick it in my case, and hand the whole thing off to Jim. me and phone girl go get our beer, Jim joins us a moment later, and it's looking good. She says after a while she's gonna walk home to mt washington, which is like twenty blocks aways and then up the hill and another twenty blocks. I say I'll give you a lift home, and we shortly after are in my car on the way back to her place. We pull up, she says thanks and i ask her for her digits, she obliges and then gives me the finger tip kiss good night, "how presumptuous," she chuckles.
... and is out the door, across the street and inside her place in a flash. so the next day, I figure i got tow girls's numbers. i;ll call Goth girl's number, I mean what could it hurt, right? so I dial what I think is a 481 extension, SouthSide, and the #'s disconnected. Try maybe 401? It rings and rings and voicemail picks up. A sultry sounding woman on the recording gives the name of a 'professional modeling and escort service' business and thanks me for calling. leave a message and they'll get right back to me. i hang up. and then dial agian a few minutes later thinking, no . . . no way that goth chick was ... so I redial, it rings twice. a dude answers. i ask for Goth by name, he asks who is this, i say my name and he hands her the phone. Hello? Hi it's me. i met you yesterday playing guitar? oh yeah she says, I"m a bit out of it from last night still, can you call back? sure, sure i say as i thank her and hang up. the clock says 6:15 PM. And i throw her crumpled phone number into the trash. I'm left to wonder did phone girl knew the scoop on Goth girl, and if so, how? or was she really trying to pick me up and then once the competition was gone she was bored. who knows?
So I'm playing my last few songs when this cute Goth chick walks by, stops and sits down just to my right. Ok, Goth chick ... of course she's wearing all black, has blonde streaks in her short cropped hair, and a purple bruise under her left eye? Sorta like somebody socked her in the face? Hmmm. She seems a bit timid and scared, and so I'm a bit concerned for her. Are you alright, I ask. She says yeah, sorta like she knows I'm asking about her black eye, but she doesn't want to talk about it. I can play guitar she says, i wrote a song want to hear it? she offers. I'm hesitant to let anybody play my guitar, especially on the street, but she seemed cute and sorta like she needed a distraction. So I hand her my guitar. She sorta looks at it, and frowns, and Plink! Plink! Plink! is doing I don't know what ... but nothing approaching music or a song. mean while a crew of girls walks by, one stops, turns, comes walking back, says to nobody in particular, Uh-uh, that ain't happening, and sets down on the other side of me. Oh, don't mind me, I'm just checking my phone messages, she says. So I ask Goth girl to give me my guitar back and I'll play her a song while she tries to remember the chords. She does, and I start playin another song. Goth's looking sorta miffed or I dunno, maybe like the gig is up. The other chick smiles at me and says, you don't see what's going on do you? I'm thinking that she means, you don't realize that two girls are trying to pick you up, but somehow if I say that POOF! they're both gone. So i play dumb. No, what's going on? you really don't see it do you? No I don't what's going on please tell me what I'm missing. Then Goth girl, after writing something down, stands up, sets a piece of paper down by my guitar case and is walking away saying goodbye. You should kiss her ya know, says the phone girl. YOu're right says me. So I kiss Goth on the cheek , she kisses my cheek, and then she's off. The other girl (Phone girl) looks triumphant... and a little flirty or maybe just drink. looking back, i think she was just drunk. I remember Jim is on his way back in a few minutes. I should ask if she wants to go get a beer. So I start: "Well hey, i don't mean to be uhmmm ..." " Presumptuous? "she chimes in. Yeah, good word choice. presumptuous, but do you want to get a beer with me and my roommate? we're going right down the street to that bar right there. here he comes now. Sure she says. It;s looking good. Jim says he'll run my guitar back home right quick and meet us there. So I pack up my guitar, notice the piece of paper with a phone number on it, stick it in my case, and hand the whole thing off to Jim. me and phone girl go get our beer, Jim joins us a moment later, and it's looking good. She says after a while she's gonna walk home to mt washington, which is like twenty blocks aways and then up the hill and another twenty blocks. I say I'll give you a lift home, and we shortly after are in my car on the way back to her place. We pull up, she says thanks and i ask her for her digits, she obliges and then gives me the finger tip kiss good night, "how presumptuous," she chuckles.
... and is out the door, across the street and inside her place in a flash. so the next day, I figure i got tow girls's numbers. i;ll call Goth girl's number, I mean what could it hurt, right? so I dial what I think is a 481 extension, SouthSide, and the #'s disconnected. Try maybe 401? It rings and rings and voicemail picks up. A sultry sounding woman on the recording gives the name of a 'professional modeling and escort service' business and thanks me for calling. leave a message and they'll get right back to me. i hang up. and then dial agian a few minutes later thinking, no . . . no way that goth chick was ... so I redial, it rings twice. a dude answers. i ask for Goth by name, he asks who is this, i say my name and he hands her the phone. Hello? Hi it's me. i met you yesterday playing guitar? oh yeah she says, I"m a bit out of it from last night still, can you call back? sure, sure i say as i thank her and hang up. the clock says 6:15 PM. And i throw her crumpled phone number into the trash. I'm left to wonder did phone girl knew the scoop on Goth girl, and if so, how? or was she really trying to pick me up and then once the competition was gone she was bored. who knows?
Well, ain't it a good thing we're a relatively safe city to live in?
Looks like our mayor has found a solution to our police problem: let 52 sr. cops go (early retirement), and keep the 102 rookies we just hired. Yeah, I'm not the guy to solve these problems, just noting that this may not be the best solution for our hurting city:
"Early retirement is not an effective means of reducing unemployment: it is an excellent way of making a country poorer."
- Layard, Nickel, and Jackman (1991) Unemployment: Macroeconomic Performance and the Labour Market
How can this be bad? In part because it can cause a reduction in effective labor supply, which in turn places undue upward pressure on the wage level.
Let's just hope it works out, and I'm wrong about this being a bad thing for Pittsburgh . . . As an addendum, let it be known that I'd like for the city to keep as many of our police officers, young and old, as possible. And mad kudos to the bicycle cops I see out and about in Oakland and South Side. You guys add a little something extra for us civilians.
Looks like our mayor has found a solution to our police problem: let 52 sr. cops go (early retirement), and keep the 102 rookies we just hired. Yeah, I'm not the guy to solve these problems, just noting that this may not be the best solution for our hurting city:
"Early retirement is not an effective means of reducing unemployment: it is an excellent way of making a country poorer."
- Layard, Nickel, and Jackman (1991) Unemployment: Macroeconomic Performance and the Labour Market
How can this be bad? In part because it can cause a reduction in effective labor supply, which in turn places undue upward pressure on the wage level.
Let's just hope it works out, and I'm wrong about this being a bad thing for Pittsburgh . . . As an addendum, let it be known that I'd like for the city to keep as many of our police officers, young and old, as possible. And mad kudos to the bicycle cops I see out and about in Oakland and South Side. You guys add a little something extra for us civilians.
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