/lunch time driving to the test facility, 300hp 350z under my foot, a good night’s sleep behind me, windows down, and tunes blaring.
“WHETHER YOURE A BROTHA OR WHETHER A MOTHA YOURE JUST STAYIN ALIVE, STAYIN ALIVE!!”
/takes blind turn, ever so slightly tries to let the rear fishtail, fails due to lack of speed and very sticky summer tires.
“AH AH AH AH STAYIN ALIIIIIVE!!”
Very appropriate song, foshizzle.
/police siren
Uh oh. Motorcycle cop.
/full stop, hands on the wheel so the cop doesn’t dust me.
“License and registration sir.”
Is there a problem officer?
“Power-slide in a 350z at noon near a university while screaming the BeeGees.”
You heard me?
“Very identifiable song. Want to tell me what caused you to do this?”
Well…
/story I’m not talking about here given to the officer, takes 5 minutes, his jaw drops
“In your house?”
Yes sir.
“Did you get any sleep at all?”
No sir, not until last night.
/officer stares at his ticket pad
“You’re not alone. Get outta here, no more fishtailing, and good luck.”
/cop mounts his bike and thumbs-up salutes me
I’m in a new fraternity, it seems, and we take care of our own… as long as we don’t mow down college freshmen.
I know some people think of the acronymic man as a celebrity and that puts pressure on him to perform… and at the same time he’s a guy with private things and probably feels a need to keep them as such. He is under no obligation to divulge anything to anyone and people who are irritated about cliffhangers need to understand that he owes none of us anything and can post whatever he wants as frequently as he wants and as esoterically as he wants. The rest of us can scour daily for new posts, occasionally pass by, wander off never to return… we can be vocally supportive of him or disparage other posters for doing what they do best – saying what’s on their minds. None of us are obligated in any way. We are not obligated to feel at ease when our curiosity is burning, we are not obligated to even be interested because we read. We are not obligated to respond nor are we obligated to respect what others say. We are not obligated to be respectful in any way – but how we are judged by others is their own prerogative and I’m sure they continue to exercise it in type or silently. D owes none of us his story and can throw out bits to satisfy us, tempt us, assuage his own sense of duty, or just set them free to the universe as a minimalistic yet self-centric cathartic gesture. His domain, his rules. Drooling at the keyboard as though it is the next As The World Turns isn’t going to make the man feel safe to have his entrails spread out Jackson Pollock-like more than he already does. It might make him irritated, it might make him chuckle… I’d like to think he gets some well deserved ego rubs and a good laugh now and again that makes it all worth while. I also like to think that for better or worse this guy is setting a prime example for Life After Wow.
I am so very curious as to what circumstances let the officer’s jaw brush terra firma. =)