The first bar of the night, light shifting hazily between shadowy waterfalls and colorful jungles. At the tropical bar top I swung my brother's shoulder around and said, "You gotta meet Eda." A soft touch on her shoulder, and her hair turned around."This.. is Eda."
"Nice to meet you," he said. And so, between the three of us, began a 3 month party.
For the time being everyone dispersed and rejoined at the next bar -- the one way down on Post and Leavenworth. The Cafe Royal with the unlevel pool table dark jazzy home to many beers, many nights, conversations with the people of the world about the world and nothing. This night they struck up one of the three no-nos. When Eda walked up I was holding my mike, which was my beer, in the midst of an oft-repeated monologue:
"So why can't people just be comforble not knowin? Why they feel like they haf to splain it all, subscribe to some institution for meaning in life. They gotta lunge for some higher-design to tell them how to respect, how to love, why to love, why to respect, somethin that eases the thought that maybe in the end, when we die, there's nothing. People cant stand not knowin. But you know what? I have no problem not knowin. I don't need any being to tell me how or why we should respect and love each other."
"Yeah," she said. "And if there is God, what if God is one of us, like in that song, one of us around here? And maybe he's here just playing with us."
"You mean like amusing himself?"
"Yeah, he's saying weird things to people, just to get them all excited and do funny things."
"Yeah, he's saying weird things to people, just to get them all excited and do funny things."
"Like some sort of divine Ali G?"
"Yeah. And he's like laughing off his ass."
"You mean laughing his ass off?"
"Whatever."
"Hmmm. So who in this bar is God?"
"Maybe that man," she reveals a grey man .at the bar looking forward, minding his own business, drinking his beer .
"Hmmm. So who in this bar is God?"
"Maybe that man," she reveals a grey man .at the bar looking forward, minding his own business, drinking his beer .
"You should ask him."
She turns to the man. "Are you God?"
His face lights up. "Of course!"
"Wow! Really?" we all say.
"Yes," he assures us. "Everybody has God inside all of us. You, me, him, her over there. That guy over there..."
She turns to the man. "Are you God?"
His face lights up. "Of course!"
"Wow! Really?" we all say.
"Yes," he assures us. "Everybody has God inside all of us. You, me, him, her over there. That guy over there..."
He went on until we all realized none of us had spoken for awhile. Then we started wishing he'd stop talking. That's what you get for starting up a conversation like that in SF. We escaped him eventually. But after some more Boddingtons at one point God, a little tipsy, approached Eda.
"You left me."
"...Uh...um...thank you," she replied. He gave her a funny look and walked away. She laughed.
"I don't think 'thank you' was the right response after ditching God," I said.
"...Uh...um...thank you," she replied. He gave her a funny look and walked away. She laughed.
"I don't think 'thank you' was the right response after ditching God," I said.
Just then her boyfriend pulled up in his red convertable Mercedes. I watched her walk out and zoom away. I sighed.
"Could I get another Boddingtons?"
3 comments:
Hey Ummaguma,
That was nice lil thing. Did you and Eda go to SF? O, right, this is perhaps an old story? From the time when you met, yeah?
Anyway, liked it.
I liked it, too! Was it a flashback? Makes me homesick...ever go to the Mauna Loa in the Marina? It's a divey, very un-Marina kind of place. We showed up in the afternoon once and they give us about 5 free games of pool while plying us with Anchor Steam and telling bar tales. I just love that place.
p.s. In S.F., "God" is everywhere :-)
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