Monday, January 31, 2011

TEA FUELED EXCURSION INTO THE NIGHT

 After downing a mug of Earl Grey Tea, sweetened by one spoonful of white, refined sugar, I set out on my nocturnal adventure.
 My new companion on these excursions into the night is my techno-hoodie, which I received as a Christmas gift from my Mother-In-Law for Christmas. The draw strings have earphones on the end and my MP3 player, which I also received as a Christmas gift two Christmases ago from my Brother Job, plugs into the pocket. No dangling chords. I think it's brilliant. (Heart and Soul by T'Pau)
 The Idyllwild Water District is still looking festive. I admire their tenacity, and I like to think that this is not the product of procrastination but rather a desire to hold onto that special Christmas vibe like they're the last in a chorus of Idyllwild establishments to hang onto the note of a song after the others have fallen silent.

I can just imagine thewater district employees dialoguing about the Christmas paintings in their window;

"Hey, when are we gonna scrape off these window paintings anyway? It's almost February."

"I'll clean the window when the tanning place takes down their lights,  and NOT A DAY SOONER!"

Tenacious, like bull. I like. (It Had To Be You, Tony Bennett)

 While walking in front of Idyllwild Realty I caught the faint hint of marijuana on the wind. The smell is strangely nostalgic for me. It is a holdover from my days in law enforcement. I used to love to go out on foot patrol downtown on Friday nights in St Albans. The criminal element in that town were habituated to the police working strictly out of their cars, and early on in my brief career as a police officer I recognized this and committed a portion of every shift to walking the downtown like the flat-foots of old. I made a lot of excellent arrests that way, and quickly gained a reputation for being "that-one-cop-who-gets-out-and-walks-around." There is no greater rush then walking up on a group of unsuspecting kids toking up and watch their stoner hearts flop down into their stomach as they take in the uniform and badge. "Whatcha got there?" *GULP* The smell of marijuana still excites me. I think it must be something akin to when an old hound picks up the scent of a bear. My senses are heightened and I am filled with an almost ungovernable desire to ferret out the offender. (I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart)
 The signs near the entrance to the parking lot downtown caught my attention. I noticed some graffiti, which had failed to catch my eyes on earlier walks.
 Simple and to the point.
 I love Jeezus. (When Will I See You Again by 3 degrees)
 I found a couple of shopping carts abandoned on the far side of the parking lot from their home at Fairway Market, and being a law and order sort of guy I collected them and set them rattling along home.
 Me and my noisy collection of carts stopped briefly at the Post Office to get my mail and send a letter off to a friend, which heretofore had been securely contained within the left pocket of my techno-hoodie. You will notice that the pay phones have been removed. Another casualty of technology's relentless advance. Onward and upward! I fully expect that one day I will tell my grandkids tales of the old days- telephone poles, post offices, and stuff. They won't care. (Semi-Charmed Kinda Life, by Third Eye Blind)

 I was dissapointed at the lack of anything personal or interesting in my mail box. I can't remember the last time I recieved an out-of-the-blue, handwritten letter from somebody. Surprise me readers. PO BOX 618, Idyllwild, CA 92549.




 I always have to check and make sure that the letter really did fall down off the little tray. It's a tad neurotic, but I can't just walk away and trust that it all went to plan. I have to check!
 Returning the carts. (Birdhouse In Your Soul by They Might Be Giants)
 I found yet another abandoned cup. It was full of some sort of intoxicant. I reasoned that it may have originated from Bone Daddy'z, which is the nearest bar.

 Smelled bitter. (Modern Romance by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs)



 I left the cup outside Bone Daddy'z wishing it a long career. "May only the lips of the prettiest girls ever caress your rim." Based on my limited observations of Bone Daddy'z clientelle the cup was doomed to be slobbered upon by middle aged men with crusty looking mustaches, and dough-faced twenty-somethings, but I didn't tell the cup that. Sorry cup. I wanted to, but I couldn't take you home. I'm a law and order kind of guy.

On the walk home a fine mist settled over Idyllwild. It was lovely walking weather. Idyllwild sits in a little fold on the side of the mountain, which opens to the west, a little pocket of a valley. I wondered if all the mist in the valley could be collected into one container how much water it would amount to. A swimming pool? A sink? Could it all fit into that cup I had returned to Bone Daddy'z? Huh? Then I thought how cool it would be to have a little book containing all kinds of facts about Idyllwild boiled down and synthesized. How much is the accumulated wealth of the town's pupulation? What is our combined weight? What percentage of Idyllwild's residents had sex today? (This question inspired me to deface a nearby stop sign with my ball point pen. "SEX," I wrote. Not really! I'm a law and order guy. Remember?) I enjoyed thinking of all the different things I would calculate and put in my book about Idyllwild, boiled down and sugared off. The amount of all the spare change in town? How many gallons of Coke vs. Pepsi? How many Bibles? etc... (The Whole of the Moon by The Waterboys.)
 As I have mentioned in previous posts, I like to read the sides of the U-haul trucks on my way in and out on my walks, and decide which destination I would most like to visit. This night presented me with a tough choice. I instantly eliminated Ontario. Blech! But the choice between Louisiana and Rhode Island proved surprisingly difficult.
 I have always felt a certain heart-connection to Rhode Island as it is the birthplace of my dear Mother. I have been to Rhode Island, but really I have just kind of passed through. In fact, of the six New England states Rhode Island is the one I have experienced the least. part of me would like to be more familiar with Rhode Island, but ultimately I decided on Louisiana because I have never been there. Who knows how many days they have to walk the earth? I better experience as much as I can, and I have already seen plenty of the northeast. Plus it's winter and choosing the more southerly locale seemed a highly defendible choice to me. (skipped a bunch of songs and wrapped up my walk listening to Two Princes by The Spin Doctors).

Good night.


6 comments:

LeoLee said...

That's a nice hoody.
I like the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, by the way.

The Sauce said...

Brothahh.
I love the Yeah Yeah Yeah's and great great song by They Might Be Giants.
My friend Amanda did a walking tour of Rome with her ipod on shuffle, and I'd intended to do the same sometime this week (over the next 48 hours!!!!) because we're slated to receive 20" of snow....

Two Princes will ALWAYS be amongst my faves, too. Always. Spin it.

I love this post. I'll write you a letter tomorrow. Haven't mailed anything your way since my impromptu letter to Sarah, and before that, the brownies. For shame.

Did I mention I dug this post? hard. I wish I was going to see you guys next week in VT--somehow I'm now conflating things mentally, after the wedding, and catch myself thinking I'll see not only C & J, and your parents, but you guys too.

I'm out.
Security word? "emigum" Sounds how someone from whom the faint scent of marijuana wafts might say 'amalgam'.

Earl Grey's my favorite.

Steve said...

Always a highlight.

Josh Tate said...

I have to confess that all of the songs were put on the MP3 player by Job. He's cool. I'm not. It turns out I like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as well, but I didn't know that until last night when I paid attention to who performed the songs I was listening to for the purposes of the Excursion Into the Night post.

The Fredricksons: Brian, Britney, Salty, and Benji said...

Do you go to the Post Office at night so as to avoid being compromised/violated by children?

Josh Tate said...

Yes, Britney. Ever since "the incident" I have not been able to bring myself to go back during the light of day.