Get Me Out of Town, Is What Fireball Said

Monday, September 15, 2008 | comments (0)
It was a barnstorm of a weekend in San Francisco, where we flew for the wedding of a close friend ... C's first wedding as a "groomsperson," and she was dang cute in her suit and tie. Friday was a 26-hour day that began in the dark hours of morning at Newark Airport and ended at a North Beach strip club. The devil built Columbus and Broadway out of discarded bottles of original sin, brother. And he called it good. Believe.

And I woke up Saturday morning at a time that was afternoon back home, and read some news about a little hurricane named Ike that had bore down relentlessly on a town called Galveston. And thought about how, at the same time, 2,000 miles northwest, the g-stringed pelvis of a little stripper named Mia had bore down relentlessly upon the struggling remnants of a soon-to-be-married bachelor's soon-to-be-arrested libido. Flooding streets. Flooding veins.

And the soundtrack was Telephone Call from Istanbul, man.

Sunday ceremony out at Stern Grove by the Golden Gate. A wedding officiated by a pirate. Drove home via the 280, recovering from an 11:30 am Bushmills buzz, with the fog sticking to the trees like cotton on broccoli spears, carrying my love for this city on its back.

will you sell me one of those if I shave my head
get me out of town is what fireball said
never trust a man in a blue trench coat
never drive a car when you're dead

A red-eyed flight back to the Garden State to pick up a hoarse Honey at the PetSmart. Thinking about our next transcontinental wedding trip in May (these things can be habit forming). This one in LA, where my college roommate will be hitched. And this time I'll be the groomsman, and the lap dances will be ordered somewhere on the Las Vegas strip, and sleep will be put on hold for a more convenient time.

All night long on the broken glass
livin' in a medicine chest
mediteromanian hotel back
sprawled across a roll top desk
the monkey rode the blade on an overhead fan
they paint the donkey blue if you pay
I got a telephone call from Istanbul
my baby's coming home today


link to this | comments (0) | File: 

Related Photos:

« Dealing with the Dead Things
Breakfast Conversation »



Comments

Related Posts

In Weird . . .

02.19.2008
There's a new physical "feature" on my body. And I've been noticing it lately whenever I happen to be completely naked and looking down at myself or in a full-length mirror.

08.02.2006
I'm fascinated by coincidences like this one.

04.25.2006


In Weekend . . .

04.17.2009
And the worries we brought with us too melted, but still formed pools on the surface, making it clear to us that a longer break was needed.

11.10.2008
One way to relax after a Sunday afternoon herding leaves is to have a couple of beers and sit on the couch with your hand under your belt and watch some football and feel good and fine and strong--and downright brawny, damnit, like the guy on the paper towel rolls--for having worked hard and for having cuts on your hands and dirt under your nails and an easy sort of pain in your muscles.

10.29.2008
And speaking of pure, this is about the point in the evening when we were picked up by a wedding-white stretch Hummer, tremendous in its indecency. Inside, multi-colored laser lights danced on the ceiling and in our hair as we sipped OJ and Peach Vodka from plastic champagne flutes while reclining on those magnificent dark seats.

03.17.2008
Saturday's trip into the city involved going through the Lincoln Tunnel ... twice.

03.04.2008
And, on the other side, Harleys rumbling in the parking lot. Tattoos on display. Double D moms with "Don't Be Jealous" t-shirts. Suburban grey-beard banker bikers, bandana'd and leather-vested and flaunting their mid-life crises a month or two early.

07.23.2007
Looking back, I have to say the manual gave some interesting 'suggestions,' but I quickly determined that - because I only had two turkey burgers to grill and not steaks for twenty - I would do things differently. Clearly, these instructions were for people with many mouths to feed. This was just two burgers for C and me. Surely, I'd be able to cut a few corners. And I was right! I'm not selfish when it comes to information, so I thought I'd go ahead and share my special method with all of you.


In Travel . . .

05.28.2009
For me, the earthquake helped get my mind off the fact that I had lost my Blackberry somewhere on the beach earlier that day. I was feeling kind of down about that, and the prospect of a crushing death under fallen debris helped put the whole thing in perspective.

04.17.2009
And the worries we brought with us too melted, but still formed pools on the surface, making it clear to us that a longer break was needed.

10.29.2008
And speaking of pure, this is about the point in the evening when we were picked up by a wedding-white stretch Hummer, tremendous in its indecency. Inside, multi-colored laser lights danced on the ceiling and in our hair as we sipped OJ and Peach Vodka from plastic champagne flutes while reclining on those magnificent dark seats.

08.14.2008
One of my favorite things to dwell upon is travel, especially of the air variety. But this time, I've got a new source for my Fret: Honey.

04.09.2008
Despite a talkative rooster, or maybe because of him, our trip to San Pancho was quite great. And a wonderful reprieve from a New Jersey that's still having temperatures in the 30s and 40s.

03.04.2008
And, on the other side, Harleys rumbling in the parking lot. Tattoos on display. Double D moms with "Don't Be Jealous" t-shirts. Suburban grey-beard banker bikers, bandana'd and leather-vested and flaunting their mid-life crises a month or two early.

04.06.2007
Let's say the Duke just spent a few nights in a Mexican prison. Now you get the picture.

08.10.2006
OK. I hate to do this, but let me just take a moment to be a shining example of the kind of spoiled American attitude that makes terrorists cringe . . .

07.19.2006
Unlike my last post, this one is will be short and sweet.

07.05.2006


In Friends . . .

05.28.2009
For me, the earthquake helped get my mind off the fact that I had lost my Blackberry somewhere on the beach earlier that day. I was feeling kind of down about that, and the prospect of a crushing death under fallen debris helped put the whole thing in perspective.

04.29.2009
Also, I have to add that one of the great things that happens when one of my good friends gets married is I end up meeting a bunch of other people who I also really like. Because close friends of close friends have a way of getting along. Or maybe it just helped that we were inebriated the entire weekend and that we started things off at a titty bar.

11.24.2008
Paul wrote on my wall: We're almost halfway to 70. How do you feel? I wrote back: When I look at it that way ... not good.

10.23.2008
But life has brought us to the Garden State and, I've got to say, aside from the constant ache I feel in my ass from being repeatedly violated by our township on our property taxes every three months, it ain't all that bad up here. Still, there has been something missing from our lives. Something that used to bring us great joy and that we really took for granted for so long ...

07.16.2008
A little plug for a friend's band, who could open for Coldplay.

07.14.2008
When I finally made it downstairs, shaking and about ten pounds lighter than I was the night before, the first of my neighbors began showing up with their July 4th game faces on, all full of energy and wondering what the hell kind of party this was where everybody was chewing Rolaids and talking about hairs on dogs and squinting at each other from behind sunglasses under drizzly skies.

03.12.2008
Last week, I stepped out of my comfort zone a bit and joined a group called Thirty-Something Bloggers.

03.04.2008
And, on the other side, Harleys rumbling in the parking lot. Tattoos on display. Double D moms with "Don't Be Jealous" t-shirts. Suburban grey-beard banker bikers, bandana'd and leather-vested and flaunting their mid-life crises a month or two early.

08.20.2007
Dallas last week is now a whirl of memories, all good.

06.16.2007
We met Lily tonight. So beautiful. Congratulations E&M!


In San_Francisco . . .

05.28.2009
For me, the earthquake helped get my mind off the fact that I had lost my Blackberry somewhere on the beach earlier that day. I was feeling kind of down about that, and the prospect of a crushing death under fallen debris helped put the whole thing in perspective.

11.23.2006
Things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

08.25.2005
I set my phone on vibrate last night so no east-coast phone calls would wake me up early this morning where I slept in Santa Clara, California.

04.24.2003
I realized that somehow the guy selling his art in Union Square and living out of his van was a tremendous success in his own right and somehow I wasn't quite ready for that yet.


In Favorites . . .

05.28.2009
For me, the earthquake helped get my mind off the fact that I had lost my Blackberry somewhere on the beach earlier that day. I was feeling kind of down about that, and the prospect of a crushing death under fallen debris helped put the whole thing in perspective.

11.23.2006
Things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

08.25.2005
I set my phone on vibrate last night so no east-coast phone calls would wake me up early this morning where I slept in Santa Clara, California.

04.24.2003
I realized that somehow the guy selling his art in Union Square and living out of his van was a tremendous success in his own right and somehow I wasn't quite ready for that yet.