The Weird Part Was When I looked Out The Small Window Of The Holding Cell And Saw The Car On Fire In The Parking Lot

They had picked me up on the Ventura County Pier on a drunk & disorderly. Personally, I don't believe I was really drunk, not by my standards anyway. However, I was absolutely looped, as I swore I saw little white mice crawling all over the pier, and me as well.

Someone must have slipped me a tab or two. That was how acid was consumed back in those days, a blue or purple dot on a small piece of blotter paper - each little bit of paper was referred to as a tab. I would never have knowingly dropped acid, as I hated not being in control of my faculties to that degree, made me feel ultra-vulnerable.

About the time I started screaming at people that there were little white mice running around all over the pier is when the County Sheriff's squad car pulled up and the two Deputies took me into custody. Not a good night, that one.

Rocking Out With Dixie Leadfoot & The Chrome Struts @ The Rockin' R Bar In Lakewood

As the title might lead you to believe, this post is a brief review of a great Rockabilly trio it was my pleasure to catch at the Rockin' R Bar in Lakewood tonight. However, a more appropriate title for this post might be, "How To Have A Great Time In The Denver Metro Area Without Breaking the Bank."

I had heard of Dixie Leadfoot & the Chrome Struts from friends who are regulars at the Skylark downtown, but had never had the opportunity to see them perform. That is, not until tonight, when they played a cozy little bar not too far from my home in Lakewood. 

The Rockin' R Bar straddles the border between Denver and Lakewood, just south of the intersection of Jewell and Sheridan - fairly convenient to my residence, which is a nice change from having to drive to Denver for quality entertainment.

Suzannah Harris is all about that bass...

And quality entertainment was what I got from this trio. To be able to hear great interpretations of some of the best rockabilly tunes from the '50's with no cover charge was not just an amazing bargain, it was a special treat. 

The trio, fronted by primary vocalist and upright bass player Suzannah Harris (a woman with an incandescent smile if there ever was one), belted out the best of Johnny Cash & Buddy Holly, a bit of KC Douglas, and even a little surf music from the Chantays.

                                                  Joe Clark keeping time on the skins

The group was not limited to the '50's with their song selections though, and each member of the group stood in the spotlight for a song or two. Drummer Joe Clark belted out a Creedence classic (always great to see a drummer who can keep the beat while singing lead) and guitarist Tim Wallace shined not only as a rhythm guitarist, but also as an extremely skilled lead guitarist and vocalist.

                                               Tim Wallace finds the perfect chord...

Tonight I experienced one of the rarest of combos - great entertainment in a great venue at very little cost. If you have the opportunity to see Dixie Leadfoot & the Chrome Struts anywhere, I recommend it - and if you have the opportunity to enjoy them at the Rockin' R sometime in the future, I can't recommend it strongly enough.

For the price of a few beers I was able to enjoy a trio of very talented musicians doing justice to some classic songs, without having to jostle through a huge crowd for a good seat or wait in line for a beer - now that is what I call a great night!

Hope In Advertising

See, all you have to do is slip on a wig made by this company, and *Blam!* Most beautiful you.

The Man Who Favored Dull*

He had never been hip, he had never been cool
He had never been one of those bad boys 
                                           Who broke all the rules
He had never been arrested, never been in cuffs
Was never seen in the company of
                                           The neighborhood toughs
                                          

Decidedly ordinary, decidedly mundane
Lived a life of continuity
Lived a life devoid of change
                      

He had no desire to travel, preferred the comforts of home
Wasn't the type of person to board a plane
                                           Just to see statues in Rome
When he needed adventure or an exciting thrill
He read books or watched the television
                                           He liked his action sitting still


Decidedly ordinary, decidedly mundane
Lived a life of continuity
Lived a life devoid of change

*Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Cattywampus, No Matter How You Spell It

It can be difficult at times figuring out if something is actually going to be worth your while, or if it's going to be a huge waste of your time & energy.

That's just how life is - you have to take risks every so often, gamble with a little of your time, in order to discover whether or not the reward will be worth the effort.

Somebody Left $375,000 In The Parking Lot

Little Origami Swans Of Despair

He was surprised to be confronted with such a high level of insecurity from someone who had come across as a confident, mature individual. It was one thing to play down a compliment or two, it was a whole 'nother ball of molten lava to twist the compliment into an attack on a perceived shortcoming, He quietly motioned for the waiter and when the bill was presented had his credit card out ready for the gregarious young man's hand. 

They sat in that awful silence that descends on people who have made the realization that what at first seemed to be a good thing, a mutual attraction and interest that had real potential, was in fact nothing more than a brief infatuation based upon misinterpreted signals on both of their parts.

"Oh well," he thought as the nattily dressed young man with the small gauges in each ear returned with his receipt, "isn't the first time this has happened, nor likely to be the last."

He tipped the kid twenty and politely stood to one side of the booth as his companion got her coat on. They walked out of the restaurant without saying a word to each other, and parted ways in the parking lot with polite goodnights.

Kid, You Ain't Got The Teeth To Succeed

At some point in time it became far more important to be attractive rather than intelligent, to be charismatic rather than thoughtful. 

At some point in time it became more important to be camera friendly than to be actually friendly.

This is what has allowed the narcissist to take over.

The Haves And Have Nots

I-25 snaking through the Denver metro area sports a few classic examples of the differences between the haves and have nots.  

The above photograph features a pedestrian bridge that spans I-25 near Orchard Ave. That pedestrian bridge is similar to another one just two miles or so further south - it has a roof to keep the snow and rain off the pedestrians, as well as walls of thick, transparent acrylic on both sides to further protect the pedestrians from weather.

Drive about seven miles further north however, and a pedestrian bridge of much simpler engineering and construction comes into view. 

The pedestrian bridge in the photograph above, paid for by the exact same Federal tax-generated funds as the one seen in the first photograph, does not feature a roof to keep snow and rain off the pedestrians that walk across it's span, and the walls are little more than pig-wire screens - pretty much zero protection from the elements for the pedestrians.

Wonder why the pedestrians walking across the two bridges that span I-25 just 7 and 9 miles to the south of the one above enjoy the luxury of being shielded from the weather? My cynical ass tends to think it's about the economic disparities that exist between the two areas in which the bridges are built. 

South Denver is fairly wealthy, and very affluent. The area where the roofless and wall-less pedestrian bridge is built, somewhat central Denver, is not. 

I know, I know, you're thinking, "Why should that make a difference when it comes to the use of Federal tax dollars to build pedestrian bridges that are spanning an interstate built with Federal tax dollars?"

LOL. American class system 101, my friend. 101.

Newly Homeless = Moved To Colorado For The Pot

In past couple of weeks several very young panhandlers, alone or in groups of 2 or 3, have popped up throughout the Denver Metro area. 

I know this because my job takes me all over the Metro area, and I've seen quite a few of these "Newly Homeless" (Just a few weeks ago I wrote about encountering a group of 3 very young panhandlers holding signs that stated "Newly Homeless").

These "Newly Homeless" are not disabled Vets or people with serious physical or mental health issues that hinder them from earning a living. They are all, each and every one of them that I have seen, very young and very healthy individuals who have made the decision to live off of the generosity of the altruistic. 

The young man I took a picture of above was fairly honest about it when I asked him why he was "Newly Homeless." He said it was because he had moved to Colorado due to weed being legal, but that he couldn't get a job because every place he had filled out an application at wanted him to submit to a piss test.

Who'd a thunk?

Just About a Foot

One Species Trash Is....