Because of my involvement with certain somewhat prestigious musical happenings and personalities, people sometimes conclude that I am often out and about, frequenting all the musical venues in search of new and interesting talent. (Or at least I assume that they assume this- is that sort of like a double whammy, or a reverse double-negative?) At any rate, silly diatribes about syntax aside, it ain't necessarily so (cue the jazz intro). I could rattle off a dozen different reasons why this is the case, but they would be neither important nor germane to this posting. The point is, I did in fact venture out last night to help my buddy Ike celebrate his birthday, by attending his celebratory bash at a local blues venue. Ike and a bunch of buddies entertained the crowd thoroughly- admittedly, not an extremely difficult assignment, as the patrons of this particular establishment are generally in the mood (can you tell I'm on a big-band theme, here?) for revelry.
I got there a little before ten, yet again foolishly expecting the music to start as the schedule advertised. I should know better, but again, I don't get around much anymore. (Hey, am I on a tear, or what?) The music began around a quarter till eleven, and by the time three of my good buddies arrived, was well under way. The entourage included two of my oldest friends, Sonny and Clay, who both know me as well as anyone outside my own skin can. Also arriving at about the same time were two female acquaintances of mine, who seemed more than surprised to see me there. You see, I gave up the drinking portion of my debauchery some years ago, for reasons best left untouched here- again, irrelevant to this discussion...... These two attractive young women were both formerly on the same wagon as me, but had at some point disembarked to do some more experimenting.
I was standing around with my pals when one of these fallen angels came up to our group and kind of slid up under my arm. (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.) I could almost see my buddies roll their eyes in non-complicit understanding. They both probably figured from past history that this was exactly the sort of situation I'd go for. You see, I have a record of exercising a "faulty picker", when it comes to romance, so I feel sure that they were both thinking "Here we go again, makin' whoopee!"
Au contraire, mon freres! (Feel free to substitute another "m__ f__" in place of my pidgen french.) I am in the process of attempting to, despite my advancing years, learn from past mistakes. While I love these ladies dearly (like sisters I've been through hell with), I can, as they say elsewhere, "play the tape forward" and foresee the detrimental effects of choosing to proceed in that direction. So after my buddies left me and my erstwhile friend, I had a nice little non-judgmental talk with her, wished her well, sent off a simple prayer for her, and went about my business, which by that time of the evening was brief. I had to get home for my beauty rest, hoping to be well prepared for the time when a better choice becomes available. (I could throw in a line somewhere about the lady being a tramp, but that would be mean.)
For you big band fans, see if you can spot all six references to song titles. As if you have nothing better to do.....
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