For The Book!

It came to me as the muffled sounds of laughter and music. A large crowd of people singing and laughing together. So out of place in this dark city. ------------------------------------ "LIPS!!" "LIIIIPS!!" "LIPS, LIPS, LIPS.... LIIIIPS!!" The voices are coming from this small neighborhood movie theater and I just HAVE to see what is in there. Omaha, [...]

No thing can compare Not who, what or where No direction given No dreams, not driven Walking without wonder Without qualm Without care -------------------------------- Walking. And then… Standing, watching, waiting. Not waiting. Taking in, all that was on that street. And beyond. And then… Walking again. This was completely different from the walking I'd been [...]

"This is the last mornin' that I wake up in this dirty city Looking for the sunshine as the buildings block the skies This is the last mornin' that I wash in rusty water Tryin' to shave a face that I don't even recognise" ---- Shel Silverstein --------------------------- After that walk I took with Allen [...]

It was clear that Allen was trying to make a deeper connection with me. To show me more of who he was.  -------------------------------------- "It's going to be a long walk Brian." "I like walking." "At least three miles." "That's fine Allen." "Ok, so we better get started. Just stick with me. We have to go [...]

I guess my good boy/good man behind the mask, could feel the toxic nature of this lifestyle. ---------------------------- The fact that Allen even mentioned that he “never even thought about going for my knife” when fighting that wrestler dude, tells me he cared (at least a little) about how I might judge his behavior. He may [...]

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,... " ------ Charles Dickens -------------------------------------- Yea... during this time, I was in the best possible position I could be with Allen and his gang. After returning from Kansas I also had enough money to contribute in the ways that made sense to me [...]

I would never again, show Allen that side of me. I never had to. My adult self kinda wishes I'd paid more attention to how effective it was for me to be the quiet, big hairy dude. Rather than my default good natured and social, big hairy dude. Instead of seeing myself as putting on a [...]

At the time I was simply acting reflexively. After all, I was actually in survival mode. -------------------------------------------------------- In survival mode... and hungry. I'm walking with this guy I just met a few days ago. This "Crazy Allen" my little gang of street punk friends had been talking so much about. That's what one of the [...]

Crazy? Yea... crazy man. -------------------------------- My little gang of friends (the street punks who introduced me to him) worshiped Allen. He was the coolest, baddest and most fun crazy dude they could ever imagine. Allen made street life way funner for them than TV or any movie... EVER! The fact that Allen really was the [...]

"Hey big guy, check this out." Allen grabs another Schlitz "Tall Boy" from the cooler by his chair and opens the bottom with a church key. Of course I know all about "shooting beers" but Allen seems intent upon showing me something cool that he "invented" so... Who am I to harsh his buzz? (wait [...]