Sunday, June 26, 2005

The haze within, the haze without

Yesterday was truly hot for the first time this year. The sky was hazy and sat on the city like a lid, trapping all the heat within. It wasn't humid per say, yet simmering. It reminded me that next week I'll be in New Mexico for my first summer visit in 12 years. There was a strong hot wind blowing, not unlike the Santa Ana wind of SoCal. That wind is often accompanied by earthquakes.
I'd had a gig the night before which went late. I didn't sleep well, and awoke at 5:50 for no good reason whatsoever. Sleepwalked through work until 4pm. Tried to nap, body exhausted but mind racing as usual. Probably the cumulative effect of mainlining caffeine all day. I gave up when dusk's diffuse light created a Hopper painting in the room. To follow the theme, I threw on some Coltrane. A Love Supreme. A Love Supreme. A Love Supreme.
Had dinner plans with a friend, but due to fatigue, I couldn't make it past a single quesadilla. Begged off early. On the way home, the haze in my head had spread through the city, making the neon lights look like they were being powered off the same near-dead car battery. I wheeled into the arcade, passing small groups of two and three. Everybody looked big, much bigger than the locals. Many had large hair as well. I realized that a gig must've just let out at Belier, but with my exhaustion and the haze and the body size and the hair, it seemed like some apocalyptic drama was being played out in the 'Nog. Mutants now overran the city. I rode along the temples and the graveyards, and made the last turn toward home. The moon shone through wax paper.

On the turntable: Thelonious Monk, "Monk's Dream"

2 comments:

-c said...

Yeah, the big hair is a good shock. I always wonder what are they hiding in there..?
This was an awesome post!

Anonymous said...

Yep. The man can write. As can you -c, from what I've been reading. Isn't the Internet great?