I like the French again.

[KB.]

(I swear I posted this, but it didn't show up anywhere, I blame the middle class)



It has cooled down quite a bit here in St. Louis, thankfully. 70 degrees, humidity 78%. It is almost exactly the same back in little old Milan, TN. Only difference is the air works there, and the pollen count is lower.

I worked today, last day there, counted the hours down. Worked with a new guy that has only been there for a week or two. His name is Fabien. Good guy, way too damn qualified to be working retail. He is French, kinda. He moved here from the Netherlands to follow a woman he has been married to, and in his words in love with for less than a year. Good guy. We closed together a few nights ago, and had time to talk about a lot of things. Like how Americans work themselves to death; for nothing. It was my statement, he agreed though. No seven week mandatory vacations in this country; which is a damn shame. I said Americans work far more than they need to, but he said in an accent even more unique than mine is here, “They need to because they want the money, and I replied that they don’t need the fing money. Someone always home alone far too much. Some wife is lonely, or a husband is, some kid isn’t getting read a bed time story. All in the name of a dollar. Providing for the family; whatever, providing for Capital One is what it is. I talked about South America and siestas; he laughed a great laugh, talked about when he lived in Portugal and how they never did anything before 9 am. Then they took a nap and had a two hour lunch, which included wine. I find it damned funny we are the easiest country to get into and go to work. I’m going to stop before I get political.

I went to Joanie’s afterwards, I left an hour early, Fabien asked if I wanted to switch so I could go home early since it was my last day, it was his birthday. That folks is someone who thinks about another before himself, he turned 28 today. I like the French again.

A man I met here, never in person; seems about as lost in this too big world as I am. He uses a tag line on his sonnets, they are nice to read, a different perspective. The tag line says, “Jesus Sneezed, says he uses it because of the human aspect, and the whole “God Bless You thing. I told him once that when Jesus sneezed the devil handed him a handkerchief. Extrapolate on that a little. I like that word, extrapolate.

This is almost as good as talking to myself.

“The best morale exists when you never hear the word mentioned. When you hear a lot of talk about it; it’s usually lousy.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

If you had someone working for you that had more than sixty grand in sales returns in a month, would you continue to pay them nineteen bucks an hour? If you has someone who had worked loyally for you going on two years, lead the department in sales, rarely missed work, didn’t get **** returned because he knew how to qualify a customer, would you continue to pay him nine dollars and a quarter, or would you wait until he decided to finally go find something better to act like you had no idea he wanted a little compensation for his work? (They did you bad Parker, glad you got to do one to them)

I’ve seen probably twenty good folks, good people, not just good sales people leave in the last four or five months, and more talking about leaving. People in every area of the store, from the guy working loss prevention, to the sales floor, to the warehouse. One person is always on their lips when they talk about it amongst others. This person is supposed to be some “Rock Star, its ****ing retail, that noun, adjective, whatever, doesn’t apply. Clapton was a rock star. Amazing how someone that is supposed to be so good, just because they play the game, not an original thought in their head, can totally kill the culture in a place. Where is that seven week vacation?

When the cute girl buys her laptop and printer do you send her to the front, or do you carry it out for her? What about the couple in their eighties? The correct answer is you help them both. Just different thoughts in your head on the way there is all.



People should be compensated for the work they do, not the games they play. Sycophant, A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people; yeah that is who you want helping to run things, you bunch of damned idiots.

Find something better then is what I am sure someone is thinking; I’m working on it. Who knows with a little help from some new friends maybe I’ll get to see Vernazza, smell that salty ocean air, and eat those fresh off the vine olives. It’s a process, all of it.

I need to tell a story, it is getting late and I have somewhere to be in the morning. Can’t miss a minute; you know the epiphany and all.



There was this man once, skinny, smelled like cigarettes and Armani cologne. Don’t let the name Armani fool you, the cologne didn’t cost that much. He cussed a lot, like to do it actually; he figured that and his accent would give the impression of an ignorant hick. Let them underestimate; he liked that as well. Wore out, tired, his feet hurt in a metaphorical sense. Sometimes he drank too much; sometimes he was sober for months at a time. He usually had a story to tell, sometimes folks listened. He was a decent man, not always, but mostly. He played his part rough when he needed to; just like Curtis Mayfield talked about. He said thank you, please, yes mam, no sir, and he apologized when he did wrong; just like his mom and dad taught him to. He didn’t judge people who were different than he was, whether it is race, religion, or gender; learned that from his folks as well. He didn’t have many if any secrets, that was his own thing. He liked Tupac and Willie Nelson, but he liked Jack Johnson and Ray Lamontagne, Sunshine told him about the last two. She taught him a few other things as well, but that ain’t for now. He had a Muse, might still have one. Took him a good thirty years to find that one, but it was worth the wait. He talked about having others, but they never gave him the need, the thirst, that he found in that little corner bar.

He could name every love he had ever had, whether it was a juvenile, lollipops and orange push-up flavored one; a high school, can I get a kiss good night, pear scented one; an early twenties, Nelly Furtado remixed Get Your Freak On, Gucci belt wearing one; the Blue Moon flavored, fermented, Kate inspired, Most of the Time, one; and the Ray Lamontagne, strawberry ice-cream flavored, tomato plant growing, four leaf clover picking, dark haired one. (Yeah I left some out, sue me)

Lost in a too big world, so much to see, can’t miss a thing. Going down slow, loud mouthed, disaster. He liked it though, reminded him he was really alive, and maybe it wasn’t purgatory after all, at least not yet.

Patient, not a single person can deny that. Probably running out of time; been listening to Dylan’s Time out of Mind too often. He is in love with sentence fragments right now. Not dark yet. <---- (see). He needs a new tattoo, something to show off, spark a story or two as he sits in the corner at some bar in Boise. He oughta ask Norah Jones what she is doing next Tuesday, or see if Gabrielle Reece really is six foot three.

St. Louis was a good time, might have one or two more stories to tell depending on the weekend. Two loves, one Muse, an acre of tobacco, enough beer to drown a really tall elephant, a dozen new friends, one friend in the wind, one less window and cd player, 60 pounds lighter, and leaving with almost as much money as I got here with. That’s not too bad really. Figure the word total is around 80 thousand now. I bet after I get a chance to relax a little, see some folks back home, laugh louder than I usually do, and get at least one of those tattoos; that I can do that many again. Let’s just hope for one more story before I roll out Monday.

KB

Anything you write, even if you have to start over, is valuable. I let the story write itself through the characters.

~Steve Buscemi

[SuzyB]

Another great read KB :guitarist

[KB.]

It's alright for a big headed knob.

:yh_wink

[SuzyB]

KB.;627133 wrote: It's alright for a big headed knob.

:yh_wink


Now your boasting :rolleyes: :wah:

[KB.]

Nah, I'm still talking about my colossal cranium. maybe I should have picked a different smilie.

[SuzyB]

KB.;627136 wrote: Nah, I'm still talking about my colossal cranium. maybe I should have picked a different smilie.


Smileys make all the difference :driving:

[RedGlitter]

KB,

I think you should form these writings into a book and try to get it published. Or submit some to magazines. I'm not trying to flatter you; I'm being serious. When I read your stories, you claim all my attention. That's a hard thing to do with me. They're very easy and enjoyable reads and you make so many good points.

:-6