Slepcy - With Charles Bukowski On The Ride [mp3]
His expected return was always unexpected. Numerously ringing door bells announcing the appearance of the renowned disowned, a free rider lounging cigarette in hand, the terrible denouement of sudden constitution. This time it was the neighbor’s friend, rang to gain entry past the security door of our three-unit apartment building. The Garfield Common Lofts would suffer subtlety another day of his absence. Next time though it’s him, coveralls and all. We look each other in the eye for a moment before he announces, “Aw shucks” and we presently embrace, his hair and neck somehow smelling of neutral scents, I think for a moment about the impending days and what his appearance will align for our ways. We dislodge and smoke and talk of his recent travels. Says he met some good people in Montana, maybe get some work, hasn’t drank much these days but we’re sure gonna go on a bender starting right away. But then something funny happens, we drift along the third-floor flat in a haze, cigarette smoke always bringing us out of our collected shell temporarily but beyond the porch we dare not dance. Instead of drink and booze we find ourselves enamored with video games, killing cold dead pixels, arming a million-man military of alternate allegiance, he of the Greek empire and myself of Seleucid blood. Instead of alcoholic tendencies, flirtatious meanderings and a cool shot of Beam, we spend our late evenings on computers massing head shots and denarii, waking gaming past two AM, three AM, four AM, it’s five AM and we’re often still playing. It is at this juncture that a fall from corporate grace gradually takes place, a once promising professional pushed over the edge into poetry and fiction, found fluttering furiously fighting for prestige, a rapid decline precipitated simply by a wandering man, Half-Life 2 and Rome Total War.
In the waning weeks and hours of he and I’s shared addiction in chaos and boredom, we would comment often during our cigarette breaks about the satisfaction of fulfilling life-long desires, each of us exceedingly casual in our gaming for lack of social sharing, an interest mutual in destruction of opponents, kingdoms or otherwise. Our virtual well being was something to be discussed over coffee, remarked upon during meal preparations, even a story to convey to the pretty girl at the end of the bar on the rare occasion that we would venture out. I and him, we spent several solid weeks locked away in a fantasy world of absolute disgrace, an endless supply of power of creation of extinction within our grasp kept us coming back for more. We would learn from each other, improve from our mistakes and before long, we became masters of the realm, citizens of a post-realism world unharmed and immune to the problems that plague people everyday.
And then one day, we went out for a celebratory drink. The Seleucid Army had just marched on Rome, a mere hours after the recent Greek victory over the Julii. We, both rulers of an ancient imaginary world, would drink merrily into the night reminiscing about the various battles, spy missions accomplished, diplomatic overtures and total naval dominance established under our respective rule. As we drank more though, we began to notice all the people around us, particularly the girls. Indeed, a pair of ladies had been trying to communicate with us, to break through the haze coating each of our words, to suggest a saturation of sexual innuendo. Almost simultaneously we came to an understanding. The world around us glowed for a moment at our collective realization, the girls gravitated suddenly again, the words we spoke smoothly shorn sweetly with dialect, a discourse emerged within both of us, blooming delicacy before us beauty born once more on the night we returned. At a moments notice, our guard was dropped and we re-joined our comrades in the span of four shots, members once more of our imagined real worlds.
Slepcy is a rhythm and blues band from Poland. The featured song is from the album We Are The Newest Battle Models. Purchase the music at Amazon | Insound | eMusic.
