Saturday, September 20, 2008

Bad Blog Day

I've been depressed. I inadvertently deleted two of my favorite posts. A post on Patrick Kavenagh (which I found on google and re-posted above) and another I was working on that chronicled a trip to Israel. (I was was briefly suspected of being a terrorist at the airport). The post tied in nicely with the lost post Patrick Kavanagh and my IRA grandfather.) I was so mad that I decided never to blog again. I can never re-write the one on Israel. But I'll try, later.

I had agreed to attend a live concert with Evil on Friday night. Yes, we broke up. But I had promised. He took me to dinner at a restaurant suggesting it was the best in town, "The Orange County Mining Company". It's the kind of restaurant you'd remember (if you could remember that far back) that you visited on prom night. This restaurant featured the, always popular, decor of a mining shaft.

He ordered his New York Strip "well done". I gently advised, "you know, the chef is probably going to spit on it." "Huh?" he said with irritation. "They hate it when you ruin a perfectly good steak, that's all I'm sayin'". I was a waitress in college. If a chef was not sailing a saucepan over "the line" in a trajectory designed to make direct contact with my forehead (after requesting a steak "well done") he was spitting on it.

Later I realized, there was no "chef" at all. It was likely an affable immigrant merely supporting his wife and kids. I don't slam immigrants. I'm the daughter of immigrants. Further, I don't care how you got into the country. If it was too easy, we made it so for a reason.

We arrived at The Grove Theatre and took our seats in the 7th row.

The last concert I was at featured, I believe, the Jackson Five. Yes, it's been a while. This concert featured Lindsey Buckingham. The attendees would all me middle aged fans of Fleetwood Mac, like me so it would be a tame evening.

Seconds after the show began I noticed the distinct splitting of my right eardrum followed shortly by the cracking of the left. An invisible man was pelting, apparently with a sledge hammer, the rhythm of the base beat upon my chest leaving me gasping for air.

I plugged my ears for the duration so that I could hear the music. Otherwise, I heard nothing except pain. (Is pain a sound?) Evil Surfer Dude stood up, whistling and making a devil mark gesture with his hands which, evidently, communicated a silent message to Lindsey that he "understood the secret message" being communicated.

Later, a bearded man seated to my right offered me some drugs. He offered them in the same manner (extending the tin) that one offers Altoids to one's colleagues in a meeting.

I shook my head, "no thank you". As he pulled the tin away I noticed they were actually a small assortment of earplugs.

"Wait", I screamed. "I've changed my mind". He didn't hear me.

When the concert ended, Evil said; "You're not a rocker are you?".

"You're legally deaf, aren't you?" I replied.

9 comments:

SSP said...

oh sunovabitch, that was an AWESOME post!!!! I am so sorry you lost it! are you sure it isn't archived somewhere??? what an amazing story - i wanted to go google him and your grandparents but I didn't know your mom's maiden name.

JIMSIGHT said...

That is so sad, I loved that post too...

Sounds like a good time at the Grove, yes earplugs are the middle aged drug of choice at small venues in particular.

I thought the O.C. Mining company was strictly for Proms, Banquets and historical references.

Charmaine said...

Jim,

The restaurant was not my kind of place. But who am I to say what is right and what is wrong?

But dude, the place is WRONG.

How are you?

Your loved one made it through his physical crisis. That's good news. It's scarey being in a waiting room.

JIMSIGHT said...

If you were 16 or lived in a trailer you would have thought it very romantic. I would never take there I promise. LOL....

Yes today is was much better for him. I am TI-YERD.

Flying home Wednesday, talk to you soon.

Mike said...

Ooo I hate losing post and blogs which I've done both. Very funny entry.

Mike said...

The restaurant has the same name as a strip club in PA with the same decor. Never was there but I heard some good stories.

Spicy Latina said...

I'm over you! Why Charming? Why? I thought we were DONE with surfer dude! We now know that there are nice single good looking men who like the theatre and nice restaurants (pool boy for example) so why keep evil surfer dude around...call Vern damn it!

P.O.M. said...

I'm with the Latina.
We would seriously kick your ass to next Tuesday if you were here. You are sabatoging your own happiness. That guy is a total douchebag. Really, the Mining Co? That's almost as bad as Z-Tejas.

Michelle said...

Why, oh why do you insist on spending time with a legally deaf person? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but since legally deaf person is evil, i say MOVE ON dear!!

And i say that because i like you!!!

Michelle