Self-portrait in Montauk (something still weird and tight behind my eyes):
"Montauk was supposed to be the end..."
Catfish (left)/Lodo (right): In Denver
"All I wanted to do was throw the ball for my dog Spiffy..."
Jaybird (left) and Rules feed chickens somewhere in Kansas:
I suppose words like pretty or love aren’t so easy for American heterosexual men to say. At least, not according to the beer commercials or television sitcoms. Just not that manly. Maybe that’s why the word love never came to me.
Or maybe I was just able to avoid it. Because in truth, Montauk was supposed to be the end. The end of everything--my time in New York, my career as an investigator, my cheap Brooklyn apartment. Everything. That’s what life was telling me on that long bike ride back from the lighthouse. Time to re-invent this thing called Lodo Grdzak.
But a funny thing happened. When I got home from my apartment I began to pack my things. Sort through them as I prepared to leave town when my cellphone rang. The caller I.D. said WITHHELD, which meant that I normally wouldn’t pick up, but for some reason, I turned down the music and answered.
“This is Lodo.”
“Lodo! Barry S_____ . Remember me? You did some work for me about 3 or 4 years ago. That case with the bad burn out in _______.”
“Barry!” I responded, “Of course I remember you. What’s going on?”
“Well Lodo, I heard a rumor. I don’t know if its true or not, so I figured, why not call the guy. We always hit it off, at least I thought we had. Anyw...”
“Yeah of course we did. I had fun that night with those gals.”
(laughs) “Right! Good. Me too. ...So anyway, what I wanted to ask is...are you on the market right now?”
“What?--you mean for work?” I asked with a laugh.
“Yeah, of course! Christ, what’d you think I meant? You know I’ve always got my feelers out. Word gets around in this business. You still over at _______?”
“Yeah man, I’m still there,” I lied as I threw a pair of boots into my travel bag , “..at least until the end of the month.”
“Yeah? What’s at the end of the month?” he asked.
“That’s it, man. I’m outta there.”
“So what I heard is true.”
“Well, I’m not sure what you heard.”
“Ha!--same old Lodo. Listen, you wanna get together for dinner? Catch up a little bit?”
“...Okay, as long as there’s air conditioning.”
“Ha!--same old Lodo.”
Well, you all know from Part 1 that I landed my new job and got a month off to boot--so what does that tell you about the wisdom of quitting your job!
Man, I was outta New York so fast. All I wanted to do was throw the ball for my girl Spiffy and sleep with her in my bed. Plus I got to see my niece Jaybird again and even my man Catfish returned my call. “Freak, I got my medical marijuana card, so be sure to look me up when you get out here.”
So yeah, I had a full plate once I got out to Denver with no reason to think about my job or why I’d quit. Baseball games, horseback riding, whitewater rafting. And everything back in New York was right where I’d started. Even better, like a new episode of The Simpsons, with no need or reason to contemplate or consider what was gleaned from last week.
It was only my last day--or actually, my 2nd to last day that got me thinking again.
* NOTE: Due to the length of this post, I'm going to split it into one final excerpt. Hadn't really planned to split it here, but its been a long time between posts! Thanks for hanging around y'all!
3 comments:
I'm familiar with the way life can lead you to put off your little writing projects.
Take your time! We'll be hanging around.
That's right Lodo what Spencer said. Also you can whisper to me and me only about what happened when you quit. I promise I won't bring it up again......maybe.
At the end of the day, I wont leave you hanging Willie. And Thanks!!!
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