A Murky Monday Morning October 24, 2011
Posted by Matt in personal stories.Tags: charity. Ain't So Lonely, fog, homeless, Lucero, Memphis, morning commute
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It was not a good morning to be running late.
The fog hung about, thick and white, a cottony shroud covering the city, obscuring all bodies but those in the nearest proximity. The Dagobahan morass consumed my car, sucking it in with tendrils of water vapor and robbing me of the precious gift of sight. Plunging headfirst into the murky lagoon, I continued on, albeit a bit more carefully than usual, headlights alight with watchful eyes probing the depths.
The traffic was heavier than usual as nearly everyone seemed to be taking extra precautions on such an unusual morning, so I crept along with these tentative fellow drivers like submarines in a great ocean of white, immersed in the chaos of the unknown.
Running behind, but unable to proceed on my morning commute without music, I pressed random on my iPod, hoping the spirit of Steve Jobs hovering about somewhere in the nether would see fit to grace my car stereo with a fitting tune from my expansive library. As I neared the end of my short commute the great Memphis band Lucero came blasting from the speakers, and the gravelly voiced Ben Nichols filled my small metallic bubble.
She smiles, oh so sweetly
And I ain’t so lonely, I ain’t so lonely
She acts just like she don’t need me
I ain’t so lonely, I ain’t so lonely
We drive down to the corner drugstore
And I ain’t so lonely, I ain’t so lonely
Coca-Cola and pills, take a few more
And I ain’t so lonely, I ain’t so lonely
It seems as though there is always someone standing at the Brooks Road exit in this part of the city, holding a hastily scrawled piece of cardboard reading, “Homeless. Hungry. Need Help,” and this day was no different. As I pulled to the corner, I looked over, the man’s visage barely visible in the smothering vapor, and I wondered for a moment about he and others standing at this spot every day, watching vehicles pass by, SUVs and Mercedes and little economy cars like my own, with drivers not even giving him a second glance. Feeling a twinge of guilt, I grabbed a handful of change from my stash and rolled the window down, just as Ben Nichols hit the chorus.
It’s been a while since I was nineteen
It’s been a while since I’ve seen
Myself act like such a fool.
He shambled up to me, “Thanks.”
How long must this go on
Tonight.
His hair was dirty and unkempt, his remaining teeth brown and quickly dying, but he smiled at me. “Good music.”
I nodded back to him, “Thanks. Have a good one.”
I’m by myself on the long drive home
And I ain’t so lonely, I ain’t so lonely
‘Cause I like hearing the sad songs
And I ain’t so lonely, I ain’t so lonely.
Happy Monday.
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