Dusty

Sitting here watching the Packer game and thinking about the last time they won the super bowl. I was out in Oregon watching the game at Stuffs (now Howiees on Front) with among other people, Dusty. Every one should know some one like Dusty. Unfortunately he died a while back in a sadly miserable manner. We used to close Stuffs quite often, and after every one was gone Dusty, Howie and I would sit back for a few beers and the ensuing buffoonery. The night/morning would always close with Dylans Blood On the Tracks accompanied by our vocals. I hadn't seen him much lately, but one of the last times was in Feb. of '99. It was my last night in Medford before I flew back to New Hampshire with plans to go see Dylan and Natalie Merchant in Portland ME that same night. As we were putting down the Chimays and listening to Billy Bragg and Wilco, Mermaid Avenue, some one came up with the idea of writing messages to Bob and Natalie on my body. So out came the marks a lot and with inspiration from the cd, "this machine kills fascist" was written on my chest, and "way down yonder in the minor key" on my back. The next a.m. on the plane I just kept looking down my shirt and laughing.
Anyway, just last month I was back in Medford. I saw a lot of old friends and drank a lot of beer, but when I got back home some thing just didn't seem right. I realized that despite the good times, I didn't get to sing "Lily Rosemary and the Jack of hearts" at the top of my lungs while spilling a beer on Dusty. My point being stay in touch with those people who mean a lot to you, and every time your with those people let the meeting end on a good note...even if you can't sing well.
For those of you that have my # with the OR area code, thats kind of the reason why I have it. When I was out there I got mad at a dear friend, and tho I meant what I said, I could have been less blunt and crude about it. I figured she was mad enough not to answer a call with a 208 area code. Some times you have to be deceptive to do the right thing.
In closing, Bob was great. Natalie was a bit disappointing, but does look a lot better in person.