ONCE UPON A TIME YOU DRESSED SO FINE

You are going to a show with Shiow. You cannot resist the almost-homonym. It is too perfect. Tonight you're at The Empty Bottle, for a benefit show, to help a baby you don't know and hope will live a fine and beautiful life. You used to go to the Bottle all the time, years ago, and back then, you wouldn't have put much effort into other people's babies or the reason behind benefit shows.




Back then, you locked up your fixed gear to a friend's fixed gear at the bike racks outside. You walked in easily because you felt like you lived there. You played pool. You usually won. You only talked to people who rode their bikes there and you categorized those people like this: fixed gear riders, long talks, life talks; single speed riders, chats, sometimes evolving into updates on daily living; road bikers, quick hello, quick kiss on the cheek, perhaps an introduction to a significant other. You did not talk to anyone else. The anyone elses did not have messenger bags on their backs and they did not smell like they just spent time on a bike. You thought this was odd.

Back then, you spent a lot of time looking at the floor or at the fuzzy images on the stage. You drank a lot. Other stuff, too. Bands were fuzzy. So was their music. This didn't matter. You were very cool. You had many friends. Many times these friends were the fuzzy images on stage. You played pool while they played because you had already heard the entire set during the week, when they were practicing, when you were at the loft, practicing track standing and making jokes.



Now, it's almost a decade later. You realize that there are many people here without messenger bags on their backs and they look beautiful and meetable and you wonder how many beautiful people passed right by you a decade ago, how many you ignored in all your coolness. Now, the bartenders are easy to talk to. The music is awesome. The guy next to you apologizes for bumping into you and when you look at him, he's sincere, and you tell him no problem. You missed out on a lot when you busy being cool.


Now, you look up. Now, you look out. Now, you realize how thankful you are that you're just able to be here.