The Boy in the Alley
JD Rhode
It was a nice afternoon, so I decided to walk the puppy. Okay, he hadn’t been a puppy for almost a year, but he is my baby. I opened the garage door, as that’s how I leave the house, and, making sure the Shih Tzu’s purple leash was tight around my arm, we were gone.
I always walk the same trail. I heard it helps your pet be familiar with the area; if he should run away from home, he’ll know how to come back to you. Trust me, it doesn’t work. Anyway, we walked down the peacefully quiet street. It was roughly 4PM.
About twenty three feet from us was the next street, where I usually turn left, but I first noticed the alleyway to my immediate left. To be more precise, I noticed the boy in the alleyway. Dark headed and wearing light clothing, he sat cross-legged with his back to me. He turned, I guess hearing my wheels roll over concrete and pebbles. ‘Hellos’ were exchanged, and my pup and I kept walking.
I wondered who he was, what he was doing, and why he was by himself. The breeze calmed as we made the left onto the next street. The Sun was out of my face, too. That was comforting, however, I knew going home-turning around-would be very bright. Strange things pop in my head at all hours of the day, and I, just for a second or two, entertained the idea that the boy was a ghost. Silly me.
As promised, we headed home, and the Sun would no longer let me ignore it. It wasn’t too bad, though-at least the high temperature was in the seventies. Before straying too far from the scene and getting closer to my driveway, I glanced to my right. The boy of no older than twelve had gone and was nowhere to be seen.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Amarillo Day Trip
Where can I possibly begin? Hmm, I’m still thinking… Those who know me just know that my favorite music band is Stabbing Westward. I heard “What Do I Have To Do?” on the radio in 1996 and was completely awed. Then seeing the video to that and also shortly discovering “Shame”, my 17 year old self thought, Holy crap, that band rocks, and that man is absolutely, perfectly gorgeous! I had to read any review, watch any interview, and promote when I could! I saw them perform twice in Dallas-I begged my brother to take me, and I met my love both times; I was in heaven!
Yes, I’m fully aware that they broke up at the beginning of the new millennium-I cried! Seriously, I did. Well a couple of SW’s members, including Christopher Hall, who, in my now 31 year old self knows I truly love (in a friend way, guys, we’re both married), has made the band The Dreaming.
More electronic stylings than SW but nothing short of an awesome band. If you haven’t heard them, check ‘em here on myspace. You won’t regret it. Anyway, I had to follow my lead singer.
All that back story to get to yesterday, March 14, 2010. Okay, three weeks ago, February whatever that date was, I was on myspace and saw The Dreaming had TX tour dates. I, shockingly, had never been to one of their shows. I browsed, as I always do, the cities where they were coming: Dallas, well, pretty far, but if I could make that, I could also see my sister. Nope, too far on such short notice… Tyler, Houston, San Antonio? What? Nooo *cried* Wait, Amarillo…
I called a friend. She regularly (at least semi) makes the 4 hour trip to see friends there; surely, she’ll see this a dire cause. To make a long story short, she couldn’t help, but another friend and her boyfriend could *Joey did victory dance*
So, 12:30 we were ready to go-we just had to drop Hollywood, my Shih Tzu, off at Jason’s parents’. Thanks for watching him :) The van was loaded with chips, sour candy, soda, and water. We talked and laughed the whole way there, even about words or towns we’ve never heard of, including Abernathy, TX. No offense whatsoever to anybody living there, the name just struck all 4 of us as hilarious. We arrived in Amarillo in 6 hours, but we stopped at a Furr’s Cafeteria on the way. It was awesome!
Okay not to downplay the other bands by any means, Jade Moore and The Wild Bills because they were really crazy cool, but I’m gonna get to The Dreaming; they’re why I came (déjà vu, anyone remember Joey going to Depeche Mode to see their opening band, Stabbing Westward?)
I saw Chris talking to s/one (hope I didn’t interrupt) then turning to walk away, so, me in my “now or (possibly) never” mindset, I simply called, “Chris.” He turned, and I immediately got my hug. I’m a hug person-I love hugs, so that already put me in higher spirits.
It wasn’t over. He indicated that he remembered me (IDK if it was from 12 yrs ago or simply from my facebook pic, but it doesn’t matter). If a band member remembers you out of the thousands of people he/she sees every year, than that shows that person put effort into knowing you just as you did him/her. So awesomeness #2 right there.
I introduced him to Jason, who then told Chris about how we met involving “Save Yourself”, another success of SW’s. Chris thought that rocked. Then he told me to sit up front, and they’d sing to me! I knew they did. Okay, you know when you’re concentrating, and you need a focal point, well, I was one of his, like, 3 FPs.
I’m sorry, I can’t remember every kick ass song they sung, even though I head-banged to all of them, but some were “Bullet”, “Ugly”, “Send Me an Angel”, “Make it Go Away”, “It’s No Good”, and…and last but certainly not least, Chris announced that he was touched by J and me, so they did “Save Yourself”!! OMG, can you believe it? OMG, how cool is that!
After that, despite minor sound issues in the beginning, they weren’t too tired to talk to fans. Both Chris and Carlton thanked us for making the trip. We took pics, I showed them my SW tattoo, more hugs, then goodbyes.
We will definitely have to see them again. Hopefully closer to Midland, though. Truly unforgettable! Thank you so much, Jason, Dreaming, and guys for driving us. Speaking of which, we spent the next 4 hours talking and laughing. We got in bed at five this morning, and, though I’m so tired I’m swaying while typing this and sure I forgot some detail or two (it’s 4 o’clock, and I haven’t had much sleep) it was the best.
Yes, I’m fully aware that they broke up at the beginning of the new millennium-I cried! Seriously, I did. Well a couple of SW’s members, including Christopher Hall, who, in my now 31 year old self knows I truly love (in a friend way, guys, we’re both married), has made the band The Dreaming.
More electronic stylings than SW but nothing short of an awesome band. If you haven’t heard them, check ‘em here on myspace. You won’t regret it. Anyway, I had to follow my lead singer.
All that back story to get to yesterday, March 14, 2010. Okay, three weeks ago, February whatever that date was, I was on myspace and saw The Dreaming had TX tour dates. I, shockingly, had never been to one of their shows. I browsed, as I always do, the cities where they were coming: Dallas, well, pretty far, but if I could make that, I could also see my sister. Nope, too far on such short notice… Tyler, Houston, San Antonio? What? Nooo *cried* Wait, Amarillo…
I called a friend. She regularly (at least semi) makes the 4 hour trip to see friends there; surely, she’ll see this a dire cause. To make a long story short, she couldn’t help, but another friend and her boyfriend could *Joey did victory dance*
So, 12:30 we were ready to go-we just had to drop Hollywood, my Shih Tzu, off at Jason’s parents’. Thanks for watching him :) The van was loaded with chips, sour candy, soda, and water. We talked and laughed the whole way there, even about words or towns we’ve never heard of, including Abernathy, TX. No offense whatsoever to anybody living there, the name just struck all 4 of us as hilarious. We arrived in Amarillo in 6 hours, but we stopped at a Furr’s Cafeteria on the way. It was awesome!
Okay not to downplay the other bands by any means, Jade Moore and The Wild Bills because they were really crazy cool, but I’m gonna get to The Dreaming; they’re why I came (déjà vu, anyone remember Joey going to Depeche Mode to see their opening band, Stabbing Westward?)
I saw Chris talking to s/one (hope I didn’t interrupt) then turning to walk away, so, me in my “now or (possibly) never” mindset, I simply called, “Chris.” He turned, and I immediately got my hug. I’m a hug person-I love hugs, so that already put me in higher spirits.
It wasn’t over. He indicated that he remembered me (IDK if it was from 12 yrs ago or simply from my facebook pic, but it doesn’t matter). If a band member remembers you out of the thousands of people he/she sees every year, than that shows that person put effort into knowing you just as you did him/her. So awesomeness #2 right there.
I introduced him to Jason, who then told Chris about how we met involving “Save Yourself”, another success of SW’s. Chris thought that rocked. Then he told me to sit up front, and they’d sing to me! I knew they did. Okay, you know when you’re concentrating, and you need a focal point, well, I was one of his, like, 3 FPs.
I’m sorry, I can’t remember every kick ass song they sung, even though I head-banged to all of them, but some were “Bullet”, “Ugly”, “Send Me an Angel”, “Make it Go Away”, “It’s No Good”, and…and last but certainly not least, Chris announced that he was touched by J and me, so they did “Save Yourself”!! OMG, can you believe it? OMG, how cool is that!
After that, despite minor sound issues in the beginning, they weren’t too tired to talk to fans. Both Chris and Carlton thanked us for making the trip. We took pics, I showed them my SW tattoo, more hugs, then goodbyes.
We will definitely have to see them again. Hopefully closer to Midland, though. Truly unforgettable! Thank you so much, Jason, Dreaming, and guys for driving us. Speaking of which, we spent the next 4 hours talking and laughing. We got in bed at five this morning, and, though I’m so tired I’m swaying while typing this and sure I forgot some detail or two (it’s 4 o’clock, and I haven’t had much sleep) it was the best.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Haiku Type Poems
Old stuff (when I was big into writing these)
Biggest Mistake
The biggest mistake
of my life was not hearing
myself tell you no
Monster
What kind of monster
Ignores the hurt of someone
He claims to love most?
Biggest Mistake
The biggest mistake
of my life was not hearing
myself tell you no
Monster
What kind of monster
Ignores the hurt of someone
He claims to love most?
Monday, March 8, 2010
Never Look Back
Never Look Back
JD Rhode
Where should I begin? I’d start by saying Dear “Whoever”, but I’m not sure if this is a letter. You know, cutting to the chase, that I dream quite a bit and also that I often-about 80% of the time-remember my dreams. Well, speaking percentages, roughly 75% of those I remember are good, happy dreams.
You know, the ones where you wake up thinking, “God, I wish I didn’t hear that alarm.” That’s me most of the time. I have no physical alarm, just the one in my head that works too well for somebody who has no children.
I dream I can walk. I dream of happier times with my family. I dream of those who I write about. I dream of people or animals who have since passed (or past, IDK which). I dream I’m happy. Even the scary dreams are somehow adventurous and worthwhile.
So, as indicated, only about 25% of dreams I remember are ones in which I’m glad I woke when I did. But the funny, or upsetting, thing about that is most of those dreams now consist of my spouse and I arguing or otherwise not on good terms. Let me say, no dream I have had yet with my spouse in it has been a good, happy dream. Weird, huh.
So, where is this going? The life I lead today is hardly the life I’ve envisioned for myself. Those who know me-I mean, really know me-know my struggle. But what nobody knows yet is that I have recently been given a choice-a gift of sorts: stay in this life that tortures and demeans me so or live forever in my wondrous dream world.
That’s running away, I already hear you think. However, no, it isn’t. My dreams aren’t carefree. They are full of business, chores, intrigue, creativity, love, life, and so much more. They are mysteries just waiting for me to close my eyes and discover them. There, less than here, am I called stupid, worthless, or any other degrading name. I am a queen. So I say, with no regret, shortly I am leaving. I’m taking my savior up on the offer so you just might get that peace and quiet after all. I loved you once, but life, not just my existence, awaits, and I will never look back. Goodbye.
JD Rhode
Where should I begin? I’d start by saying Dear “Whoever”, but I’m not sure if this is a letter. You know, cutting to the chase, that I dream quite a bit and also that I often-about 80% of the time-remember my dreams. Well, speaking percentages, roughly 75% of those I remember are good, happy dreams.
You know, the ones where you wake up thinking, “God, I wish I didn’t hear that alarm.” That’s me most of the time. I have no physical alarm, just the one in my head that works too well for somebody who has no children.
I dream I can walk. I dream of happier times with my family. I dream of those who I write about. I dream of people or animals who have since passed (or past, IDK which). I dream I’m happy. Even the scary dreams are somehow adventurous and worthwhile.
So, as indicated, only about 25% of dreams I remember are ones in which I’m glad I woke when I did. But the funny, or upsetting, thing about that is most of those dreams now consist of my spouse and I arguing or otherwise not on good terms. Let me say, no dream I have had yet with my spouse in it has been a good, happy dream. Weird, huh.
So, where is this going? The life I lead today is hardly the life I’ve envisioned for myself. Those who know me-I mean, really know me-know my struggle. But what nobody knows yet is that I have recently been given a choice-a gift of sorts: stay in this life that tortures and demeans me so or live forever in my wondrous dream world.
That’s running away, I already hear you think. However, no, it isn’t. My dreams aren’t carefree. They are full of business, chores, intrigue, creativity, love, life, and so much more. They are mysteries just waiting for me to close my eyes and discover them. There, less than here, am I called stupid, worthless, or any other degrading name. I am a queen. So I say, with no regret, shortly I am leaving. I’m taking my savior up on the offer so you just might get that peace and quiet after all. I loved you once, but life, not just my existence, awaits, and I will never look back. Goodbye.
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