Goofy Foot

I am walking on a single lane asphalt road the ends in a cul de sac. The ground has recently been torn in preparation or new construction. It has recently rained and the mud of the ground is a sandy color, the mud is mixed with pea gravel. In the cul de sac I come across a skateboard. It is a long board, about 10 feet long by 1 foot wide. It has been here a while and the trucks are missing. The wood has rotted. The wood is poplar and gray, looking like it was made from the old coal house from the farm in West Virginia. The construction is strange as the deck is thinner plank wood. The dimensions change as I inspect it, now as I look at he underbelly, there are 2 X 4's running lengthwise like ribs that act as the framework for this truly gigantic skate board. I see that two children have come upon me as I inspect the skateboard and I put it back in the rainwater where I found it and try to act nonchalant. As the children play with the husk of what was once a truly large skateboard, I saunter away.

I find myself in a hardware store that is not unlike a True Value. I wait patiently in line for my turn with the cashier. When it comes, I ask him about the wood I saw on the skateboard. He takes me through the densely populated shelves, past the plumbing, past the electrical, to the skateboard section. Hanging on a rack, like auto floor mats is a selection of skateboards, including a new version of the hulk I saw in the cul de sac. It costs $164.00 and towers over me like a set of skis. I postulate that this board is probably for downhill, long and straight runs, high speed, either standing or reclined. And I want to do that. There is a commotion as a monkey chases a cat through the store, knocking things down. I notice how much more quick and dexterous the cat is compared to the monkey. I am looking at the boards again getting a closer look at the selection. I am fascinated by these huge skateboards. As I look I find a selection of skate boards that are in the shape of a bare foot. Green and black foot print shaped boards 4 feet long by 2 feet wide. They are all right feet. I keep looking and I find a left foot. Along the to of this footprint board is written Goofy Foot. . . And I remember that I am a goofy foot. I am a goofy foot. I am a goofy foot. This is the board that I buy.

The Guitar Lesson

I am in my grandmother's farmhouse. It is a spring day and I have an electric guitar. The room is very dark, but shafts of sunlight come through the windows very dramatically. I am facing the rear of the house as I sit, listening to music that is melodious and beautiful. To my right, outside of the room, in the foyer, by the bathroom is Alan Schmidt, a guitar guru and close friend that I knew in high school. Although his face is dark, strong light casts his features. He of course looks the same as he did in high school. He is sitting, playing the song, and it is winding and complex, easy to listen to, hard to understand it's technique. The tone is thick, and the notes echo upon themselves. It is hard to tell if the echo is an effect or a style of playing. The music stops and it is my turn. It's a game, a musical game we have played before, building on each other's pieces and it has been so long.

I rip into a relentless Sex Pistols type riff, and I know it's the fastest I have ever played. I also know that I can't compete with the sheer complexity of what I have heard, so I am trying to use volume and ferocity to counter. When I am finished, he sees straight through it.

"You have not grown," he says and I know that he is right. We argue about the best way to compose a joint piece of music, and about why we have never been successful in writing music. We decide that it would be better if we composed our music separately. Although, I know that this is the right decision, that any music we co-wrote would clash and be as separate as the patch from the jeans, I know that I will miss an opportunity to learn from his style.

I am left with the feeling that we are individually responsible for the contributions we make, just as we are individually responsible for our growth. I feel that I have been dependent on others to show me a way and that it is time for me to use the way that I have, using my way with confidence.