HOTEL CAFE, June 17 — I wonder much of the day, who is really on your team? Who really wants to see you succeed? Who really has your best interests at heart? Who really wants to take the plunge with you? I often say that it takes me 365 days – one cycle of the earth to travel around the Sun — to really get a sense of someone, their intentions, their outlook on life, their ability to roll with the punches, their grip on reality – not the reality in one’s own head, mind you, but the reality of how people operate in this world.
As such, people come and go. Too much, I often complain, and achingly so. Once, Nancy assured me that “hey, that’s life,” which if you look at it in one way, can seem like it’s a tainted way to see the world. I’ve chosen instead, to be reassured by that comment, because when you can accept that things are just what they are, then the future actually becomes very bright. When you humbly accept that there’s so much room for so many possibilities — good and bad — and you prepare the best you can, it all becomes very sweet. Then again, taking drugs commissioned by your psychiatrist or from your brother’s prescription is the approved way of making it bright anymore, isn’t it? So what happens when the drugs don’t work anymore? Ask The Verve, I guess.
I’m thinking about revising my 365 day criteria to 3,652 days. That’s a whole decade. People just come and go, all the time, right, so is a year really enough? As I look around the room tonight, standing with me are two people who’ve been around for more than a decade and a few people who’ve somehow been dancing in the circle also for more than a decade who are now here tonight. I order a round for everyone present.
Even Tom Morello, strumming his guitar as the Nightwatchman, up on stage, is going in a different direction when just five years ago, he came up with the brilliant idea of being Audioslave with Chris Cornell. Now Tom is reuniting with Zack de la Rocha to rage Against the Machine, after they broke up in 2001.
Some people are right in your life and some aren’t. When do you know? I’m not sure, but at the end of the day, we will all converge again, as we all have tonight in such a random way and the people who want to make the effort to show up and stick around rather than give up and say, “hey, I guess we just don’t get along,” are the people that I think have the true ability to “believe” and “have faith.” Thank the lord for the few friends like that.
We can’t worry about it –who are right in your life or who aren’t. People come and go. They come back or they don’t. All we can consider are the people who fight for wanting to be in your life — the friends who may have a disagreement with you one minute but still kiss you reassuringly when it’s time for bed and still wish you a good night.
The turnstile of life IS a lifestyle. Life is a turnstyle.
Good night from the Hotel Café.
