the kebab kid
monday, sept 12 - day after the 4 yr anniversary of 9-11.
yesterday's anniversary seemed to go by mostly unnoticed here. nevertheless, it is a day that i'll never forget as long as i live.
i have to decide soon whether to stay on another year here in lovely Oxford, England or not. seeing as i love my job, as well as living in a foreign land, and don't really feel like looking for another job right now - well, it seems to me i should stay! (should = want)
on my cycle ride home from work tonight, i left my bike just outside the arabic fast food joint, The Kebab Kid, in East Oxford, and went in -- for like the 10th time -- to try to buy one of their t-shirts. they've got this great logo, of sort of an Elvis character silohuette. i have been wanting to get my brother-in-law, Scott - the biggest Elvis fan i know - this t-shirt since january, when i first saw that kebab restaurant. well, tonight, as long last, i scored!
as i stood there calmly waiting for some time while the clerk fetched my great new giftie t-shirt, i was of course approached by this very drunk and very smelly street-seeming man. he was slightly bigger than me, and not necessarily clean. i had just seen him out on the sidewalk verbally acosting this non-descript middle-age woman out on the side walk just a minute before.
the drunk man sort of ambled over to the kebab shop and slunk in behind me in line at the counter. as i patiently waited for my prized 'T', drunkman launched into a slightly convoluted story about how he had to go confront someone in the morning. his ex-girlfriend? his ex-girlfriend's lover? i only half-paid him attention, as i was kinda watching my bike out in front of the entrance, and looking for the counter guy to return with my shirt. but he clearly conveyed there was a distinct element of danger to his task. then, looking right at me with fully blood-shot eyes and stanky breath, drunkman asked earnestly if i would back him up. would i support him, stand for him, or against him, in his anticipated morning adventure to avenge his manhood. returning his gaze directly, without a moment's pause, i said bluntly, how could i answer that without knowing any of the details.
he was completely defused. he smiled, becoming sort of happy, and blurted that that was the most clever thing he'd ever heard. he acknowledged, repeating several times, 'how could i choose either way without knowing any of the details' and 'respect, man, you have my respect.' i returned his wide-eyed gaze and tapped my fist firmly to my chest then raised it in solidarity to him, 'right on.' he wandered off toward what seemed to be some other rather potted lads milling about in front of the oxfam shop, looking rather in search of someone else to harangue.
for some inexplicable reason, i seem to attract the oddest people wherever i go. freaks and hairies (or is it 'hairys'?), dykes and fairies. must be the look in my eye. makes me think sometimes i think i am just a mirror, and people want to talk into me, through me, to find out what they want to hear/see. or more likely they think they can take advantage of my ingenuous nature.
i rode on, secured my greasy friied cod from my local fish & chips guy, got home, made a huge salad, and enjoyed a delicious dinner, listening to a slamming mix tape that my friend Ted Driscoll made for 1 Jan '03.
peace.
yesterday's anniversary seemed to go by mostly unnoticed here. nevertheless, it is a day that i'll never forget as long as i live.
i have to decide soon whether to stay on another year here in lovely Oxford, England or not. seeing as i love my job, as well as living in a foreign land, and don't really feel like looking for another job right now - well, it seems to me i should stay! (should = want)
on my cycle ride home from work tonight, i left my bike just outside the arabic fast food joint, The Kebab Kid, in East Oxford, and went in -- for like the 10th time -- to try to buy one of their t-shirts. they've got this great logo, of sort of an Elvis character silohuette. i have been wanting to get my brother-in-law, Scott - the biggest Elvis fan i know - this t-shirt since january, when i first saw that kebab restaurant. well, tonight, as long last, i scored!
as i stood there calmly waiting for some time while the clerk fetched my great new giftie t-shirt, i was of course approached by this very drunk and very smelly street-seeming man. he was slightly bigger than me, and not necessarily clean. i had just seen him out on the sidewalk verbally acosting this non-descript middle-age woman out on the side walk just a minute before.
the drunk man sort of ambled over to the kebab shop and slunk in behind me in line at the counter. as i patiently waited for my prized 'T', drunkman launched into a slightly convoluted story about how he had to go confront someone in the morning. his ex-girlfriend? his ex-girlfriend's lover? i only half-paid him attention, as i was kinda watching my bike out in front of the entrance, and looking for the counter guy to return with my shirt. but he clearly conveyed there was a distinct element of danger to his task. then, looking right at me with fully blood-shot eyes and stanky breath, drunkman asked earnestly if i would back him up. would i support him, stand for him, or against him, in his anticipated morning adventure to avenge his manhood. returning his gaze directly, without a moment's pause, i said bluntly, how could i answer that without knowing any of the details.
he was completely defused. he smiled, becoming sort of happy, and blurted that that was the most clever thing he'd ever heard. he acknowledged, repeating several times, 'how could i choose either way without knowing any of the details' and 'respect, man, you have my respect.' i returned his wide-eyed gaze and tapped my fist firmly to my chest then raised it in solidarity to him, 'right on.' he wandered off toward what seemed to be some other rather potted lads milling about in front of the oxfam shop, looking rather in search of someone else to harangue.
for some inexplicable reason, i seem to attract the oddest people wherever i go. freaks and hairies (or is it 'hairys'?), dykes and fairies. must be the look in my eye. makes me think sometimes i think i am just a mirror, and people want to talk into me, through me, to find out what they want to hear/see. or more likely they think they can take advantage of my ingenuous nature.
i rode on, secured my greasy friied cod from my local fish & chips guy, got home, made a huge salad, and enjoyed a delicious dinner, listening to a slamming mix tape that my friend Ted Driscoll made for 1 Jan '03.
peace.
posted by Joel Bassuk at 12:51 AM
1 Comments:
ah, fellas, thanks for visiting! eric, i removed that spam comment.
will not the spammers leave us alone! oy vey.
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