Played this gig at Tequila’s last night. It’s a Mexican restaraunt upstairs and a bar in the basement set-up. Pretty good food by the way. The bar part, the basement, features some neon lights, cactus murals and painted concrete floors.
So, it’s just Mark and I playing acoustic guitars, cover songs; a pretty simple deal. I’ve played here, maybe a half dozen times in the last couple of months. There has never been a real “crowd” in this place any of those times. Fifteen people would be about the most I’ve seen in there at any one time.
Anyway, last night there was a handful of people we know and a few that we didn’t. Flash was there, he got up and sang “Alberta”. There was one loaded, middle-aged, flannel shirt wearing guy who gets up and dances by himself. He’s been in there every time; don’t know his name.
Shannon Holt came up and played a couple of songs at the end of a set. He played Mark’s guitar and Mark went up the bar. I look over and Mark is talking to this frail looking, bleach blonde young woman wearing, what appears to be a very large man’s shirt that comes down to her knees. She’s got to be early twenties, I’m guessing. She is holding a baby and crying. Mark is saying something like; “Don’t worry, calm down, your safe here”. This is the same place, by the way, that we played at a couple of weeks back and Mark had three slashed tires at the end of the night.
We went up and played a few more songs and then the bartender comes over and hands us the money. He is saying go ahead and knock off early if you want to. We siart packing up guitars and I asked Mark about the girl with baby in tow situation. She told him she had been molested by some guy and went running away in the middle of the night because she was afraid.
The girl is going around and asking the few people that were there, if she could get a ride somewhere. I just kind of glanced a her and, I got the impression that she was high. Seemed like maybe she was on meth. I don’t know this for fact, just an intuition. We have this friend named Glenda; the girl told her story about being molested and asked Glenda for a ride. Glenda told her to call the cops and the girl said she couldn’t do that so, the drug use theory makes some sense.
Meanwhile the jukebox is just blaring. This basement room is harsh sounding and the jukebox is real loud. Dancing by himself guy, has played a bunch of Kid Rock, Alice In Chains, Nellie’s “It’s Gettin’ Hot In Her” and he wants his money’s worth; keeps asking the bartender to turn it up. The baby, or I guess I should say toddler, is standing with his hands on the jukebox and looking up at it with wide-eyed wonder.
The girl leaves the toddler at the jukebox and, I guess goes to the ladies room. When she returns, she has now abandoned the man’s shirt. She is wearing very short, very tight, terrycloth shorts and a white top that is translucent. Nickleback is playing on the jukebox now; “Cause we all just wanna be big rock stars” and the toddler is out on the dance floor cocking his head back and forth and dancing. He looks like the old dancing internet baby.
The girl sidles up to Mark to ask him for a ride and Mark says, “I rode with Jack, you’ll have to ask him about it”. Thanks a lot, pal. I really had been trying to avoid any eye contact with this chick.
So, she walks up to me and this is what she says: “I was staying with a friend of mine who turned out to be a pervert. I was sleeping on the bed, next to my baby and I woke up ’cause he had his hands down my pants. Could you give me a ride home?”
What are you going to do, you know? You got this glassy eyed chick with a dancing baby, who is telling this story that doesn’t add up. Why don’t you want to call the cops? What are you doing sleeping at some guy’s house, with your baby? Did you not know this guy, it’s a revelation that he’s a pervert? Why are you stoned and taking a baby anywhere?
I just told her that the car was full of gear and that there wasn’t room, which was true. I’m pretty sure that she didn’t think to grab the car seat while escaping the pervert either.
Here’s the thing, I really try to help people if I can. If someone is having trouble with drugs or booze especially because, others have helped me. I feel bad that I didn’t try to do something for this girl, she’s not in a good place but something inside warned me away. I don’t really know what I could have done though. I think that the best advice she got was to call the cops and she was adamant about not doing that. The bartender said he was going to give her a ride home.
So, that was my Friday night. We’ll go do it again tonight. Dancing guy will probably be there. Hopefully, no dancing babies.
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