Keep My Words

Before this weekend, I hadn’t seen Tom Daly in ages.  “I’m boycotting your blog until I’m in it,” he told me.

“Fine, but you better say something really wise and significant so I can build a story around it,” I said.

“I already did,” he alleged.  “Don’t shit where you eat.”

Certainly Tom didn’t invent this phrase, but no one can deny its brilliance.  He continued.  “I still can’t go to my favorite diner, my local pharmacy, and a restaurant in my neighborhood on certain nights.”

This is a lesson that I am incapable of learning.  I suppose I can take comfort in that fact that human beings tend to learn from mistakes.  That considered, past heartaches and/or confusing situations and/or awkward moments were not actually missteps on my part.  The ability to acknowledge the enlightenment that some of these “shits” have afforded me comes in waves.  There are also billows of resentment and hurt.  It’s all fuel for creativity, and life is brimming with gas stations.  This world offers full and self service options for anyone willing to take a risk and pay the price, which is never posted on the pump.

Later that night I was at the duck with Paisley and Tanya.  It was crowded, and the majority of the clientele was typical for Bushwick.  I looked around at the girls with their straight hair and bangs donning thrift store t-shirts and American Apparel headbands.  “Am I just another one of these girls?” I asked.  “I mean, I have bangs and-”

“Yeah but your eyes aren’t dead,” Paisley said.  “They’re generic.  You’re not.”

I choose to believe her.  Paisley doesn’t say things that she doesn’t mean, and at the same time she doesn’t hold back when expressing her opinion.  (That night she also predicted the newest trend: a nose ring attached to a nipple ring attached to a headband.)

Oh, and Tanya did determine that there is only one exception to the “don’t shit where you eat” rule: Two Girls, One Cup.

Tags: gas stations, risk, two girls one cup

This entry was posted on Monday, September 7th, 2009 at 3:08 pm and is filed under Words. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.