Fashion Stories & Dirty Laundry

Typical toothpaste

Toilet paper-tampon kind of trip

Destination Von’s

Dred-lock freeze with a ‘hey, hi’

You cool, come sit with me

Handshake, smile, and a diet something tossed aside

Mango moment in a parking lot peninsula

Grocery lot sandbar and a Honda ship sails by

Buzzing by our island oasis bench

Just for a minute

Winchell’s sign his lighthouse

76 sign is our beach moon

Briefly there in his Pavillion’s parking Paradise

Humanity whistles like a Bermuda breeze

Suck of a mango?

Thanks, Alonzo

Mango juice drizzles and nuzzles into his salt & pepper matted beard

As he begins his nightly monologue,

“Yeah, like Man, remember to eat fruit ‘cuz it cleanse your soul Man, and eat vegetables for energy Man. I don’t know lots of talent out here and I don’t mean executive types – but on the street Man!”

He continues, while I listen fully and suck on a fat gushing mango seed.

“They don’t know who you are, that’s the hardest part Man. Mango just got back from India and it’s pretty cool you know I was in Thailand too and it kicked my behind. A forest of green papaya three feet long Man as sun is coming up in the East. Here Baby, have another piece. Glowing and wild Man like this papaya are you listening? A color I never knew – kind of like Hawaii. Bali’s cool too. But Thailand kicked my tan hide with these coconuts – size of baseballs. I was at Pep Boys this morning and this Cat says, I don’t have to go to Jamaica cuz I got you. Funny huh? So then I leave Pep Boys and I’m living in my car with this dentist from Pakistan. Can you believe that?”

“Want more mango?”

Now you eat this if you ever get the shakes, ok? I like this bench and I like you too. You’re cool – where you come from Man?”

One last slurp of a mango and sunglasses slid down my country club nose

Waxes legs uncross and get up.

Politically incorrect stares as I’ve sat with Alonzo too long in their mind

A coupon faux pas?

I don’t even know.

Care even less.

But I know that Alonzo was right about fruits and vegetables.

And I know I miss the days when you could talk with a ‘crazy’ person on the street and they actually weren’t as crazy as today.

And you could shake their hand.

*based on a real person, c1994, 66 Laps: A Mile of Life.