Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Chance Encounter

I was leaving Margie's birthday happy hour at the Can tonight when I saw a fiftysomething-ish woman feeding quarters into the pay phone. An odd sight, someone using a pay phone. Even more unusual is to see someone attempting to use that particular pay phone, which is most often a spot to prop up a drunk gay boi or a resting post for transients. I walked past her as she was having trouble making her call. Not knowing if that phone even worked, I turned back to ask if she'd like to use my cell phone just as she began cussing. "Jesus H. Christ on a raft!" she said. Only it came out more like "Jayzus H. Christ on a rahft!" She was obviously not from around here.

I stopped, offered help and made a few calls for her. The cabbie who'd been ferrying her around town was unavailable, so I pointed out a few spots in the Warehouse District where she could enjoy a nice glass of wine and perhaps find some friendly folks willing to converse. She said she'd been hanging out in the bar at Truluck's, which was too "New York" for her. Who knew? She was from Australia and explained she wanted to hear country & western music because, of course, that's why she was in Texas. Glynnis just wanted a friendly crowd and some twangy music.

After discerning that Rainbow Cattle Company would not be quite her thing, being strongly heterosexual, I suggested that once she was in a cab to ask the driver to take her to the Broken Spoke.

I left her on 4th Street, heading toward Spaghetti Warehouse. I hope she makes it to the Broken Spoke. Alvin Crow is playing tonight and it would be a shame to come all the way from Australia and not get to enjoy some damn fine Texas honky tonky C&W music in person.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

She's baaaaaaaaaaaack!

You really shouldn't let strangers use your cell phone. She probably programmed it to give her own cell phone all of your spare minutes. Not to mention that's how diseases are spread. Not that you should be concerned with a little cell phone breath with all the crazy places your mouth has been!

Kay said...

She wouldn't dial the numbers, she asked me to do it for her. She called a local friend & left a message, her hotel to check for messages (by the way she says the staff are total pigs at the Country Inn & Suites on I35 near St. John's) and her cabbie. I had 3 minutes to spare for a deed that may bring me good cell phone karma. My mouth has not been in crazy...oh well can't lie.

Anonymous said...

One mizpah given freely (hence the name) could very well come back to bless you in the future. Plus, you gave a visitor to our strange lands a much better impression than her hotel staff have.

Despite where your mouth has been.