When you were young, people held you. All of you. Me too. It’s kind of funny when you think of it.
I stayed in Stockton the night before last. Prior to that I went to Southern California.
You think you know how this blog entry is going to go.
OFFICIAL HYPOTHETICAL BLOG ENTRY OUTLINE, HOW YOU THINK IT IS GOING TO GO
- On Tuesday night I took care of a drunk chick. Of former romantic involvement, of course. She called from a bar and then I met her there. Then she stumbled around. I stepped on people’s feet trying to hold her up. Then she barfed a bunch of times. Then her friends coerced me into giving her a ride home since they didn’t want to deal with her. Then she offered to sleep with me but I turned her down. I experienced having standards for five minutes.
- Attempted to help another girl move — also of former romantic involvement — who was completely ungrateful. I was late to show up with my truck. That’s what she said, I mean. That’s why she was ungrateful. Oh and I didn’t give her enough attention. That’s not what she said, I mean. I just know it. Oh, and then she talked trash about me online and behind my back. Her complaint: I wanted too much attention.
- Blah blah blah.
- And stuff.
- Oh and the entire time I looked good, of course. Both from a distance, and up close.
THIS CONCLUDES THE OFFICIAL HYPOTHETICAL BLOG ENTRY OUTLINE, HOW YOU THINK IT IS GOING TO GO
But that is not how it is going to go. I am only going to write about Stockton.
I stayed in Stockton the night before last.
When we were young, people held us. All of us.
Last night I talked to someone like that. He held me when I was one years old. He told me so.
His name is Pablo. He’s in his 50s, and he is my mom’s best friend’s husband.
When I was one years old, Pablo held me and he was a jeweler. He was a jeweler until the 1990s. Then he began making grape vine trellises. Sales were strong. He could have retired, but instead he decided to start a new business. And this time, it was a wine company.
And it went well. Soon it was time to sell. One of the company’s rivals had sold itself for millions. But then Pablo got entrenched in a lawsuit with his business partner. And Pablo won. But by then the economy had tanked. Sales had flattened, and the ideal time to sell had passed.
When I arrived in Stockton on Wednesday Pablo and I sat on the couch. It was around midnight and we watched television.
“My mother has Alzheimer’s real bad. She follows us around all damn day and announces the time,” he said. “Over and over.”
“I just sold my wine business yesterday. It’s all gone. I keep thinking about it and it’s driving me nuts,” he said.
“We lost $1.78 million dollars. I’m 56. After all that hard work,” he said.
“A few months ago I was so stressed out, I could only sleep around one hour a day. And I wanted to check out,” he said.
He wanted to blow his head off. That’s how bad it was.
And that’s how bad it is out there, for many people. Due to the economy, and for other reasons. It’s horrible when you consider it.
We stayed up until around 4 a.m. We discussed a few business ideas.
Then the next day we did more of the same.
Then I left.
He felt better after my visit. I knew it. I had merely talked to him. I had merely checked in.
We need to be acknowledged on some level. All of us.
So go do that.
After I got home I sent Pablo some books.
2 responses so far ↓
1 ramona // Jun 1, 2009 at 8:33 am
do you read texts from last night? I feel like since that site became popular my friends’ text messages have started to get self-consciously funny, like they’re proofreading them in hopes of having their moment of fame on tfln. I don’t like it.
2 pablo // Jun 9, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Not only did I feel better that you came to see us, I felt much better that you understood just how badly this economy has hit millions of people that have had their luck run out. So let me say two things that I have learned over all this disappointment. (1) There is love after loss -thanks for reminding me IB (2) People don’t make their luck, we can only try– that’s why they call it luck. The books are great! TY, Pablo
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