Other People's Houses, Ch. 1

For the last year and a half, I've been living in other people's houses.

I had been living at the place on Frederick Street.  That technically was my place.  But it was haunted.

So, during the Gulley trial, in a sleep deprived fog, I came to the conclusion that I would move to the Carriage house.   And within a month, as if by magic, all my stuff was in the Carriage house garage.

This weekend, I will start the process of extricating myself from the Carriage house--or at least moving my stuff from the Carriage house garage:-).  Hopefully, the move is only temporary.

Let us review our stay there, shall we?

1.  Geography.   Are you kidding me?  The Carriage house is down the street from the Venice Cafe, the Benton Park Coffee Shop, The Map Room, Ernesto's--and the list goes on.   I wish I could always live there.   Not to mention less than a mile a way from the Black Bear Bakery and 2720 Cherokee Street.   So many memories.   Don't get me wrong, i'll still be going to St. Louis all the time.  But it won't be the same.

2.  The Layout.  I can still hear the music coming from my laptop on the granite countertop.   The smell of the green tea from the bowl by the sink.  Going up the stairs to write the rental deduction from the post it note on the refrigerator.  Nick Cave playing on the TV.  The vodka, tequilla or whatever in the freezer.  The Shag rugs.

3.   The Emotional Layout.   First, I was mostly alone there.   Can you hear Glass Wave and Mick Jagger signing the Performance soundtrack?  The walk alone over to Soulard Mardis Gras?  Then the Carriage house was full in a sense.  With people who drank too much wine.  And for once in my life I did not keep track of the names.  All drawn to the Carriage house, as if I was something different than I was (e.g. as if I really owned the place).

Then there was the Hippie Chick on the same night Brad Warner signed his autograph.  And so began the endless stream of Tuesday nights with the Schwag.   Where before I always left after the first set, I now stayed for the duration.  The whole year there was a lovely haze of Eddie Vedder, Robert Plant, Warren Hayes, Keller Williams, Umphrey's McGee, El Monstrero, Megadeath, Greenland is Melting, Dumptruck Butterlips, The Ragbirds, Kim Massie, Jakes Leg, Kentucky Knife Fight, and a shit load of others.

:-(