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Days 80-81: Jacksonville

Posted by Erik Frey Sat, 04 Jun 2005 10:10:00 GMT

Having been a bit rattled from the first leg of my Kindness of Strangers tour, I was rattled once again by the outpouring of warmth and friendliness showered upon me by Leah, Chris, and Garnet.

day 80

“Erik… waaakeup!”

“Mmmphgh…”

“Do you like eggs?”

“Uhmmyeh…”

“Do you like cheese?”

“Mmgmmh hmm,”

“Do you like eggs and cheese?”

“MmmmrrghhggyeAH!” I stretched and groaned.

• While taking a shower, Leah played Boards of Canada that rang like psychedelic doorbells.
• We visited Leah’s mom, who told me stories of catching buses in rural Mexico, though she spoke no Spanish.
• At Fans and Stoves, Leah introduced me to a world of antique postcards and slightly racist literature from the turn of the century.
  • On a shelf lay a wooden box. Inside the wooden box were two small cymbals and hundreds of ball bearings. A mystery.
• (Avoiding the) Beer cheese soup.
• Leah, Chris, and Garnet took me to a beautiful beach on Little Talbot. The rocks crushed in our hands when we squeezed them. We saw crabs (dead) and sandpipers (living). Chris and Garnet told me an embarassing story about Leah; Chris regaled me with tales of suicidal crab fishing in Alaska; I in turn regaled them with tales of the exploding population of giant squid. We hopped logs and ran from biting flies.
• The four of us had a fantastic dinner at the Casbah.
  • I’ve never smoked from a hookah before: delicious, candied vapor.
• We retreated to Garnet’s house, and when Cab Calloway came on the stereo, Leah did a Snoopy dance.

day 81

• Leah took me for a morning constitutional around her neighborhood.
• We played anthropologists at a scenic local park, studying the indie kids.
• Leah introduced me to her friend, Eddie Izzard. I was delighted to meet him.
• I offered sage auto shopping advice (“Get a Volkswagon! Those are good!”) and afterwards broke the hubcap on her car.
• Leah cooked a delicious eggplant parmesan.
  • Dinner was served with red wine and wonderful conversation.
• That night, a warm breeze brushed my shoulders as I slept.