Scenery

I just wanted a change of pace. Well not really a change a pace, put the right setting to match my mood. My girl was gone and I had about three hours, four at the max to kill. I wasn't in the mood for cruising, which was odd, cause its my favorite way of wasting time. Especially if I'm wasting time with someone else. No I wanted to relax and let my surroundings do all the work. I knew the perfect place, however it had been closed down years ago. I could go to west side but that's a 45 minute drive one way. Didn't have time for that, even though I would have a less of a chance of bumping into my girl.

I'm not really into bowling, I prefer shooting pool as a social sport.  Really bowling for me can be a little too much work. If I'm trying to get some exercise I want to get it over with, 30 minutes top. That's why I ride by bicycle, and believe me I don't like riding my bicycle. There are lots of places where you can shoot pool. Pool tables can be found at bars, game centers, bowling allies, strip clubs and rec centers. For me the choice comes down to a bar because like I said I wanted the right type of background noise. I have nothing against rec enters, bowling allies and strip clubs. Do you notice how politically correct I try to be at all times. Don't want to piss anyone off about their choices. I wanted a place that had nice "scenery" but wasn't the type of place where you got to check to see everyone walking in just as a matter of safety.  I didn't want to be living in a rap song "He came into the room and just started spraying Niggas." I wanted a place that played a nice mix of music and had several tables available. I don't like places where there are only one or two tables and you have to wait. Even worse is when you have to put money down just to play the person who is running the table in the hopes that you can beat that person so you can play the person you're with. Now I just want to play for fun and I'm not that good, so I don't want to waste much energy just finding a place, getting drinks and stressing my self trying to beat... You get my drift. I don't want the place to be too empty, like a said I expected some "scenery". But its always hard to predict where the "scenery" crowd is gonna be.

This time I hadn't brought any "scenery" with me, so maybe I should try to find a place with only a few tables, or I could try to go pick some "scenery" first, but remember I'm trying to relax in the first place, plus I'm short on time. I'm not saying that having some "scenery" isn't worth the effort, but sometimes the "scenery" wants their mood to be the priority. That's the main reason I ain't hanging with my girl. Yes that's her name My Girl.  I won't get started on that, that's a whole story in itself. Thinking about where I would be headed was making me tired already. Real life isn't like Cheers "where they always know your name", well my life isn't like Cheers. To make that happen you got to make shooting pool with the "scenery" crowd a hobby. Now I'm thinking I'm over thinking the situation when I see a Blockbuster. Did I ever tell you how much time I can waste in a video store.

Brenda

"A man has got to know his limitations." That was an interesting quote spoken about dealing with challenges.When guys saw Brenda walking down the hall that quote had the situation down. And don't let her be wearing that yellow dress of hers, it was say hi, focus on maintaining eye contact and best to keep walking. You couldn't trust your behavior around her. She had one of those 'all the time smiling' personalities. It also didn't hurt that she had a body tighter than one of those predator cats you see on Animal Planet. And her walk (on heels of course) something about it just wasn't fair. You didn't have to read my mind to know my intentions.

Now I'm a confident guy or maybe a foolish one. I'm good for a fast line or two. (I know a legend in his own mine) You know what they say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. So next time I see her, I drop my self depreciating type of line that comes across as a compliment at the same time. You know like "am I allowed to walk behind you". Maybe it wasn't my best line, but it got the job done. Next time, I caught her with the "elbow to spine". She thought about it for a second, then jumped away. Even after that ill timed move, we became good friends over the years. I'd go by her office and hear how things were going in her life. She'd tell me about getting her son through high school and then college. I'd make her laugh by sharing my latest misadventure.
"What did you do last night" I asked Brenda.
"You know I hit my spot on Thursday night", she replied. "Did you do anything?"
"I went by Rumors for a bit."
"You pin any dollars?" she laughed"
"I had to, they had this girl smacking her butt cheeks, you couldn't believe how loud of a sound she made!"
"What does your old lady think about that?"
"What my old lady doesn't know, makes her better."
Those were steady times. I'm patient, still had my goals in place.

Maybe I wasn't the best of friends. Maybe the changes were so small over time that I didn't notice them like I should. Not unlike a few events in one's life that sneak up on you, One day I noticed Brenda just wasn't the same. What I noticed first was that she wasn't the feline she used to be. What I should have noticed first was she wasn't happy. Long story short, her husband had left her. Now I don't know both sides of the the story, who was wrong, who was right. But Brenda wasn't a happy camper any longer and it began to show. My mission wasn't even a after thought these days. Yes she could still laugh and she was still alot fun if you caught her hanging out at her spot. But you could always sense the pain that lingered on like a unwanted relative. I could never understand why she never could never move on and find someone new. Some people are like that, its like they are destined to be unhappy for the rest of their life. I shouldn't say unhappy, its that she didn't have the same confidence. Guys were  still after her all the time but the damage had been done.