It's quite a day today. As I swig the last mitful of the days minutes away I have been putting off this post by watching Cocksucker Blues, The Rolling Stones explicit unreleased documentary. WOW. It' quite the show. Rock AND Roll.
I have been thinking all day about what I would write as I knew I would inevitably post today to help me a little bit. This day has such significance. It dwarfs other days. There have been some big days in my life. Birth. The day I got my first electric guitar. The day my mom took me to see Stevie Ray Vaughan (thanks mom), the day I got married, the day I got divorced, the day I turned thirty, Many, Many Many other awsome days. ALL insignificant compared to today. I have multiple memories of this date. There are a few things I remember VIVIDLY about this date. I've told the tale before and I'm gonna tell it again. For myself.
Monday night. Mexis, 2001. As per usual I played Monday night at Mexis. I only remember it being myself and one Randy Cable. Mondays were a sure bet for a free, good drunk. Marg's were still tasty back then and I believe the tequila shots were still reasonably cheap. We were keen to finish this particular Monday in good timing as The Burt Neilsen (no relation) Band. or someone, was at The Cellar Pub and we wanted to see them (aka mexis was dead as a result). We finished earlier than usual and headed up the hill to catch the last set. I don't remember what the band sounded like or if there were a lot of people there. I DO remember that we, I, got hideously drunk.
Believe it or not there have only been a couple days in my life that I remember being inexplicably late for work and this next morning was one of them. I awoke around 12.30 am with a start. I jumped up and called work (mexi's). I told my boss that I would be in immediately (I may be slightly off with the time). I dressed and booked it out he door. As I was walking to work I was going over in my head what I would say, other than 'sorry'. I walked in and immediately went over to my boss to talk to him. He listened to me apologize and say whatever I said. When finished he asked if I had seen the TV today? I thought, 'thats weird'. "no." I said. He then gestured towards it. I looked over and for the first time noticed Joey standing there STARING at the TV. I walked over and looked up. I couldn't believe it. Crazy images. Scary and strange. The most monumental news day of the world in my life. I couldn't have imagined that it would ever take a back seat to the same goddamned date.
2005. I'm at home in St. Andrews. I dream about the phone ringing. It's a strange sleep. I awake with a message on my answer machine. It's no surprise. Even though I knew what was coming on the sad day of Sept 11, 2005 it didn't make it any smaller. The day before I had performed at Falls Brook Centre. As I went to the van I saw I had a message on my phone. It was my friend and employer at the time. He said I needed to get to the DECH asap as someone had called saying things were not good. We jumped in the van and made a b-line for the hospital.
The waiting room is full and I know every person there. it's heavy. I sort of remember some folks trying to keep it light but it was impossible. We get the story straight and realize this is the critical moment. Our friend had fought long and hard. An amazing fight. Intense. But the battle was almost over. We waited for our turn to go in and say whatever you could think to say. I didn't say goodbye. I said, "see you tomorrow", as we were going to head home to St A to sleep in our bed instead of on the chair. All the usual pleasantries were exchanged. 'There is nothing you can do here', it's ok, go get some rest' and the like. All good and true advice. I remember joking with him when we visited. He gave me the finger I think. It seemed like maybe that it wasn't gonna be so bad. But that was just his way of taking it easy on us.
He left in a most beautiful scene of love in the middle of the night. Amazing. The only image that is more powerful to me than the image I have of his passing (and I wasn't even there for that) is holding my fathers hand as he went. Nothing else compares.
In his life he drove me fucking nuts. As I'm sure I did to him. But he was brilliant. An amazing writer. Prolific, and good. Dangerous combo. As I analyze my own success and failures it's really funny to think that things would not be as they are for me if his story hadn't unfolded the way it did. Odd. During the last year of his life the design our friendship took was awesome. It was like all the pain in the ass years hadn't been for nothing. I know true friendship. I am lucky to know it. I hope you know it too.
In a day and age where the comedy, tragedy and ill communication of our lives is just a facebook headline I am strangely pleased to say that a select group of friends' FB status's today, had no mention of the most news worthy day of my whole life. Nowhere in their cyber lives did it say anything about terrorist attacks. It was littered, though, with comments of staring at boobs, having a coke, having a beer, listening to tunes, ALL things Randy Cable loved to do. THAT to me is the truth of how awesome he was and how his life impacted others. Try not to get angry at me for saying that, I don't mean it poorly to people who sufferwd loss back in 2001. Like him or not, I'm just saying that for some, he transcends tragedy. That my friends is a good thing. Sweet glow indeed. Cheers fuck face, you are missed.
www.randycable.com
R
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