This weekend is the second of my weekends off. If you're in Lubbock and you get the chance, stop by Tent City and see some of these people. Bring them some watermelon or some ice cream, anything to cool them down. The song of the day today is "Cheap" by Seasick Steve.
I went to the abandoned house last night around 10:00, and everyone there was already in high spirits. I'm not sure what time these guys usually get started, but it's clear that I am very late to the party. There are several conversations going on at once among the eight or so residents, and I try and get in on one. It takes a few seconds for me to realize that there are not very many coherent conversations going on and everyone seems to be speaking at once. Julius is quite passionate about something and I'm a little nervous standing next to him when he speaks. Julius is about 6'3" with a muscular build and several teeth missing. He's got very dark skin, and I can only see his eyes as he rails against society. The abandoned house is not well lit and the darkness seems to amplify Julius's slow and deliberate speech. "African Americans built this country" he booms. "Pickin' cotton! Raisin' the key-ids!" There's a white guy standing across from Julius nodding at everything he says. This guy's about fifty and quite normal looking. He's always got a friendly grin on his face, and speaks with a friendly tone. At first, I think that he's got the hiccups as I hear a "yup" come from his grin every five seconds or so. It takes me a minute to realize that this is just what he does; vocalize his agreement with anything anybody says. I decide to call him Lenny. Lenny tries to get everyone's attention so that he can say something, but his soft spoken manner isn't very effective at commanding attention. He finally sees a break in the conversation and says "If I ever live in a mansion, you know who I'm gonna call?" he doesn't wait for anyone to answer before he says "You guys. The fridge'll be full of beer and I'll have plenty of beds, and..." He's cut off by Julius who begins to tell a story about the time he was in the army.
