There have been a few things I've grown re-fond of lately: the comfort of knowing you have somebody around, gay men and their outrageous footwear, picking the skin from my thumb and using it as a toy, electric blankets and celebrity sightings, to name a few.
My celebrity sighting was not an insignificant one. I was seated across the table from my latest companion and Last Chance accomplice at a restaurant in a very Mexican area of town. One specialty margarita, and I was already tugging at the skin on my thumb, rubbing it in between my index finger and thumb nail to subside my hunger as we waited for the guacamole to arrive.
The waiter nudged my dinner companion, "Do you like boxing?"
"Yeah sure," he said.
"Look left. Muhammad Ali," He pointed, then he hurried off to get the guac.
Sure enough, there he sat..."The Greatest"... at a table of 10 or so at the next table over. He didn't say a word that I could make out, but it was Muhammad Ali clear as day. My version of inconspicuous photo-taking consisted of stretching my arm out, pointing the phone directly at his table, and simultaneously looking the opposite way. When he left, trembling from Parkinson's, it was clear the wonder he was, and still is. He could have knocked me into 16th street without blinking an eye.
I sipped on my marg and pondered while playing with my thumb skin. You can be so great, have a shining career, create a legacy and boast a world full of admirers and fans. But what's most valuable - and it was palpable from my sighting - was the table full of family and friends he shared his meal with.
As the holidays loom, I'm terribly excited to see family and old friends. In my 2+ years away from home, I still live my days blessed and fulfilled largely because of these people in my life. The crux of my existence, I look forward anxiously to the coming month.
1 comment:
sir, nice post... er, besides all the skin-picking nonsense. EW!
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