052703

San Antonio, TX

Tuesday May 27, 2003

                     Dude, that was so rad. Today is the twenty seventh. It's Monday, I think. Maybe Tuesday. Anyway, it's the morning where I woke up at Sam's. I'm walking from my mom's house. Shit, she's pissing me off about the whole twenty dollar thing. I'll write about it later. I don't feel like explaining it right now. I was walking down King's Cross to the elementary school to wait for the bus. All of a sudden this dude drives up and asks me, "Hey man, do you need a ride?" I told him yeah, sure and he gives me a ride to the grocery store and he gives me a hit of KB on the way. It's so cool how shit just happens. I told him all my scripts about how I'm going to make everything alright. It's so cool. It all happens for a reason. He told me that he had seen me walking earlier with his little brother. His brother told him, "Man, that guy has a cool hat. I want that hat." My rainbow beanie kicks ass. I told him I had gotten it in California and he asked me where. I told him some homeless dude asked me to trade him hats in Garberville. So now I'm all stoned because he smoked me out. The bus comes in about ten minutes.

     11:14am  As soon as I got off the 605 at the hospital this lady had a cigarette and she gave me one. Cool.

     11:50am  Okay, I'm over here at the Crossroads Park and Ride. The 520 comes every twenty minutes, I think. I walked around to see if anyone was smoking a cigarette, but nobody was. But, I just found me a badass groundscore. A whole filterless Doral. Cool.

     12:07pm  I'm waiting on the 520 here at the Crossroads Park and Ride.

     12:48pm  I just had a really good conversation with this guy in Spanish. I was actually able to translate all my ideas into Spanish, cool.

     12:57pm  Okay, I just got off the 520 at the HEB. I'm at Zarzamora and SW Military. I'm going to walk inside and use the courtesy phone. I'm going to call Amy up.

     1:02pm  Okay, I called Amy and she's not home. I guess I'll walk all the way to her apartments. I should be there by our appointment at three. I'm going to walk all the way to her apartment and knock on the door, hehe.

     1:20pm  I'm walking down SW Military drive now. I'm already at 3000. I gotta get to 5490. A couple blocks(I think).

                   Oh cool, the 522 passes through here. I know that bus.

     1:32pm  Passing the 3200 block.

                   Cool, I stopped into another gas station and asked this lady for a cigarette. She didn't have one, but she told me those apartments I was looking for is about a ten minute drive away. So it's not that far. Maybe an hour walk. I'm going to try and bum a cigarette and sit down at a bus stop. If it comes I'll catch it. If it doesn't I'll keep walking.

     1:45pm  I just crossed this huge ass bridge where this military base is. Lackland Air Force Base. I see all these big jets and shit. Whoa, there's a plane taking off. There's this big airport out here.

     1:59pm  Man, I'm still walking. It's a long walk. The longer it takes me, the more I deserve it.

                   Whoa, Leon Creek comes all the way out here? That's over there by Bandera in Leon Valley. Crazy.

     2:05pm  I just stopped at this ATI place where they sell starters and other car stuff. There's this guy on the phone there and I asked him, "Hey man, I'm not too far away from Suncrest apartments, am I?" He told me, "You know what, brother? Just walk up the hill, I don't know." I asked him for a spare cigarette and he said sure. Badass. He was a cool older dude. I should go back someday and tell him my ideas.

     2:07pm  I'm at 4700. There's a 551 bus.

     2:15pm  I'm passing the Rainbow Lounge Go-Go Girls. Some dinky strip club. 4970 SW Military Drive.

     2:34pm  At long last I've arrived. I'm doing just as I planned to do. I told myself I was going to walk all the way to these apartments, get there in just enough time to sit down at a bench by the pool, drink a can of liquid nutrition, smoke a cigarette(which I bummed on the way over), and have just enough time to find Amy's apartment and knock on the door at three, just like I was supposed to. First impressions, you know.

                   When I walked up to the apartment office I asked to use the restroom because I had to go real bad. On my way out, I stopped and asked for a schematic of the property, so I would know exactly where Amy's apartment was(that's the pizza man in me). Perfect. Oh, and I have one last hit of weed left. This is what I was saving it for. Patience. Delayed gratification.

     2:50pm  Okay, I'm done smoking. I'm going to go to her apartment.

     2:51pm  I'm outside her apartment now. I'm going to smoke this last cigarette and that should make it so I knock on her door at exactly three. I hope she's home. Oh cool, I just saw a hand messing with the window shade. Somebody's home for sure. Cool.

     4:50pm  Man, I just had the greatest time with Amy. She looks crazy like me, she's got frizzy, long blond hair that's all dyed rainbow colors and she's got piercings all over her face. She just looks crazy, almost crazy like me. And she's a published writer! She wants to write a book with me. I told her a lot of my scripts and she asked me a bunch of questions. We are going to get together on Sunday, after I get out of jail. It's going to be awesome. Then, when I'm in California we are going to keep in touch by email. Badass.

                    Around when the interview was coming to a close and Amy had to go somewhere, this Mexican dude walks up and says, "Hey bro, I talked to you on the bus a long time ago. You still working on the 420 thing?" His name is Neighbor and he ends up offering to smoke me out! Sweet! I say goodbye to Amy and give her a big hug. Neighbor and I walk out to the parking lot and sit inside his truck, which doesn't run. He had jerry-rigged a twenty ounce Coke bottle into a bong and we took some hits. It's so crazy how I ended up knowing somebody on this part of town. I never come out here. What synchronicity. Like I said, this is my town. Everybody knows me in this town.

     5:05pm  I was going to try and score a courtesy ride out of that side of town, but Neighbor just happened to have a transfer. Exactly what I needed. The transfer I had from earlier had already expired. Perfection. Awesome. I'm having the greatest day in the world today.

     5:21pm  Man, it's weird being out here on this side of town. I've never been out here before. Like out walking around on the street. I'm like in a military base. This girl I just met, Amy has a habit of marrying military guys. Oh shit, there's the bus. Gotta run.

                    Ahh, that was the 551 and it didn't stop at the stop I was running to. I'll just catch the 619 down to Zarzamora. Okay, back to my mission. Looking for a cigarette. Oh yeah, earlier I had seen two ladies smoking outside. I walked up to them and asked them if they had a spare cigarette. One said, "Oh yeah, I needed a cigarette break." I asked her again if she had a spare cigarette and she said, "No, I don't have a spare cigarette. I need to buy some more." Then I asked this other lady who was talking on the phone smoking a cigarette. She reached into her pockets and pulled out these butts, these snipes she had collected. I told her, "Umm, enjoy those, thanks anyway."

                    Man, I'm having a blast today. To the victor go the spoils.

     5:36pm  It was cool. I was outside waiting for the 619, not knowing what time it came, and this dude about my age came outside. He had seen me running for the 551 earlier. He tells me, "Hey, if you want to catch the 551 you have to walk down to that stop at the Diamond Shamrock. I asked him, "Oh, do you know how often the 619 passes?" He tells me, "I don't know, but the 551 passes every thirty minutes." He told me he was walking down there and to follow him. So I walked with him and explained to him all my ideas. He was like, "Wow." When we got to Diamond Shamrock the bus came. I ran and I caught it.
                   So now I'm on the 551. The looper bus. I came to the back of the bus and sat down. I just remembered that I had these good cookies I snagged from my mom's house in my pocket. I had told Amy, "I've been carrying around these cookies for three days waiting to find someone to share them with. Would you care to try one?" She told me no, so I just put them back in my pocket.

                   Cool, at the bus stop at Zarzamora/SW Military I asked this guy for a cigarette and he gave me two! It's because I look like a hippie.

                   Wow, earlier I walked from the 2500 block to 5740. That's far.

     6:13pm  I just had this awesome conversation with this bible thumper at the bus stop. I did it totally in Spanish. It was cool. I remembered my Spanish good. I told him how I didn't believe in God, I believed in love. He was all adamant telling me, "No, it's God!" In the end, he just walked off. He was trying to sell some shit for money. He works for Satan, hehe. What a hypocrite.

     6:17pm  The 520 just pulled up. That guy who gave me two cigarettes earlier was cool. What a nice guy.

                   Okay, I just realized I got on the 520 going back to Crossroads, not the 51 going downtown. I still have to go to downtown and bum up ten dollars for my Greyhound bus fare to San Marcos. I told the driver I got on the wrong bus and asked him if I could get another transfer. He told me he would drop me off at a stop up ahead where the 51 and 52 pass. They both go downtown so that would be a better place for me to wait. That's what I'm going to do. And, he's hooking me up with another transfer. Awesome. Very generous of him.

                   Okay, the driver dropped me off over here on the corner of Nogalitos and Zarzamora. I'm in front of the Pranksters Sports Bar.

                   The coolest shit. I saw a sign that said "double meat hamburger with cheese, 99 cents.", so I was going to go hit them up for a free burger. I walk in and ask them, "Hey, can I refill my water bottle?" They tell me, "That will be twenty five cents." I told them, "Shit, you're charging me for water? Forget it, I don't have any money." This nice lady behind me overheard and said, "Here, I have a quarter." I thanked her a lot and while the girl was getting my water told her, "Water should be free, no?" She agreed and rolled her eyes. I told her, "Let me tell you what I'm going to do," and threw some scripts at her.

                   Okay, I'm eating these cookies now. I tried to share them, but hey, mo' fo' me, hehe.

                   Awesome. Right when I saw the bus coming way down the street I realized I had left my walking staff in the burger place. I went back in there, got my stick and came out and whew, didn't miss the bus. Shit, it's the 520 again. Damnit, I need the 51 or 52.

                   I'm standing at the 51/52 stop and I see this guy smoking a cigarette. I ask him for one and he said he bummed it too, from this guy in front of his house over there. I walked up to the house and told him, "Hey brother, can I hit you up for a cigarette, too?" Marko gave me a cigarette. Thanks a lot Marko, that was very generous of you. It'll come back to you. Count on it.

     6:47pm  I got me a cigarette to smoke at the bus stop. Kickass.

     6:55pm  I'm on the 52 bus now going downtown to Travis Park.

     7:12pm  I'm at Travis Park now. I just need ten dollars. I got the idea to go to tattoo parlor and talk to my friends there. Hey, since I'm going to jail I'll see if they can hold my stuff. I don't want the cops to have my CDs, I have my metal one-hitter that I can't take with me, and my cool Swiss army knife. That's what I'll do.

                   Shit, the place is closed. That sucks.

     7:43pm  Okay, I'm on The Riverwalk now. I'm just going to ask people for change. I'll tell them, "I need to round up ten dollars for my bus ticket to San Marcos, so I can go to jail for three days and pay off some fines, so I can leave to California on the second of the next month and not be traveling with a warrant. Got any spare change?" I asked like three people, but no one had any.

                   Okay, I stopped and talked to Elva and Amy. They suggested I go to the police station and tell them to call the cops in San Marcos to come pick me up so I can do my time and pay off my fines. That's what I'm going to do.

     8:00pm  Aww, Amy just gave me her last cigarette. How gracious. Thank you Amy.

Next day..