Let me let you all know what I mean by the best rapper alive shit. I don’t think I’m better than anybody personally. I don’t think I’m better than anybody spiritually. I don’t think I’m better than anybody in any form or fashion. But as far as this rap thing, I think I am better than everybody. I’m a competitor. I hope everybody else feels the same way about their craft. If you do it makes it better for the people, it makes it better for the listeners, and that’s how I feel about mine so if you’re a listener and you want to listen to somebody who feels dedicated to what they do, I’m so dedicated that I feel I’m the best. And that’s that.
Soon I saw a license plate that caught my eye. I always read license plates and road signs and store signs and shop signs because there are poetic codes everywhere. The universal language, as The Alchemist would say. This license plate said the following:
So far I’ve been lucky enough not to be seen by a confused car owner, but this was the time it happened. A nice woman walked over and said slightly confused, “This is just our car…” I explained quickly that I love taking pictures of strange things, and especially license plates with interesting numbers on them. Then I explained that the Pyramid of the Sun is 233 meters tall and I finished a journey there once, 4/6 was the day I wrote a blog called “Shine Your Light,” and B1 reminds me to be one with the world. She was relieved, smiled and thought that was great. I assured her that I’m not documenting illegal parking or anything like that. Then I put one of my favorite NYC masters of ceremony back on my headphones and walked to the corner. I was walking with authority and purpose, partially because of the music, and partially because I needed some kind of release.
It was there that I saw a posh convertible stopped in front of a light. It was a really nice car, so you could tell the driver cared about how nice his car was. Then again, he wasn’t in the driver’s seat. He was standing in the road and arguing with a bicyclist who was wearing sunglasses and a helmet. He was one of those bicyclists so decked out in bike gear that you could tell he was really serious about being a bicyclist. It was an intense cultural clash going on right before my eyes.
I was going to cross the road here anyway, so I walked toward them. The bicyclist screamed, “You try to hit me with your car?! FUCK YOU!” and pushed the man, who was foreign with a large gray beard. Neither of them were a match for me physically if it came to that, so I wasn’t afraid, and I was hungry for some kind of action anyway. The driver pushed him back, and then they separated. But then they began swearing at each other again, so I stepped in between them.
One screamed, “Fuck YOU! I am better than you, asshole!”
“Fuck you!”
I spoke up as I put my hands on both of their chests. “It’s not worth it. Guys, just keep going, it’s not worth it, trust me.”
They moved away from each other, but then when I was out of the way the bicyclist lunged back at the driver and pushed him and swore at him again.
I pushed them apart again. “Nobody is better than anybody.”
“I’m better than THIS motherfucker! Try to swipe me with your car, asshole!”
“Nobody is better than anybody. Just go be excellent. You have nothing to do with each other.”
Another separation, another swear and a lunge and a push. I don’t like it when people block traffic, because when I’m in my car I want to get where I’m going. So this had to stop.
“Listen to me. I know you’re angry because you almost died. I’ve been there. He’s not worth it.”
He looked at me and then past me, with a wild eyed stare. I understood the stare. He was excited for some action.
“Fuck you!” he screamed at the man.
“Fuck you!”
“Listen, a man once punched me in the head for no reason. It had nothing to do with me. Let it go. It’s not worth it. Just go be excellent.”
He gave me a look of understanding, stared some more at the driver, and then finally pedaled away while staring.
The other man continued to stand near his car and stare the other man down. I walked across the street and went on my way.
A crowd of middle-aged men had gathered outside a restaurant on the far corner, and some of them were muttering and saying things at one of the fighters, although I couldn’t tell which. One of them said, “Good job, brother,” as I walked past. I put my headphones back on and went on my way.
I didn't feel any better, but at least something had happened. I spent the rest of the day alternating between walks to take in the sights and sounds and writing.
I don't make this stuff up. If it was imagination I was after, I'd tell you that an elephant ran across the road and stomped on the convertible and then gave us all a ride to a water park because it was hot outside.
I just spent the day writing a 40 page piece about many topics and themes that interweave with poetry that seems magical to me. But it's the weekend. You don't have time for that.
One last thing though. Four years ago today I got the smile scar on my arm. Right before I got the scar I had these Phish lyrics in my head that said, "Shouldn't have took more than you gave."
Whoever you are, I have given you 100 sincere expressions of my inner truth for free.
I hope you find something within them to make you happy and to help you realize that you live in a world with infinite potential to fill you with magic and poetry.
No comments:
Post a Comment