mano a mano

i spent last night at my parents' house in connecticut, which was a little weird because they weren't home and all the furniture was moved around. actually the part about the furniture wasn't weird because i don't think i've ever seen it all in the same place twice since i've moved out...but there were some very conspicuously missing dog accessories. which i guess is why i came back to nyc early.

that's not the point though. the point is last night i was in town and i hung out with an old friend who has pretty much always been better than me at everything competition related. from sports all the way down to simple parlor games. and last night we drank beers and played pool and darts. he demoralized me 3 games in a row in pool. no biggie. i'm used to it. and then we turned to his new dart board. "i'm 9-0 on this so far" he said. it was on.

i'm not sure where it even came from but something from deep inside me stirred last night. something i wish i could tap all the time. i could not miss. and i beat him. in our first game.

really this is not only a guy thing, but such a specific thing to the dynamics of this particular friendship, that i don't think you could possibly understand the momentousness of this dethroning.

and that wasn't even the end. of course he insisted on a rematch. and i don't know if you know the rules of cricket but i'll not waste space explaining here. suffice to say the ensuing 0-0 tie goes down in my mind as the most epic game of darts to have ever been played. there was really sweat. really. for darts. my heart is pounding as i write this, even.

then our last game he beat me, but not by much. and it was his home court. i walked away feeling like the victor last night. where are my spoils?

oh yeah and also we ordered cocktails from the town diner which is something i'd always wanted to do since i was a kid, so i choked down a nasty tom collins and i can cross that off my life's to-do list.

someday very soon i'll write about my songs again.