Jeremy and the Wingman
 | Current mood:  contemplative Category: Religion and Philosophy March 15, 2008
~The drive to the concert was rainy and a little scary at times, but we made it. ~The car talk was scintillating as usual – thank you SM. ~The weather in ~The concert itself was a blast – I got to meet PW! ~The music was phenomenal – Root Down is awesome. ~The hang time with SM & CG was a blessing – it’d been too long since the last time!!! ~The dancing… ah the dancing… we simply MUST do more dancing, girls. ~The car talk on the drive home was a complete hoot (no details – let’s just say SM and I laughed A LOT).
The company beyond SM & CG while at the concert? Well, let’s talk about that.
The concert was outside a bar. I know, I know… not the best place to be for three single, Christian, girls. But the band would be there, soon, so we’d have back up if we needed it. (Not that I would need it – have you seen me??) Anyhoo, the mission of the band is to reach all kinds of people, and my guess is that people in bars need reaching, so we were in a tent next to a bar. Right off the bat when we got there we were carded – no one under 21 because the tent was technically part of the bar. The bouncer, Steve, was the kind of guy I’m known for diggin’ on: tall, beefy, bald, and goatee’d. I played it cool, though. There’s no need getting’ all giddy over a guy that works at a bar – temporary eye candy – that’s all. As we entered the tent another band was playing – I think I heard some naughty words and the song content wasn’t too uplifting, but the music itself was nice and jazzy so I tuned out the words and talked to SM while we waited for Root Down to get there. Most of the concertgoers looked "normal": a lot of them were dressed warm since it was pretty stinkin’ chilly inside the tent. SM and I stood around for about 20 minutes and then PW walked in and it was time to get the show on the road… well, on the stage.
Being the awesome merch girl that she is, SM found out where she could set up the CDs and shirts and it just happened to be near the "door" of the tent (which meant right by the bouncer) and right behind one of the tables set up for bar patrons. I got a text from CG saying she would be there shortly and SM and I took up residence at the back of the tent to hand out CDs, sell any t-shirts we could, and watch the show.
The music had been playing about 20 minutes when CG showed up and right away she was my "wingman" talking me up to the bouncer and letting him know that she wasn’t available to flirt with, but her Aunt Steph was, "right over there." Oi vey, it was a little like, "Thanks, but no thanks." She grinned at me knowing I would take it all in stride and came over and gave SM and me big hugs. We got caught up, it had been a while since I’d seen her and even longer since SM had seen her. We chatted and laughed and danced… it was fun until THEY showed up. Then it just got funny.
CG is a lovely girl… as her aunt I can say that without fear of sounding weird. Now SM and I are, by no means, chopped liver, but CG was sportin’ the blonde hair and the 21 year-old fresh-faced look… she was destined to get a stare or two. Now had we been in church this wouldn’t have been that funny, but we weren’t in a church. We were in a huge tent, next to a bar, on a Friday night, listening to reggae music, in
In walks Jeremy with a pitcher of beer and a smile… and right behind him is his wingman. Both of them looked like they’d just come in off the farm: dirty ball caps covering even dirtier hair, plaid cowboy type shirts, too-tight Wranglers and work boots. Jeremy had brown hair and freckles; a cute enough kid under the grime, I thought, and in spite of the front snaggle tooth that may very well have been broken in a bar fight. Wingman was blonde, kind of nondescript now that I think about it. I don’t really remember what he looked like except that I don’t remember anything standing out. They had some bar bunny – a nice enough looking girl – following them but it was pretty apparent that they didn’t want anything to do with her. They sidled up to that aforementioned table set up for bar patrons and started to drink their beer. CG, SM and I were messing around, being goofy and laughing (normal fare). SM was taking pictures of us and we were making funny faces. In our glee, we were unaware that we were drawing the attention of anyone other than the bouncer, who was chuckling at us. After all, we WERE at the BACK of the tent. But alas, someone did hear the commotion, and when Jeremy turned around and saw CG his eyes lit up like he was seeing a vision from Heaven while the Hallelujah chorus played in his head. His mission, should he take it (and we all knew he would) TARGET: CG.
At first we were all a little too giggly to see the full extent of what was going on, but Aunt Steph’s spidey sense started to tingle when Jeremy and the wingman began whispering. Every few minutes one of them would look back to see what we were doing, and then take a sip of liquid stupidity… I mean courage, as if building up the confidence to come over and speak to the object of their obsession… I mean affection. When it finally happened it was more like a comedy of errors than a hostile takeover. They both turned around, almost like synchronized swimmers really, walked up to us and awkwardly offered their hands… to shake… like people… Huh, didn’t see that coming. SM, CG and I were a little leery of shaking hands since the rest of them looked pretty dirty, but we did the right thing and offered our hands back and exchanged names… I don’t think we ever got the wingman’s name… It was evident that they were inebriated: they both smelled like moldy wheat and Jeremy slurred some comment about getting rid of the bar bunny that they had in tow. The simple fact that he was ignoring her and talking to us, however, gave her the hint, I guess, and she hopped off to find another friend. After a brief attempt at small talk, which failed miserably because none of us really knew what they were saying, the boys turned back around to their beers, knocked their mugs together as if to say, " This was not the last of them, however. With liquid courage coursing through their veins, it seemed their mission was not quite accomplished, yet.
Over the next few hours, Jeremy would do his best to get closer and closer to CG. The frequency of talking increased and he literally tried to stand closer, sit closer and lean in closer. CG was doing a great job of acting disinterested… oh wait, it wasn’t an act, but Jeremy was NOT catching the clues. By now he was so drunk he was pretty much harmless but unfortunately, he persisted until finally I had to bring out the big guns and drop the "B" word: BOYFRIEND. "Um, is
When we got back from the loo it looked as if the two boys had finally figured it out and they did not approach us again. A little bit later CG left without even a nod in their direction, pounding the final nail into the coffin that held Jeremy’s dream for that night. Wingman lucked out and managed to find himself a bar-bunny and left (not a very supportive wingman if you ask me) with her a few minutes after CG made tracks. About twenty minutes later I walked up to Jeremy, who by now was looking pretty miserable, and said, "You’re a nice enough guy but she has a boyfriend… she was trying to tell you but you didn’t seem to get it." He just shrugged his shoulders and lifted his glass to me.
From there things seemed to calm down a little. SM was up taking pictures of the band and I was minding the merch table. Steve, the bouncer, seemed to spring to life after CG left and all of a sudden, I had a bar bunny of my own. He wasn’t drunk, though, so the conversation was at least understandable. At the end of the evening, I was ready to go home. The tent-attached-to-the-bar scene is simply not MY scene. It was cool hanging with the girls and hearing the band, and I can’t say I won’t go again if the opportunity comes up, it’s just not, I don’t, a place I want to frequent. It’s not an issue of wrong or right… I know why other people go to bars and that’s their choice, but that’s not why I’m there. Still, there’s that whole thing of being in the world but not of it… Also, I’d never want anyone to see me someplace like that and without knowing why I was there think, "Well, Stephanie is at the bar getting drunk, why can’t I?" I don’t want to be a stumbling block…
I know that Jesus hung out with Zacheus – a loathed tax collector with very few friends. I also know that Jesus spent time with people who were sick and needy and outcasts. I just wonder, however, would Jesus go to a bar? Part of me thinks He would and part of me wonders if He would… Hmmm. The band Switchfoot plays everywhere, including bars, and they have often been asked about how they reconcile that when they have a Christian message. One of the band members, Tim, said this in an interview Martha Krienke, "The longer we’ve been a band, the more we’re not in it just to make other people give us their stamp of approval. There has to be a greater purpose than just making people applaud for what we’re doing, and as long as we’re convinced we’re exactly where God has us at the moment, that has to be the ultimate goal." There’s a lot of truth to that, but I’m not supposed to as, "What Would Switchfoot Do?" I’m supposed to ask, "What Would Jesus Do?"
I guess I’ll have to ask Him when I meet Him. Until then I suppose I’ll have to address each situation as it comes… not that it presents itself a lot… and pray about it. |
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