22 April 2007
Hard Rock Cafe, Atlanta
We're playing a benefit show tonight, the first of many I hope, for ActionAid. The Hard Rock lay on a frankly embarrassing rider for us, which covers several tables in the manner of a medieval banquet. Except with a spit-roast Soy Ox for the vegetarians among us.
I got scammed while we were loading out by a charming young street conman. He assisted me wheeling a big trunk round the corner, and hit me with a five dollar bet that hung on the small but crucial semantic difference between the verb 'to get' and the verb 'to buy'. It was to do with my shoes, funnily enough, and his ability to guess in which city and state I 'got' them. Not 'bought' them, you notice, despite that implication in the question, which was mere misdirection since, as he was quick to point out, I continued to 'have' my shoes (I still 'got' them, in the vernacular) this very day in Atlanta, Georgia.
But the thing about this grifter, that lured me in without arousing my suspicions, was the fact that around his neck he was wearing A LAMINATE.
I couldn't see what the laminate was for - it might have been a voucher for a free meal at Denny's for all I knew - it was the air of legitmacy it conferred. The mere presence of the laminate proclaims to all the world, 'I am a reliable person, who should be given the benefit of the doubt'. I won't be caught that way again.
On the other hand, I can't help noticing I have my own laminate right here. I wonder what mischief I could concoct with this....?
Jim: "Underwhelming nose, but developed well after half an hour in the glass. Slightly astringent; a bit chewy, and a little green on the finish. Not a bad effort considering the vintage."
