Madness Brewing In The Lots

After having been placed in that situation, I am sure that on nine out of ten days my initial reaction to our sudden visitor would have been different. It was a sunny day in Keystone, Colorado at 10000 feet. Widespread Panic was set to take the stage in a few hours. I had been paying such rigorous attention to the random set from a long distant Panic bootleg, that I really didn’t notice her entry into our circle.

Had it not been for the bad luck of Dave coupled with Bill’s sarcastic wit, I would have likely paid her little attention. Dave could have survived the initial moment of recognition from both parties. Bill on the other hand, was redirecting every minor detail of their shallow discussion back towards Dave; “Oh, so what building in Denver is it that you work in, How do you know Dave, Were you guys expecting to meet over here?” I really felt sorry for him, and how chaotic fate had placed him in the middle of that intricate balancing act. His only plausible course of action was to proceed forward like all was well, no matter how far from the truth that might have been. Failure to do so would have drawn attention to the situation, and subsequently blown the doors off of the entire operation.

I could just imagine how daunting a task it must have been for him. He had to try and maintain composure while proceeding in a normal conversation with one of his life’s bit actors. Still, I had trouble casting Dave as the poor victim and Bill as the evil scoundrel. Bill was pulling the strings in a manner so subtle and efficient, that wise-asses across America would be proud. With each new line he was leaving Dave to scramble. My initial reaction was much less subtle however. Early on, when talking about Colorado the girl mentioned how she was also a native of Western New York. Along with the fact that I could tell she was an attractive brunette, with a distinctly regal demeanor, I had a natural conversation starter. There was a sort of comfortable feel to her look. It harkened me back to the gray days of College in Syracuse, New York. On that beautiful August day the best I could do was let out an exaggerated laugh whenever the situation afforded it. If the conversation wasn’t light in tone it didn’t matter. For a few minutes their conversation persisted, until she finally returned to her group a few car lengths beside us. I turned to look back at Rob. He had been a casualty of the sun since the moment we had set up camp in the lot. All he could do was send me a lighthearted thumbs up from the back seat of Bill’s car. With an ear-to-ear grin on my face, I returned the gesture.

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