The Thrill Is Gone

My last day in Oakland, I was waiting at a stoplight, when I saw this fellow leaning, ever-so nonchalantly, against the crosswalk sign, gently caressing the push button.. I immediatly drove to the nearest park and spent every last drop of daylight trying to capture his impression before he slipped out of my memory, like sand through my fingers.

He seemed like he had returned from a bygone time, only to find his city changed, alittle safer, maybe alot blander. And he is just chillin, taking in the change.

On my way back to NC, I stopped by my buddy Vito's, in New Mexico. While I was showing him the drawing, BB King came on on the radio, mournfully lamenting "The Thrill is Gone".





I used to work and park my van in industrial West Oakland, where truckers often left their rigs at night. One time I witnessed this dusky feeding ritual- two catbirds dining on bugs out of the grill of a truck. I named this one:

"Dinner for Two At Mac's Grill and Buffet."



Wes Nest
While I was working at a bakery in Oakland, the baker, a great guy named Jeff, also a composer, put on some Wes Montgomery.
As I listened to the jazz guitarist's splickity licks,
I had a vision of these two little wrens, busily building a nest in the fretboard, out of colorful bits of string they had scavenged.
I later learned that Wes had often traveled to the area, and also that he was a welder during the day, and would head straight from work to his next job, playing guitar all night in a club, where he relentlessly honed his chops.