I first met Mark and Paul (The twins) Senior year of high school. They came from Milwaukee and I came from Houston and we ended up in a smalltown highschool together bewildered as to all the hicks and ignorant rednecks that resided therein. After highschool I moved back to Texas, Paul moved to Minneapolis and Mark went to University in Milwaukee. We kept in touch for a couple of years, but then I chose to cut all ties with everyone and vanish into New York City when I was 18 (turned 19 on the road)
So they were pretty surprised when I recently found them both living in Minneapolis and they both extended an immediate invitation to come visit and reconnect. Mark and I had been pretty close friends. Both guys have such an abiding love of music, it is borderline obsessive. Mark calls himself the musical Rain-Man.... I actually suggested Asberger's syndrome... but what do I know?? Suffice to say, these guys know exactly everything there is to know about rock music. They have seen Bob Dylan live about 60 times and have a SIGNED record collection that, well, is phenomenal...not only are there several signed Blondie records, but there is a signed Wind In The Willows album
Paul said: "Woah" said Deborah Harry "You're really taking me back with that one babe."
So Anyway, Paul is Programming Director for an alternative radio station, and Mark is a student teacher and the two identical twins are so different!! Like Paul is into wearing black and has a vintage decorated home, and Mark? He is a 55 year old man trapped in a 34 year old's body. What I mean by this is that he greatly enjoys the sixties and seventies eras, so much so that he sort of embodies them. He will wear bellbottoms and listens to mostly vinyl records... one of his favorite television shows is Hawaii Five-O... It's pretty cute. It's like that movie American Werewolf in London? Only it's: A Modern Hippie in the New Millenium.
(he kinda looks like this)
So anyway, Mark picks me up in the seventies style van... decorated in Rush stickers, and we listen to cassette tapes of Deep Purple, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, and of course, Rush... later, i tell him i cannot take too much hard rock and we switch to big band. Mark was very accommodating.
I arrived with a migraine. But that did not stop us from attending first a very LOUD but quite good punk rock show at a club that I cannot remember. Mark was pretty stoked because they were giving away free records and he picked up the one John Denver album that they did not have... and then we went to the First Avenue club...Seventh Street entry...
...to see a band called Box of Dix or Box of Dicks... not sure on the spelling. They are a Jane's Addiction tribute band... and they are real good and a whole lot of fun to be in the same room with.
The lead singer passed out a case of Nighttrain... a cheap wine into the crowd who proceeded to pass it around person to person through the small room and back to the band members. One pissdrunk punk got pretty wasted and kept throwing beer onto the shirtless fat yet assless lead singer, who thanked him for his time and effort. I loved it. Joe, the guitarist, introduced himself to me as the honorary third twin, and the nicest guy in town, next to Mark. It had a real good vibe in the place and we had gotten in for free as Mark was on the guestlist plus one, but we had to go he said, there was more Rock and Roll Tour de Force to come.
While we were there, some guy was talking to Mark. When he left to get more to drink, Mark says to me: "When he comes back, introduce yourself and get his name, I have no idea who this guy is!"
So I did my friendly duty.
Again, i was instructed, great, now we know his name is Michael, but can you ask him where I know him from? Make it seem, like you are interested...
So I do, and I do a good job of seeming interested, because soon drunk Mike is following us to the next place.
I don't remember the name of the band, but they were again, friends of the twins. Paul was not there, he had to work at his 3rd shift job that night...
Well, Mike, after having had a few more drinks, announced to Mark, that he was bringing us both back to his house at bartime to smoke some hash.
He then broke the news to me, adding that he would be cooking breakfast for me in the morning.
I could not help it, I laughed in his face. Mark tried to tell him that line would not work on me, and it didnot. He still tried it two more times. "But it's really good hash", he kept saying. And "You will be sleeping at my house tonight" he told me... HAHAHA it really was laughable. I told him I was there to see my great friend Mark and had plans cook breakfast for him in the morning. I also informed him that I had already received my lifetime achievement award for drug consumption and did not need any more merits in that arena thanks. But you know what Y'all? I WAS flattered. I was wearing my new leather boots and a black flared pencil skirt and a lowcut fitted black longsleeveshirt with my black leather jacket. I did look kinda badass. Kinda rock and roll. kinda big city...
A bit later, the bartender/owner had served 2 black gentlemen 3 drinks for a total of $15.00 They had been quietly shooting pool all evening. When they turned their backs, she dumped their drinks. They cried foul and she cried TOUGH TITTIES. A verbal ruckus erupted. The cops were called and the young man (who was hot BTW) was just trying to get his money or drinks back. The bartender said she was no longer serving... but just to see what would happen, i asked for a drink and she said that she did not have the stuff to make it... insinuating that if i wanted a rum and coke or a beer, i could still get one... me being white and all...
So I went to the guy, who was being told to leave and I tried to calm him down. You know, because the cops were being called and he did like, nothing wrong... (the main reason for his outrage) So I did say a few words to him, that calmed him right down and got him out of the way of the cops on the way, and do you know he gave me his phone number? Just spit it right out, and said: "Remember it" Never caught his name though...
Damn, seems like I am hot stuff in Minneapolis!
Well, so then me and Mark went to see Paul at his job and hung around there for awhile. I was getting pretty tired by this time as it was already 4AM so we went to the pharmacy to pick up my migraine medicine (I left some of it behind at home) and then we went to the grocery store to get stuff for breakfast.
(In the refridgerator, there was: a half a loaf of bread, 2 chicken patties, and a case of coke-a-cola)
In the morning I made scrambled eggs and bacon with salsa and guacamole and buttermilk pancakes with real maple syrup for Mark and his roommate. Those two hung around the kitchen picking and eating until I finally had to squack at them to wait until it's finished Y'all!!
I love to cook and brought along my great gramma's red gingham checked apron to do it in.
Well that day was Saturday and Mark's Ex girlfriend was near about having a hissy fit over the fact that he had a female staying in his apartment. Nevermind that he gave me his bed and was sleeping on the couch, and disregard the fact that she broke off their two year relationship 6 months prior citing that he was not good enough for her. She was a woman on the rag and she was determined to ruin our evening. She called him about every hour on the hour... bitching.
So she Banned us from going to the club that night because her royal bitchiness planned on being there. Mind you, this show was one of the main reasons why I was in town that particular weekend, according to the twins, they were the two best bands in town playing that night!
OK Whatever. We all ended up going to the Bob Dylan tribute event thing at the university around 7PM and then Paul and his girl went to the show while me and Mark stayed in and watched a crappy movie on tv. I brought over some Mead... which I ended up being allergic to, but we just hung out on the couch and bonded. It was cool. I had brought him a bunch of gifts, silly things from home, some cat treats for his cat... (named Johnny Cash... a cat in black) a couple of videos... stuff like that. We were both pretty tired still from the late night on Friday.
He told me about hanging out in Mexico sneaking into Cuba and being invited to both of Clinton's inaugurations. He shows me his picture of him shaking hands with Al Gore and tells me a presidential secret. Mark is very politically active, such a good hippie.
The next morning, I woke up and he played DJ, spinning Emmylou Harris "Cause I know you like the spirituals" he says. We also had to listen to some Alice Cooper, because, apparently, it was his birthday that day.
As I proceeded to cook my Superbowl Sunday potroast and sidedishes.... he impressed me by spinning Mother's Finest "An obscure rock band that hit it big in England but not too many people are familiar with over here" I told you this guy knows his music. They are really cool.
So to answer your question Belle, we cheered for the Bears... even though they are mortal enemies of the Packers, and the Vikings too, we had to go for them over the Colts.
Including shopping and preptime, I cooked for 11 hours. I fucking loved every minute of it too. I made:
Deviled eggs and was told they were the best that had ever been
Mac n Cheese again... everyone said it was the best ever EVER anyone had ever had
Potroast with potatos and carrots and celery and onions in broth my first potroast ever
brusselsprouts with plenty of seasalt & butter
hot apple crisp (a big hit)
It felt sooooo good to have a group to cook for. Again,. Paul had to work, this time at the radio station, but he popped in for some mac-n-cheese and to catch Prince during halftime.
After he got back, I fixed him a hearty to go plate, and his girlfriend seemed to get jealous.
"She just had to come and see her twins." Mark kept telling his friends. He was really happy to see me again. We used to stay up real late as teenagers, and just walk around town, creating fun for ourselves, sometimes getting lost. I think he missed me. After all, it had been...14, 15 years
The next day was Monday, and it was time to go home. I still had not really bonded with Paul, on account of my being banned from the club on Saturday, and so we headed over to his house that afternoon to scope out the massive autographed vinyl collection. It's pretty impressive.
Both of "My Twins" are huge baseball fans, and so we made plans to go to opening day at Miller Park on April second. We are all pretty excited.
It's like Mark says:
"It's not really the game, I mean we all know our team kinda sucks... It's just the feel of Opening Day, everybody's so HAPPY to just be there and the weather is nice and everyone has such a sense of community, it makes me so HAPPY!"
Holy WOW! I rented this movie and I was expecting to be entertained, but I did not expect to have a brand new favorite movie. Ahem... FILM.
Ahhh.... No, XDell, I am not literally IN LOVE... I just love this new wine I found to help me forget that I will be 35 in 2 months and still am YET to ever have a real life Valentine... I sorta did have one when I was 17 kinda, but my highschool sweetheart was kind of closeted and mostly gay-ish and well, it was not really a Valentine in my opinion... anyway, I sorta had a date on Valentine's day when I was 29.... except my boyfriend broke up with me that night AFTER we did it... same reason they all break up with me, the migraines I get are a drag and cramp their idea of what a good girlfriend should be. Well, except for the guy in New York, he broke up with me because I did not want to do hard drugs with him....
I'ts good to have the kind of friends, who after 14 years of absolute radio silence, will say: "I have always admired you. I think a lot of us did." once you reconnect... just, to make you feel good about yourself.
