John had tacked a large garbage bag on the wall

UncategorizedPublished February 27, 2010 at 12:39 pm No Comments

30 Years ago in 1980 I move to Austin, Texas from Houston, Texas. I was experiencing some of the most difficult times of my life.  I was drinking 2 to 3 fifths of cheap vodka every day and was a total physical, spiritual and emotional wreck.  I pretty much only thought about two things, drinking and suicide.

When I look back on that extremely painful time of my life, I realize that during that period I was given one of the most valuable gifts anyone could get.

The Gift of friendship!

I had been a successful entrepreneur in Houston, Texas but the battle with alcoholism was just about to give me a TKO!  I do not remember exactly why I moved to Austin but I know now that the Universe guides you in subtle ways.

Somehow during this period I made friends with one of the Best persons I have ever known.  His name is John and he is a Teacher and Artist.

John was a tall muscular very handsome single guy from New York! John was deeply dedicated to the Art Scene in Austin and was very conscious about health and diet.  You might say John was sort of a hippy.  He was living the Bohemian life.

John lived in a small wood house just west of downtown Austin. He had and open door policy in that you could come over to his house at any time day or night and the door was always open.

I would often stagger over to where John lived and go to sleep on his front room couch with a telephone book under my head and a bottle of vodka at my side.  John had only one rule for me when I came over; I had to sit at his typewriter for a half hour and write a poem!

John had tacked a large garbage bag on the wall and told me to just put the poems in the bag when they were done.  So every day when I came to take a nap I would write a poem crumple it up and throw it into the bag on the wall and it is only due to the love and friendship of John that I have those poems now!

At that time John was the only person who believed in me. John went out of his way to show me love, kindness and friendship and all he asked back was for me to write some poems.  Here are two poems that came out of the bag.

Zoos

I am what I am, out of all hope

My disaster is a creation of time

My place is fixed where my heart cannot be

but zoos are everywhere

and rare species are few

Governor’s Ball

My old tennis shoes walked into the Governor’s ball. Black bow tie and chocolate mousse were in season.

I soon bagged a moose and headed for the dance floor.  I was enjoying the Cotton Eyed Joe in the fast lane,

when suddenly I slipped into a goose step and connected with a 40 yarder to the seat of the Governor’s pants.

The crowd was tumultuous.

John remains an Artist and Teacher, he still lives in Austin, he is married with two fine children and a lovely wife, and they call me Big Steve.  I see him every now and then and he always grabs me and gives me a big hug and loudly proclaims to his ever present large group of friends or family, Hey everyone, this is Big Steve!

You see it was the friendship of John that gave me my life back.

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