i got woken up by my hone buzzing at 7:00 am, never a good sign. the cook from the diner said there was no opener at the diner. the first server was late, super late. tomas said he can give customers coffee and maybe they'll wait? from that moment on, the day at the diner was truly exhausting, like it in the way that only happens once in while. even the best employees seemed to have gotten up on a wrong foot. by the end of the day and many breakfasts and lunches served, i needed a drink.
the wedding in the afternoon. john is in canada, but i didn't want to miss it. it was elise and travis. and unlike many other people, i actually find weddings kind of interesting. i had two dates. one of my dates scotty LOVES weddings and funerals, as soon as he heard i was going to one, he asked if he could join. my second date was duncan. duncan's dad Utah Phillips, amazing, very respectable, beautiful american folk singer, had just passed away a week ago. i know it has been a crazy time for duncan and we haven't talked since he came back from california, his father's funeral. so much of duncan's life seemed to evolve around going on the road with his dead, help with benefit shows, etc. i figured the wedding might cheer him up and it might be a light place for us to catch up.
before we left for the wedding, we set at my house and drank whiskey. duncan brought me three books from his father's private library. they were about writing systems and one on prague. it was really sweat of duncan. this morning dagny left for virginia, it is strange not to have her at home. it was so nice to hang out with the boys that we showed up at the wedding as the bride was about to enter the back yard, we were right behind her. farley was taking random shots of random people doing the social wedding things, like eating cake, having drinks, laughing and playing with someone else's kids. duncan was in a dark mood. he talked about the funeral, hundreds of people that showed up at the funeral. utah phillips was history, his music, what he stood for and the type of affect he had on his family. he definitely had a strong impact on duncan, this evening it was all coming to surface. scott walked around the wedding consuming drinks and food and saying some of the most bizarre comments i had ever heard.
progressively we got more and more drunk. everyone kept asking where john was, i explained over and over again. salt lake is so small, so protective... we decided to get away and went to .... strip clubs. night continued to get weirder, but super fun. first club was foxy and fancy, the second one was simple and working class with florescent lights. duncan felt comfortable here. scotty felt comfortable in the first one. i felt comfortable... in both.
night ended with duncan having to leave abruptly because he was having a difficult time, scotty and i staying very calm and enjoying ourselves. later we met up with lisa, scotty's girlfriend, who had a really bad day at work. it reminded me about my crazy morning at the diner. lisa said she was ready to give up on her business, beehive tea room. i would probably feel the same, if there was no john and i was doing it alone.
the worst thing that happened today and the most important one is that bob from the diner passed away today. in the middle of the business, we got a strange phone call with the information. really? bob who was so looking forward to going back to alaska, who set at the counter every single day, drank coffee and talked to every single one of us. bob was probably the most simple, nice and polite man that i had ever known. i have no idea how to deal with his death. in fact i have no idea how to deal with anyone's death. it is THE most difficult and confusing topic for me.
i wish i could have gone to tbilisi to see my grandmother before she died. goodbye bob.
