Two Tales.

Have you ever heard a story so poignant you made it your own?
Well, I'll never claim that these tales are mine, but they have had such resonance in my life over the last few years that I'll probably remember them long after Alzheimer's has claimed all the actual memories I have of my life.

So, here we go...

Let me preface this first story by telling you of my obsession with Hawaii. Years ago, I began to read about Tiki culture through the Book of Tiki. After reading the first page I was lost forever. Hawaii, or my imagined version of it, would forever become my Elysian Fields.
So, when I learned that a person I worked with lived there I wanted to hear his opinion on Hawaii.
I asked him about it one day, and this was his answer(paraphrased, except for the first sentence, as I remember it):
"I hated it. The trade winds blow all the time. One of my favorite things in life is to sit in a field and paint and I could never do it because it was too windy. No, I hated Hawaii."
Wow.
Now, I realize that my idea of Hawaii is based on stuff I have read or seen on T.V. However, I do know that, even without children, the 1400 dollar air fair just to get there would keep me from ever being able to visit. Let alone live there.
I mean really?
You hated it?
I've seen plenty of awesome artists who lived in Hawaii who overcame the windiness and made artwork and loved where they lived.
I'll let you, dear reader, take what you will from that story. But it just showed me that whether you live in Columbus Ohio or Valhalla you can always find something wrong with your life situation if YOU are not happy.

Tale number two is by my oh so handsome friend who lived in Savannah Georgia for a time. Now, Savannah is well known for its penchant for Southern Gothic and outlandish characters. My friend knew a older gentleman who would regularly dress as a vampire and lurk around certain areas of town. Yes, a Broadway-worthy costume-like something you would see in Interview With a Vampire, only really creepy beacuse the dude would be sitting in the back corner of your favorite bar ha\ving a drink and scoping out his victims.
During Saint Patrick's Day, Savannah becomes a huge party, the streets filled with drunken frat boys from miles around, with River Street being the center of the "Girls Gone Wild" style partying. My friend was walking through said party, when he noticed the Vampire sitting on a rooftop surveying the festivities below (in full-on Victorian Era vampire garb, mind you). My friend approached the Vampire and exchanged pleasantries.
After a few minutes of silence the Vampire surveyed the drunken masses writhing and pulsating below and remarked, "People are very odd."
Amen brother.

So these are my two acquired stories which have stuck with me and influence my life on a daily basis.
The point being, really, is that the best and worst people you will encounter in life have something to teach you.
You just have to ask.
And listen.