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The Commodores - Nightshift
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The Commodores - Nightshift When I was in sixth grade our PE teacher, Mr. Fox, had us do a presentation on a pair of shoes we owned; had to be told from their perspective. I thought it would be fitting to do the same for these. Hi. I'm Asics, and I'm three years old. While I'm at the end of my time here I can't help but look back on all the fun I've had. I was bought from this man back in 2011 after he went through some tough times. If things had gone another way I wouldn't be here and neither would he. Anyway he brought me with him to Tennessee to begin new chapters in our lives. I first saw the world on a film set and received a nice compliment. "New Treads," I was called. We had fun on that set and the set after that. Even got to see a prison where "The Green Mile" was filmed. But for awhile we wouldn't see much of each other. He had just started his airline job and had to wear steel toe shoes and with school and work being so close together I stayed home a lot. I had to miss when he had lasik which made him very happy. I knew we would have our moments together though. I got to be with him on a important student film where he lit the set and worked the dolly; definitely got a work out that weekend. But the first true test would come the next month when we went to Los Angeles for the first time. We went everywhere and saw a ton of stuff. We saw Grauman's Theater, The Kodak Theater (that's where the Oscars are hosted), The Hollywood sign (from far away though), all the way over to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. Fancy. And the crowning moment was when we went up the trail to Griffin Observatory and got to see the skyline at night. Needless to say we were very tired on the way back, but that was nothing compared to our next adventure. We were going to Egypt. Yay! First we had to stop in Paris. We don't like to talk about Paris. I spent a lot of the time in puddles and on wet roads, not to mention being stuck in that airport forever. At least we saw Notre Dame; that's got to count for something. So after leaving Paris we arrived in Cairo. It was amazing. I got to touch the pyramids and go through the museum. There was a good half hour in there where we just stood and stared at King Tut's mask. Boring but he made up for it by going through a mummy room. I got to walk by an Egyptian, tee hee. After a few days in Cairo we took a train to Luxor and saw some temples and valleys. It was great but sad because that was near the end of the trip and had to head home. We spent another day in Cairo before going back to....Paris; even worse the second time around but we made it back home fine. We were just getting started by then. I got to experience my first concert seeing a band called POD. He had seen them some time before, but we neither of us had seen Red or the guitarist from Korn. Let's just say I was tired after that and could use a rest which he gave me but only for so long. Not two months after that we went to the Grand Cayman Islands with a friend of his and that's friend's girlfriend. She thought I was ugly and I got sand all over me. He may have had fun, but I didn't. He then made things worse when we went to New Orleans for the first time. It was so sticky. All he did was get drunk and eat while I had to wade through the filth and sand. He made up for it though with another trip to Los Angeles. We pretended to be skydivers and see some of the pretty coastline. He had a nasty bike accident though; left a scar. Around this time school was starting up and we were at work for a film he was making and I was going to be in it; lots of location scouting. Then he surprised me with a trip to Atlanta with another friend of his to see Florence + The Machine. I was getting my music cred at this point. And not long after that we went to Chicago to see Peter Gabriel. Well he saw Peter Gabriel, I just saw more shoes and chair legs. Pfft. He was just full of surprises by this point. We took a drive to Bloomington to see Balmorhea. He got sick by drinking too fast and starting to smoke nasty cigarettes but we had fun. Now it was showtime and what a weekend. We drove to Atlanta to get camera gear, spent the whole weekend filming (I did most of the work), then went back to Atlanta to return the gear and back to Nashville the same day for an Imagine Dragons concert. He was wearing me out, and we had to leave for Massachusetts the next morning to get his film developed. We rested heavily after that but we weren't done. He took me to Ireland for a GIAA concert with two of his friends and we served as navigator the whole time. I was having hard time on those road while he was having a hard time trying to get laid. And all that's just 2012. Not to mention the student sets I walked on. 2013 started out different. He went to Minneapolis twice without me. I had gone once before to a house warming party so I didn't expect anything big. Turns out he went to some big New Year's shindig and a rave. The fun I missed. He made up for it though by letting me be on a really big student film where he just handle lighting. The we went back to New Orleans for his birthday. I was already starting to show my age at this point like him, but one of us was in denial. He decided to move there and drag me along for the ride. This is where things took a dramatic turn and needed an intermission. I'm not as young as I use to be and need my rest. I'll continue later. Edit: Katatonia - The Racing heart. Now, where was I? Ah yes. It was 19....and 7 when I was working in the local drug store. My boss, Mr. Withersby, was a kind man. But he had these eyes, you know? That kind that had seen something. Something rough and evil. The kind of thing you see every time you close your eyes...... Sorry, I was recalling a story I heard from an old pair of loafers. Let us continue. New Orleans The move was a strange one for us. He had got into his head that this was some reset move and his passion was bigger than his perseverance. And he thought of replacing me too. Just over a month into our stay in the Big Easy we made a trip to Nashville. Something big was going to happen. You could feel it in his step. Not to mention I hadn't ever see him fully shave. But remember the girl from the Cayman's? Well, it seems she had a friend she wanted to introduce us to and she made him wear flip flops. Something happened that night because he hasn't been the same since. One time after a day at work, and he was still smoking mind you, he decided to give blood. Then his roommate convinces him to go to this urban wine mixer. A man who smokes, has been out under the hot sun all day, gives blood and goes to some urban party where he has no food or water and just continues to smoke? "If that ain't David Lynch, then there's something wrong with that boy." Something my Dad would've said if he existed. Oh and it gets worst. He went to beach without me and came back sicker than a torn sole. Then he had the nerve to have us go to Atlanta for some training. He spent that whole trip coughing a lung up. And this was after he brought in some new blue shoes to take my place. They looked so easy and cheap. They didn't last long..... But I'm old mind you by this point and can't be everywhere. I missed his trip to Tucson. Apparently he saw that band we had seen in Bloomington. It hurts the heart but I understand. I was past my prime. I just didn't want to be forgotten. Well I wasn't, but, looking back on it, I wish I had. We took another trip; this time to Indianapolis then Nashville. He needed something from his folks and he introduced me to two of his old high school buddies. Quirky bunch but you could tell good friends. Now in Nashville we met up with one of our good college buddies. She had moved the year prior to Franklin, and we didn't get to see her as much. So he rented a car, first time doing that, and drove to see her. Huh? I guess distance does change people. But the trip wasn't over yet. We went see to his work friend with the Cayman's girl and her lovely friend. Let's just say he called in sick the next day. Something must've been really wrong for him to do something like that. We all have the urge from time to time, I understand, but this was completely unlike him and came off as wrong; at least to me. I just hope he knew what he was doing. We took a trip to San Diego soon after and it felt like old times. We saw a nice play at The Globe theater. I thought it was Hamlet, but that should have been a warning sign because they were laughing. Something didn't feel right. We walk back to the airport around midnight and we can't get in. And this idiot just went with what he had in his pockets. We pulled that off in New York, but this was a different time and a different person. But could you excuse me for a minute? I think I hear the phone ringing.... Sorry, wrong number. Anyway, we spent a good bit of the wee hours of the morning just walking around downtown San Diego. The only respite was a 24 hour diner at 3am; hubcap sized pancakes. Needless to say we finally made it, but I'm still sure something was wrong with him. He got a tattoo not a week later. Strange, right? One time he spent three days in his sister's empty apartment getting ready for a pub crawl he didn't go to at the last minute. We took the odd trip here and there. We helped his sister move, and he finally took me to that rave in Minneapolis. I was getting too old for this by now. Then he starts dating. I'm telling you the train wrecks I saw him do....makes you weep for the poor boy. But he finally met someone. Ah, the joy it brought into his heart, and the things he would do for her. We went an hour out to a mall where he got her a stuffed animal for her birthday. We took on a lovely trip to Minneapolis for that rave. It was freezing! At least there was the train and that giant mall with the fishes. That's where my glorious portrait was taken after I had killed it on the dance floor. But even with her in his life, something was still missing. He didn't find much joy on anything; even went to his favorite museum as a . I guess it was the news he received some months prior about becoming an uncle. He even went to his sister's and assembled the crib after working that morning. Even a trip to Indy to see a comedian he loved didn't do the trick. I didn't know what the problem was. Maybe he was feeling lonely and feared losing the girl in his life. Or maybe I was bringing him pain; I'm way past retirement at this point. I don't know what he was feeling but what's worse is I didn't know it would get worse. He rarely left the house, and we would only go to work together where I wouldn't see til the end of his shift. I knew I should've raised a red flag when he shaved his head, but what could I do? I was untied. Then I see him get drunk in a public park on a hot day. What an idiot. But there was a bit of hope on the horizon. One last hoorah. We're were going to London, but we had no idea what was to follow. Right when we were about to leave his niece was on the way. What could he do but continue on? And so we did. When we arrived to foggy London town we only had a limited amount of time before the reason we were there, Monty Python. If you were to take all the walking we did since the start of this story, you wouldn't even come close to the hoofing we did. We saw so much and experienced history. Then we flew back to the states to see the newest member of the family. She was so beautiful. But all the joy was not to last. On the way back to New Orleans he received some distressing news and it freaked him out. So much that he went back to the state he was in before I met him, and I could do nothing. Apparently there was trouble between him and her. It's sad to see him like this when we're at the end of our time together. This is nothing we've ever gone through and he has to walk through this alone. I've seen him go through so much, and I won't be able to be there for him while he struggles. I can only hope that my successor, who I approve, will be there for him. I don't know what the future holds, but I think he'll still be standing at the end.  |
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