"...um...yeah, okay, let's go", I replied tiredly.
It was Friday and I had just gotten off of work and stopped at the grocery store to buy a frozen pizza. On my way out of the store I bumped into one of my homeless clients. We chatted for a while and then he asked the question:
"As an off duty social worker can you give me a ride to the bus stop?"
I was tired, it had been a long day, but I said okay.
We climb into my car and I start driving.
"Where are we heading to?", I ask.
"Just drive that way and we'll hit it".
So we start chatting and in between conversation we listen to an old Black Keys album I checked out from the library. I checked it out the day after my friends and I purchased tickets to see the Black Keys play in Denver in May.
"Yeah man, this is some real smooth stuff, I dig it." he said.
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| This post is brought to you by "The Black Keys" |
He's loving the Black Keys so we just sit quietly and listen.
"Where are we going to?", I say, breaking the silence.
"Just keep going this way, we'll get there"
I'm starting to get annoyed that I'm just driving him to his destination and not to the bus stop.
Commence "The Black Keys" bluesy guitar jam.
The client begins rapping along to the beat.
"This track is real sweet, this ain't no repeat, I'm digging to the sounds of this fat beat..."
That quote is a paraphrase, I don't remember exactly what he rapped, but you get the just. He went on for over a minute, rapping out amazing lyrics and perfectly synced to a song he'd never heard before. This guy wasn't just good, he was great. He sounded like how I wish I sounded when I start rapping in my car by myself.
"That was awesome!" - I said in disbelief when he finished
"Man I loved that song, I love jamming out. These guys are some pretty cool cats."
I asked him if he does that a lot, freestyle rap and such, and he said yes, and that he also writes poems.
"Would you like to hear one?"
"Absolutely!"
He recited an original poem off the top of his head. It was a beautiful poem about the different paths we all take but how they all share the common denominator of one thing, love.
"Wow, you blew my mind again! When did you write that?"
He said he wrote it while he was in solitary confinement in prison. Lots of time to think and create poetry in his head.
He said he doesn't fly signs but he does occasionally ask for money and wants to have something to give in return. A poem for your change. A 21st century troubadour.
We finally reached his stop, which turns out was only a few blocks from where I was going anyway.
"You can drop me off right here", he says as I pull over, "Thank you man, you're like my little brother, I love ya man..." and then I got the top honor, "...you're a real cool cat."
Needless to say that experience made my day. What started out as a nuisance, as work after getting off of work, became the highlight of my week.
My friend Kipp and I always talk about trying to have the type of stories that author and Denver frequenter Jack Kerouac had. Inspiring and fascinating moments with people. Here I was driving down Larimer, a road that Kerouac talks about in "On the Road", having an experience that I felt could be taken right out of the pages of one of his books. I felt like the main character of "On the Road", Sal Paradise, as I had this great experience with someone who others don't even acknowledge.
I called Kipp when I got home and told him my story. He was as blown away as I was.
"Nice job Sal Paradise" he said.
