I had a chance meeting with the woman whom I thought would be the love of my life. It was 25 years after we broke up, at the Boys and Toys show at the Taste of Wisconsin celebration at the Kenosha lakefront on Friday night. I should have known we would never last because the very first time I saw her, the very first time I spoke to her, I insulted her. She looked unique and I wasn’t sure how to approach and having a few drinks I just blurted out “baby what’s the going price?” She told me to go to hell. After a few minutes of conversation, I found that she was from out of town, she was a Mississippi queen and even though I had a very rocky opening line, this lady she asked me if I would be her man. You know that I told her I’d do what I can. And so it began.
I took her to meet my friend Johnnie who was also a person that spoke freely so when he said something out of line, well this chick got up and she slapped Johnnie’s face. Man we just fell about the place. I talked to Johnnie after and tried to clear the air a little to which he calmly replied, “I don’t need to fight, to prove I’m right and I don’t need to be forgiven”. We were never welcome back at Johnnie’s. But this woman had a hold on me, no longer was I living my life telling myself I gotta find the queen of all my dreams…she was right in front of me. I used to be a very reserved person but now I’m singing all my songs to the girl who won my heart. It was an unexplained stranglehold.
And then things went south. She told me I was an immature idiot. She elaborated by saying “you need coolin, baby I’m not foolin’. I’m gonna send you back to schooling”. I begged her to keep me, I thought of every possible way to make her want me around but at the end, even the most extreme measures were not enough. On the day she kicked me out she laughed and told me ya can’t catch me cause the rabbit done died. I hit rock bottom, I made my break and a big mistake, stealin’ when I should have been buyin. Well now I’ve been smoking for so long, I’m not sure of the day of the week or the season of the year because of my love for this tainted woman.
And then 25 years later, after a life of being alone and feeling like I missed my shot, she appears at the Boys and Toys show on the Kenosha lakefront. I didn’t know what to do or say. I walked up and we just started talking. She mentioned that she could not be held down by one man and our parting was inevitable. She mentioned “mine’s a tale that can’t be told, my freedoms I hold dear” and went on to apologize for never being grateful for our time together. It made me feel a little better when she explained that she should have just said thanks to you, I’m much obliged for such a pleasant stay. But now it’s time for me to go. That would have been nice, but still would have broke my heart. We enjoyed the fantastic show..we knew ALL the songs and then we went back to the lives we knew.
Her name was Baba O’Riley and though my heart was shot down in flames, I still remember the whole lotta love…and that there is a fine line between short term misery and sweet emotion. And I have this band to thank for our brief reunion. So find them, they may be across the country, they may be across the ocean. But be ready for when the boys are back in town…find these Boys and Toys, their music is the soundtrack of our lives.
