Was sitting in the corner of the bar at my favorite restaurant in NYC a few weeks ago when an older dude with the most incredible voice walked in…
“Hey, Richard! Yo Pavo, how you doing my man? Where’s Billy tonight? He’s always here on Tuesdays…”
I was dialed in preparing my keynote speech for the Endurance Exchange Conference and sipping some fine Casa Dragones tequila, so I definitely had no desire or intentions to eavesdrop on a random dudes convo with the bartender… Yet when Harry Kalas’ voice meets Tom Brokaw, I couldn’t help but dial in on every word and analyze…
“I live right up the block off of W. 10th… 20 of the world’s best restaurants within walking distance… Damn, I love this city.”
I liked this guy’s energy… Good enthusiasm and passion for the place he lives in. All too often, we take for granted our current circumstances and surroundings.
“Just got back from London, got treated like absolute Royalty… That’s a good place to visit when the red carpet is laid out for you. I’ve been going there for the past 30 years and have been there when I was broke and nobody gave a fuck who I was… Actually I really liked going there then too. I didn’t have shit to worry about and nobody I felt obligated to please.”
Damn… I loved that perspective. Sure, getting treated like a king or queen is great, but it typically comes at some sort of cost, personally or monetarily.
What’s so beautiful is the recognition that there is also a TON of value in having very little responsibility and zero obligation to appease others…
“I got a buddy that is well known in the theatre world that got so worked up over Trump he literally gave himself a fucking heart attack… The stress he has put himself through over Trump nearly killed him. We would all be a lot better off if we cared less, that’s for sure.”
Amen… As much as I feel like we have a civic responsibility to be somewhat informed, becoming over-emotional doesn’t do anybody or any situation any good… EVER.
“I grew up with Kennedy getting assassinated, the Vietnam War and Watergate… What’s going on right now ain’t shit!”
Truth… We act like our volatile political climate is so extreme and we have never seen anything like this before. Yes, these are polarizing and unsettled times but don’t be so naive to think other generations haven’t experienced their own shit storms.
“People need to have some more struggle in their lives so they understand how fucking good we have it…”
The entire time I kept my head down and was appearing to mind my own business while I typed these nuggets of wisdom into my phone, but this was the GOLDEN nugget and I couldn’t help myself anymore… I looked up to see who this SAVAGE SAGE was, but as I now shamelessly stared at his direction, all I could see was a side angle of him clanking glasses with the bartender in a billow of smoke. He then fired down a smoking manhattan and began walking out the front door…
“Be WELL.”
Poof… He was gone.
Not sure who this dude was and the more I think about it, I actually like the fact I have no f*cking clue… Yet, what I do know for sure is that we would all be much better off if we listened to “The Voice” a bit more.
-EB