CONVERSATIONS WITH THE WISE DROOGIE

I hadn't paid a visit to the Droogie in a while, so after working at The Garage on still more retouches and additions, I called him up and we sat down and shot the shit and smoked and chilled.

Seems that Droogie has been busy building an aquarium with his two sons, as well as finding happiness with a woman known as _____. It's about time, I figured: Droogie survived a devastating car accident approximately a decade ago, and is still around, walking tall (even if it is with the aid of a cane).

His self-esteem was shot during those years. Hard rehabilitation, pain-wracked waking existence, well-laid plans put on hold until full recovery... He spent the better part of those years either laid up in the hospital or in a wheelchair.

He learned how to work Photoshop in all that down time, and now he's a fucking master. Check out the link-- you'll be amazed at his skill.

He got me into Photoshop. One day, he saw me doodling in the Network Operation Center where the both of us worked. He took a bullshit piece of work that I'd scribbled out on a sheet of notebook paper, took it home, scanned it into his computer, ERASED ALL THE BLUE NOTEBOOK LINES, and colored my drawings.

The end result was spectacular. I'd never seen my work look like that, all finished and professional-looking. He sparked a fire in my mind, and soon I was beginning to dabble in using Photoshop.

We sat and talked about our respective lovelives while listening to Black Sabbath. Droogie is mad old-school, having served as a recording engineer during the late '80s zenith of American hair metal bands. He twisted knobs for the likes of Guns 'N' Roses, Slaughter, and L.A. Guns. He hung out with Lemmy from Motorhead and the drummer from Faith No More, drinking heavily and wearing tight leather pants. He has seen them come and go more often than a kid like me has had hot bowls to smoke.

He has great stories to tell, but he also has some words of advice, based on his 48 years in this game called Life.

"Listen, kid," he said to me, as he lit up another Winston, "You gotta get all this 'love/in love' shit out of your system. When you get to be my age, you start to realize that it's not about 'being in love'. That's adolescent shit. That's what you feel when you are a teenager and you haven't ever felt like that before. You're a man, now, Droogie"-- that's our shared address to each other, taken from the classic movie A Clockwork Orange "--and as a man, you don't need to prove anything. You just need to be you, which I know is not hard for you to do."

"I know what you mean," I said, sipping on a Coke, "Believe me, I know. Eve and I are trying not to get ahead of ourselves. I don't know what all of this means, but I'm happy right now, and I want to enjoy every minute of it."

"Same here," he said. "I'm just enjoying the ride. It's been good."

"Good for you," I said. "Remember all those times back in the NOC when I kept telling you to just go out there and meet someone and throw caution to the wind? Sounds to me like you are finally doing that. I'm happy for you, Droog. Honestly."

"Likewise," Droogie replied, non-plussed, "I remember how much you used to talk about Eve when we were in the NOC. I recall that I once told you that you weren't over her, and you tried to play it off like it wasn't a big deal. But I could read it on your face even back then. You're an ace bullshitter, Droogie-- that's what I love about ya --but you couldn't hide that. So it makes me happy to hear that you and she are redicovering each other."

"I guess I just didn't want to admit it, because it kinda hurt," I said. "It wasn't an easy thing for me to deal with, but I got through... and now... now, I've been thrown the ultimate curveball. I just can't quite believe that we are back in each other's lives. And we're not picking up where we left off either. Instead, we're forging something else here. It's more like a friendship, but we have our moments."

"Sounds fine to me," Droogie said, as he drank his rum & Coke, finishing his glass.

We chatted about politics, about music, about mutual friends and acquaintances. I told him that Eve wanted to meet him, because I had talked him up so much to her. Eve appreciates artistic talent, and I know she would be blown away by Droogie's Photoshop creations. Since she is also learning the program, he could answer any questions she has about how to do this or that.

Droogie in turn let me know that ______ might be interested in providing me with a forum, on her personal blog and other sites, where I can draw a weekly (or at least regularly featured) comic strip. I told him I was game.

We are probably going to get together over the weekend, to talk some more, and also to trade ideas and swap secrets. Maybe we might watch some DVDs-- he is a big fan of Dead Man, the Jim Jarmusch movie that I turned him onto a few years back, starring Johnny Depp. We might end up checking that one out, as I am far from tired of such a great flick.

We will also talk shop, because when the animation website is up and running I am hoping he can help out with some cool designs and templates. He has seen the almost-finished product, and thinks it's fucking hilarious.

He dropped me off at work, and I told him I would call him later in the week to schedule a day when I can bring the website templates that I have over to his place, where he can work his magic.

As I walked away, I looked over at him and said, "Looks like we paid our dues, doesn't it?"

He laughed riotously. "Yeah, we sure did, Droog. See ya later."

I got into my office exactly on time. I didn't miss a beat. Another 8 hours to go, then I go home and get some sleep. After that, I repeat the whole cycle all over again.

It's all good. It really is.