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jeudi, septembre 04, 2008
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Humeur actuelle :  réfléchi
It hardly seems like it's been a year since we lost Carter Albrecht. All of those cliches about the passage of time are true. It does seem like it was only yesterday that we were sharing a laugh at the Barley House. Like it was only yesterday that he was pounding out a scorching solo on that big beautiful candy apple red guitar. Like it was only yesterday that I was attending his memorial service.
I've been thinking about Carter a lot lately in anticipation of the anniversary of his death. A year later and I still miss him terribly. But at least I can think about him now and smile. It took me quite some time to get to that point. I had a dream some months ago that really helped me come to grips with his passing, which I'd like to share with you.
I was leaving a diner. No place in particular, probably an amalgam of several places here in Dallas. But definitely with an old-time feel. You know the kind, with a shiny metal counter and rows of stools with candy apple colored seats. The walls were a faded green, and the place was just full of customers. There was an old jukebox in the corner, and as I was walking out, I realized it was playing an unreleased Sorta song, "Super Fucking Fabulous Guy." I stopped and said to my friends "Hey, that's Sorta!" beaming with pride at hearing one of their songs being played in a packed restaurant. I walked out, singing along with the song.
"When I die, I don't know what you'll say/He was such a guy, he was really great/But who's gonna get his stuff?"
As I walked outside, I noticed Jen Nabb driving out of the parking lot. For those of you who don't know her, Jen is a local singer here in Dallas with an absolutely lovely voice. And she was very close friends with Carter.
Now I don't know what kind of car she drives in real life, but in the dream it was an old black Charger. A very cool car indeed. I noticed that Carter was in the passenger seat, and was obviously a ghost. Everything got all slow motion, like in the movies. Carter slowly turned to me, looked me in the eyes and flashed me his famous smile. I held his glance for a moment, and even though he didn't say anything to me, the feeling I got was that he was telling me "Hey man, everything's gonna be all right." Time sped back up to normal, and he turned to face Jen, and they drove off into Dallas.
Smiling, I get into the car with my friends and start to take off. Just then I look out the window at the sky and the world goes sepia-toned. I see these wraiths swirling around overhead, like something out of The Lord Of The Rings.
As we're driving away, I climb halfway out of the passenger seat, and pointing at the wraiths I scream another lyric to "Super Fucking Fabulous Guy,"
"I can see you so don't laugh at me/I was in it, I was just born too late/But who's gonna get his stuff/who's gonna get his stuff/who's gonna get his stuff/who's gonna get his stuff/Now that he's dead?"
The wraiths then fly away, the world turns back to color, and I wake up.
Now say what you like about our dreams and what they can tell us. All I can say is that when I woke up, for the first time in the many month | |