THIS IS FROM THE DAYS OF YORE…..OR SAN FRANCISCO IN THE LATE 1960’S….WE WERE AT THE AVALON BALLROOM ON A WEEKEND EVENING AND WE MET A GUY NAMED TONY…..BEING OUR SARCASTIC SELVES, CALLED HIM TONY BALONEY…..CAUSE HE WAS A BIT CORNY,….BUT, HE KNEW A MILLION GIRLS…WHICH WAS FOREVER A PUZZLE TO US…SO I THINK WE OFFERED HIM A RIDE HOME ONCE AND THEN WE FOUND OUT THAT HE RAN THE PUPPET SHOW UPSTAIRS AT THE AVALON BALLROOM (THE FAMILY DOG) WHICH WAS NEXT TO WHERE THE LIGHT SHOW WAS THAT SHOT PSYCHEDELIC LIGHTS UPON THE BAND AND DIG LITTLE EXTRAS DURING SET BREAKS……INGENIOUS IDEA….TWO CURVED PLATES OF GLASS THAT THEY PUT OIL, WATER AND DIFFERENT FOOD COLORS IN AND PRESSED TOGETHER AND MOVED AROUND ON OVERHEAD PROJECTORS TO GET THE DESIRED EFFECT…
THE PUPPET SHOW WAS NEXT DOOR AND TONY RAN IT…THERE WERE BLACK LITES AND A STAGE CUT OUT ON A TWO LEVEL BIG PLYWOOD BOX. COVERED IN VELVET IF I RECALL CORRECT. LITTLE SIDE DOOR. THERE WAS A BOTTOM LEVEL THAT WE DIDN’T ASK ABOUT BUT DID EVENTUALLY FIND OUT ABOUT (BOY TALK ABOUT NIAVE) THE SECRET ROOM…..
WELL LIFE CAN BE AN INTERESTING TRIP…..I HAD MOVED OUT OF HOME, ACTUALLY MY MOM DECEIDED TO MOVE AWAY AND I OPTED NOT TO DO SO….I WAS ABOUT 15 ½ AND HAVE LITTLE OR NO CLUE……AS TO ANYTHING ABOUT LIFE…
SO ME, MY ROAD DOG BART HELPED TONY RUN THE PUPPET SHOW THERE AT THE AVALON BALLROOM…BUT FOR NOW I’LL STICK TO THE ONE ESCAPADE WHEN WE TONY, A FEW GIRLS AND I AND BART TOOK A RIDE TO THE WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE…
WHICH BELONGED THE WINCHESTER RIFLE AND AMMUNITION HIERESS TO THE FORTUNE AND SHE WAS A TAD TOUCHED, SHE THOUGHT THE SPIRITS WERE COMING AFTER HER FOR THE DEATH FROM THE GUN HER FAMILY MANUFACTURED (THAT WAS THE TOUR SPEECH) SO SHE BUILT STAIRWAYS THAT WENT NOWHERE OR ENDED UP WHERE YOU STARTED, A LOT OF HIDDEN DOORS AND PANELS AND ALL SORTS OF ODD STUFF…
I DIGRESS..SO TONY HAD THIS HUGE BLACK BOAT CADILLAC LIMOUSINE AND THAT WHAT WE CRUISED DOWN THERE IN….A SERIOUS BOAT….
WELL, SOMEONE HAD GIVEN TONY SOME PILLS AND BEING THE ADVENTUROUS AND DUMB WE ALL TOOK SOME…BUT AS WE GOT CLOSE TO THE WINCHESTER HOUSE…WE STARTED COMMENTING THAT PEOPLE WERE STARTING TO LOOK LIKE CRUMB CARTOON CHARACTERS……THEN MORE INTENSE THINGS SEEMS TO SWAY AND MELT…..TONY KEEP DRIVING AND I FORGOT-HE GAVE US A TOUR GUIDE THE WHOLE WAY….HE STARTED SINGING…NEEDLESS TO SAY NOT STRANGE COMPARED TO THE CONDITION WE WERE IN….BART AND I COULD CARRY ON A SKEWED CONVERSATION..THE GIRLS JUST SMILED WITH GLAZED EYES….AS TONY BELTED OUT AN ITALIAN SONG AND TRIED TO KEEP A SOMEWHAT COHERENT TOUR GUIDE SPEECH BUT TO LITTLE OR NO AVAIL WE HEARD HIM MORESO IN LITTLE CLIPS…AND COMPREHENSION WAS THAT OF WET DIRT…
SO AS WE SEEMING WENT FURTHER DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE…AND THINGS WE NEVER NOTICED HAD THIS SUDDEN IMPORTANCE OR RADIANCE…..
WELL WE MADE IT THERE AND SOMEHOW MADE IT INTO THE BUILDING, THE WINDOWS TINTED ON TONY’S MOBILE- GETTING OUT WAS LIKE WAKING ON AND IN THE SUN…a cosmic enema of sorts-INTO THE WINCHESTER HOUSE, PERCEPTION BEING WHAT IT WAS OR WASN’T LIT BRIGHTLY SO AS THE TOUR FUN GUIDE DRONED ON AT TIMES BECOMING COMPLETELY FOREIGN , AS IF IN A SPACE LANGUAGE…GOING UP THE STAIRS WE MUST HAVE LOOKED LIKE MONTY PYTHONS MARCHING UP OR DOWN THEM THEN ADD IN THAT SOME LED NOWHERE OR HAD YOU BACK WHERE YOU STARTED…YOU COULD TAKE OUR TWISTED PERCEPTION AND SQUARE IT…WE WOULD LAUGH BUT EVEN THAT SEEMED WARPED, FUN ONE MOMENT, SCARY, THEN CONFUSING, TIME BECAME IRRELEVANT AND SEEMED TO HOLD EACH MOMENT IS SLOW TIME ELAPSED STATE……
WE FINALLY LOST THE TOUR GUIDE AND THEN WE EXITED EVERYTHING BEING TOO TENSE AND SECURITY WAS INSIDE TONY’S LIMOUSINE, BOAT OR NO BOAT-TONY, MAYBE FROM SHEER ROTE DROVE LIKE A CHAMP….NOT SINGING BUT SAYING WHAT MOST OF THOUGHT…”MAN,, THIS IS INTENSE”
THE GIRLS WITH US WERE PRETTY QUIET AND SAYING SOMETHING VERY RANDOMLY….ONCE WE MADE IT TO THE BAY BRIDGE CROSSING IT WAS THIS WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE…LOOKING AT THE PORT OF SAN FRANCISCO AS WE HAD NEVER PERCEIVED IT BEFORE…….WE MADE IT TO TONY’S PAD WHICH WAS ON VAN NESS AND HE HAD A TOP APARTMENT WITH ACCESS TO THE ROOF SO HE OR THE GIRLS MADE SOME TEA AND WE RAMBLED ON THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT……..STARTED COMING BACK TO EARTH…….AND THE INTENSITY SLOWLY ABATED…BUT WORN OUT….HUNG-OVER, NO SLEEP…INTENSE MENTAL GYMNASTICS, BUT BART AND I MADE OUR WAYS TO THE STREET AND AS ALWAYS WENT AND HAD COFFEE SOMEWHERE…PROBABLY LOOKING LIKE WE HAD BEEN DRAGGED FOR SEVERAL BLOCKS…..AND EYES A BLAZIN'……..A MOST DEEP SKEWED RED...