Retirement

Square Books has been on the corner of the town square in Oxford, Mississippi for decades. Back when I played in the Bud Greene band, Oxford was my favorite town to play in America. 

 Usually we'd play the weekend at a club there, and as hammered as we'd get after the gig Friday night, many was the morning I'd drag myself out of bed early, go to Square Books, grab a coffee and watch the world go by. 

Sometimes Greg would join me but usually I was by myself. I almost always sat in the top front corner. In fact if you look hard enough you might see me sitting up there. Not really...this photo was taken long after we were there. It still looks the same though. 

 I'd sit up there with the largest cup of coffee they had and an ice water, and ponder on things...why did I drink so much only hours earlier but how damn fun it had been, how blessed I was to be able to play music, and make a good living at that, who was going to be at the gig later that night, what was the meaning of life and such. Sometimes I'd think, "I could retire here." 

 It trips me out to think about that, since here I am at official retirement age. It's not like I was eighteen or anything when I was there...I was around thirty...but damn...here I am, over a quarter-century later. In a way it seems like a lifetime ago, but in a way it seems like the blink of an eye. It's freaking me out a little...how time is so subjective and fluid. There I was, in yon corner, thinking about the future me, and here I'm is, thinking back. What a trip.

 I took a few days off and came back to this post, and it's still tripping me out a little...I have butterflies in my stomach for some reason. It's like bookends...one bookend was me back in the day, sitting up on that porch, and the other is me now, looking at this photo and picturing myself sitting up there all those years ago. So much time, and no time at all. Time-travel is real, in our heads anyway. 

 So, will I retire to Oxford, Mississippi and go back to the porch at Square Books? It's doubtful, but never say never. It's still hard to believe how amazing a tiny town in Mississippi could be. My old spot is still there. I could be there in a couple of hours, grab a coffee, go out onto the porch and pick up right where I left off. In any case a part of me will always live there anyway. You can't have as much fun in a place as we had there and not leave part of yourself. I can dig it. Thanks for the memories, Oxford!