So I have really been thinking...you could even say reflecting...on last week and TMO. And I really think what Miguel said really hit me. I mean so many of us have our little circle of friends and sometimes they never cross. Like the people you ride bikes with or the ones you talk sports with or the music heads and sometimes they never cross paths with each other. Or we choose to keep them seperated. But with TMO they were all this beautiful mish mash as evidenced by who came to his memorial. I don't know a better testament to a life well lived than the ability to transcend across groups and to be able to relate to anyone no matter what their interests. That was TMO. And if that kind of connection with mankind that TMO had doesn't get you into heaven then I am not sure it's the right place for me. Because TMO in the perfect dream is my St Peter...opening the gates, telling a story and letting me into heaven to party. Don't you think?
Anyway that said I also keep thinking about how we always talk about folk traditions and story telling. The tradition of old men in coffee shops and barber shops telling stories. Hell TMO embodied that. A Texas storyteller. So if you can add my favorite story that TMO told to the blog. He told it to me and I have told it to so many people because stories are meant to be shared. And now instead of telling it and and just saying "I have this friend..." I will say "My friend TMO" and that way he lives on forever as all good story tellers do. Thanks BOOTH!
So my friend TMO told me that when he was a youth he and a friend found a wallet at in the local grocery store parking lot. Tmo looked up the ladies name in the phone book and called her to tell her he found her wallet. She arranged to meet him at the store and said she would give him a reward. So TMO all excited shows up only to be swarmed by police. The lady claimed he stole the wallet and then wanted money for it's return.
So the next scene according to TMO is he is sentenced to some juvenile therapy. And he is sitting in this room with a therapist in a round circle of other juvenile delinquents. And TMO said here he was this kid who had never really committed a crime just petty pranks and here he was surrounded by hoodlums. So the therapist starts by making everyone in the circle go around and state their name and why they are there. So the first kid says "I'm Joe Smith and I was selling black mollys" and around it goes..."burglary"..."assault"...on and on and TMO said he was super intimidated until it got to him and he said "I'm Tim Watson and I'm here for extortion" at which time every head turned and a collective sigh of total awe rose up from the baddest of the bads. EXTORTION. The ultimate crime. And then TMO would laugh his laugh and say something like "I don't even know if they knew what it meant but it sounded really bad ass."
aine
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