Night Out In Galway (short story)

The train has come
I can feel it
Rushing through me
A fabricated aether
A feel of interconnectedness
Universal
Every aspect of everything as one
There is no need for drugs or god,
When every breath is full of the meaning of life
If we could just be better at remembering to notice it

vignette
dancing last night with Theo and Marie
Who I met last night
Will I see them again
At a bar in Galway
The Gaelish language studio
Which I was walking past, feeling dispirited
And hungry!
And I could hear live music,
Like the rock bands of my teenage years
And I went inside and got a Smithwicks
To not have to wait for the slowness of a Guinness
And then I stand with a small crowd while the band is playing
The band is not vocal focused, though there is a mic’ed singer
There is a drummer, a saxophonist, a bassist, a keyboard and a guitar
They are playing some type of jazz rock n’roll
There is maybe sixty people between the bar and the concert
Just one big room really
And I see a few cute girls, who I could imagine falling in love with
But why would I want to intrude on their existence
When they have their own very busy lives
That I don’t want to disrupt
And at the front there are some people dancing
In that seizure like nordic way
Unlike the way I would dance in Africa
But then the music is quite good
And accidentally, though not unhappily, I am a bit closer to the front
And my body is moving with rhythym
So nice that over the decades I have learned this skill
And then the band asks us all to take a knee
I don’t like doing things like this
I am irritated, don’t tell me what to do
But then I can also see the band so well now
And the music is pulsating and intense
The energy of the crowd washes over me,
My bitterness dissipates and I become one with the crowd
We are all on a knee but moving together without movement
A single organism, and I am a part of it
And the music is building
I think they must be fans of Godspeed You Black Emperor!, they understand a build up
And then like a launch of a rocket we are all up and moving in a frenzy
Bouncing off each other like electrons chaosing around each other
It feels safe, it would not feel safe in many places, but here I feel safe
I am remember of being sixteen
Going to moshpits at Pleasant Valley Elementary school gym
Listening to the Lady Esther
It is good to have this feeling being not just remembered in my head
But remembered in my body as well
Time passes in a slow and fast way
It is done, but not too fast
I recharged on an energy I had not even noticed I was deficient of
And then I go and get another beer
Enjoying the line up
I lose a bet to a cute girl over how much caffeine is in a Diet Coke
There’s a lot of caffeine in a Diet Coke!
The line up at the bar is joking and sweet
I feel include, not alone
Then I watch the next band play from a distance,
Leaning against a wall
Taking a break
And the fellow in front of me, the only black person in the building
Leans back and his fuzzy hair nudges me
And I got to move, but he is apologizing
And invites me to sit with his Irish friend
They are Theo and Marie
And we have a pleasant time talking to each other
Theo is from Katanga
And I impress him by being a Gombe Boy
Marie seems very wise and knowledgeable
She comes from that area between Dublin and Galway
And then we go to listen to the final band
Marie seems a bit introverted
And Theo is like a fish out of water
So we are on the edge
But, we, I, drift us to the front on the right
Let us be close and covered in the warmth of the crowd
And then people are dancing and moshing
And I grab Theo and drag him through the mosh pit, and he is a radiating sun of happiness
And I use my body to protect him,
Though the crowd is without anger or hurt
And when we stop I can feel it was a transformational moment for him
And we are all dancing with the crowd
Marie is smiling in a sweet way
She and Theo are kissing
Oh, that makes sense, they are a couple!
Good for them, I am glad when I see love,
And then the band ends
And we go outside and we take a picture
And then we leave each other,
Marie and Theo go together, towards Galway East End
They wish me a good life
And I go towards the West End
And I wish them a good life
And I get McDonalds on the way home,
Because their vegan burger is amazing
And I was hungry from before going to the concert
And I walk along the train bridge back to Renmore
Where I am staying with Aoife’s mom
And I practice French along the way
And this was the night of Friday, the 24th of June, in the year 2022