An interesting day yesterday and another piece if the puzzle has been found ... but not without a cost.
First the video ... I have been shooting random video while driving ... I do this because I can extract still frames from the video of place and things that I simply can't capture otherwise. I came into Santa Barbara from the west, and drove right down State Street to the water ... video running. Just after I turned west on East Cabrillo boulevard the video captured something of unique interest ... you can see a 'still extract' just below ...
Yes ..it's a lighthouse ... remember that reference from Billy earlier in the trip ...
I visited the landlocked lighthouse yesterday .. it's basically a tourist information centre ... but it is facing up State Street and has a window into that is directed towards the pier ... and on the pier at that point are two or three establishments ... buildings .. a marina maybe ... I couldn't tell from that distance.
As I was leaving the info centre I bumped into a street person ... an extremely aromatic one I might add ... and in a flem spewing, toothless exclamation, yelled what sounded like 'Brophy's' at the top of his lungs ... and continued to scream something about 'he's watching' and something else about 'upper State Street' and 'missing' something ...
I got out of there quickly and worked my way over to that pier on the upper streets .... the wind was picking up now .. from the north ...birds were everywhere in flight... and palm fronds were dropping everywhere around me from heights of 50 - 60 feet ... these fronds are 4 - 5 feet in length and have rough serrated edges so if one were to hit you just right, it would not be pleasant ....
The sun was setting now and the wind was getting stronger ... the surf was pounding the breakwater and rogue waves were cascading over the breakwater ... the 'watcher' clearly knew I was there and was doing his damnedest with the elements to try to take me out ... I was clearly on to something on the pier.
I walked away from the breakwater back towards where those establishments were that I had seen from the lighthouse .... just as I was walking by the second one a drink glass full of ice and some spirit crashes right at my feet .... I jump back and look up ... the drink has fallen from the balcony of a restaurant named .... Brophy's!
It is now dark .... I go up the stairs and enter the restaurant ... it is packed ... it's a seafood place ... I am safe here .. too many people for anything 'odd' to occur ... or so I thought ... there is a bar on the east side of the restaurant overlooking the pier ... I sit down .... the bartender without asking takes a large glass ... fills it halfway with ice ... turns a tequila bottle upside down over it and then does the same with a bottle of triple sec ... then tops it off with lime juice, a touch of orange a bit of sour mix ... he puts the drink in front of me and says 'old missing' ... 'what did you say' .... he carries on as if nothing has transpired ... I catch his attention and I ask again, 'what did you say' ... he looks at me and says, ... 'nothing, I just kind of had a brain cramp there for a second ... what can I get you to drink ...' He sees my drink and asks,'where did you get that .... ' .... I just say the other bartender ....
I chug the Margarita and quickly order a second one.... 'old missing' ... the bartender comes back and says, 'you should try the cioppino' .... cioppino again ... what is it with this dish ... I order it ... it's excellent ... the Margarita is great ... it would have to be, given how much booze they squeeze into that glasses confines ...
'Old missing .... WTF was that old fart and the bartender talking about .... 'Out on the Weekend' is playing in the background ... pictures on the wall indeed ... there are pictures on the wall in Brophy's ... pictures of former patrons .. pictures of boats ... pictures of fishermen with their prizes ... pictures of the some of the historic buildings in town .... wait a minute... he didn't say 'old missing' ...
Their is a disturbance at the entrance ... the old fart and some of his friends have forced their way in ... I drop some cash at the bar ... scramble across it out onto the balcony and leave via the back stairs .. the watcher' now knows that I know ...
To quote from verse 696 of the Krome Koan,
'Humankind .... be both.'
Running on empty,
Forever Man
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