Birthdays

I just recently turned 26. Thank you for your comments and happy birthday wishing via Facebook, phone, or text. I hate birthdays.



One year, I want to say 1998, I made my best and final New Years Resolution. My resolution was to never sing "Happy Birthday" again. I have yet broken that resolution. What is more selfish than your friends singing to you a song about you then opening up gifts that they brought. Come On!!!!! Im sitting at a birthday party for my grandmother, I don't sing, Im next to my mom at her 50th, I dont sing. I don't care who you are, I am not singing.



Ever since I turned 21, birthdays don't mean junk to me. My grandmother makes cakes for a living. She can put a ninja turtle on a cake or Top Gun it does not matter. Once I turned 21 I said to hell with all this birthdat crap. I reject all birthday things such as candles on the cake, name on the cake, phrase Happy Birthday on the cake and no singing. Its just me. In the last five years I have had the dvd cover to JAWS on a cake, the letters KoL on a cake, and a round cake that was a record with the label reading Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits. This past year my mom made the cake and did not put anything on it except icing. God bless her. My brother ran around looking for candles and found one in the shape of a snowball. What a jerk.

Play A Song For Me
-Rex

PS- Follow me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/rexonfire

The Conclusion of: The Two Jehovah Witnesses At the Concert?

With nothing to say, the girls asked us if we were from Dallas. Quickly, we both said no and Thunderbird told them we were from Shreveport. We found out that they were sisters. The stylish one is Maria and her sister is Nancy. After we exchanged names, talk got serious about to do next. Whenever I go to Dallas, I love stopping by Good Records. So Thunderbird said we were heading to the record shop because it is not closing for another two hours. By this point it was around 10 pm. They said they wanted to join and we can ride with them. I did not like this idea one bit. Who the hell gets in a car with two complete strangers? While walking out of The Granada, somehow we magically paired off. I think it was because Nancy had some bike company sticker on her bag and Thunder loves bikes. I had no clue what to say to Maria, so as walked out of the club I said "Nice boots." Our car was parked behind the building but they insisted we all ride together so we walked about two blocks to their car. On the walk I found out that Maria is a mother of one and is divorced and never picks up strangers. Is it too late to run back to our car? So we make it to their car and they unlocked the car doors. Thunderbird hopped off the curb and went towards the passengers door on the drivers side. Everyone was standing by their doors as I stood on the curb announcing to Thunder reasons why we should not get in their car. A) We did not know them. B) What if we wanted to go home before they do. C) I don't want to die with Rhett Miller being my last concert. As I went on Nancy says "Oh man come on, do you honestly think we would kill you. . . we have a quilt with cats on it in the backseat." I added that to me reasons. The girls got in and Thunder shrugged his shoulders. I opened my car door and went along for the ride. As we drove two miles to Good, it was on the same street as The Granada, Nancy let us look through her iPod. Thunder and I mumbled about the fact maybe these girls weren't so bad, they had some cool music. I noticed there was only one KoL album, Only By The Night.We pull into a side street and I start flipping out about not wanting to die behind a Taco Cabana. They announce to me that we just turned the wrong way. We finally get to Good and park. I mention KoL and Nancy starts telling me about these facts that I already knew and she said "I bet you did not know. . ." and before she could finish Thunder said to her "Im sure he knows. He knows a ton." Did not hear from her KoL fan self again. The first floor of Good is cd/magazine/posters/and dvds. The second floor is vinyl records. I shoot up the stairs to start thumbing. Everyone else is down stairs looking at only Jehovah knows what. From the view upstairs, I notice Thunder is alone so I send him a text message: "What the f**k are we doing?" He looks up and throws his hands up and shrugs. I buy a few albums and Thunder buys a Guster cd I believe. We ask if we can keep our car in the Good parking lot and head to the bar next door. The guy is cool with it since we bought stuff. Nancy opens the car and we put our stuff away before crossing the street to The Cavern. As we made it upstairs to the club, I was listing things off in my head not to talk about. Okay Rex don't mention ex-girlfriends, politics, relegion, or KoL. You know if you mention KoL, you will not stop talking. We grabbed a table and sat down, they had a few drinks and all start chatting. I did not drink, I hardly ever do now days. Nancy coaxed T'Bird to join her in another area of the bar as Maria and I stayed at the table. Nancy and Thunder headed to this darkened area of the bar room that was filled with couches. They stayed over there for the remainder of the night. Marica and I knew they were making out. That'a baby T'Bird!! Everyonce in a while I would text 'Bird and say stuff like "I hope you are happy. . .Im drowning over here" & "Just what the hell am I suppose to say to a mother of one," and the famous "Just what the f**k are we doing here?" T'Bird would come check in on us, mostly me to see if I would give him a "lets get out of here" look. At one point, Thunder was at the bar and a girl flashed everyone. I missed it because I wasn't paying attention. He still talks about it to this day. Midnite turned to one, then you find yourself being asked to leave because its two am. Gathered up our jackets and moved it to the exits (some Closing Time by Semisonic). Once we got downstairs, Nancy releazed she did not have her keys. We quickly ran upstairs and looked around and even got the employees of the bar. I was tired, it was cold, and I did not have a great night. I just wanted to get in bed. I hate situations in which people do dumb things such as lose keys. After twenty or so minutes, Nancy and Thunder returned downstairs without the keys. We headed to the car to look around ther. No key on the pavement and Good was all locked up. I sat on a bench and Maria sat beside me as Nancy & 'Bird head back over to The Cavern for one last look around. I realize that my albums were in the car and I doubt I ever get them back. They comeback empty handed. I would call Cody but he was in bed. Nancy and Maria start talking about calling Karina (their youngest sister) to come bring them a spare key but that was quickly shot down because Karina would be highly upset, not because of waking up or driving twnety-five minutes, but because Nancy & Maria were hanging out with non-Jehovah witnesses. Found out that it was bad. After much time wasted and no taxi cab to be found. There was only one thing to do. On November 21st, at 3am and in winter weather, us four walked from Good Records to The Granada. The distence from Good to Granada is a little under two miles. We WALKED IT! I was not to happy. We walked and walked, past bums, mexican catcallers. Maria knew what they were saying because she is mexican. My heart cannot take this type of junk, I nearly passed out walking in such weather. Maria and I were ahead of T'Bird and Nancy. Im a fast walker and Nancy was pretty drunk. Scrath that, Nancy was really drunk. Once at Thunderbird's car he realized he left his keys in Nancy's car. Sike. He doesn't lose his keys. He has a belt clip thing, just kidding. We unlock the car to find a table and bike. I forgot that we had Cody's table in there and Thunder brought his bike. Thunder drove while Nancy continued with her slurry words. Maria and I were squished into what was left of the backseat. Twenty minutes later they got out of the vehicle and we went home. While Thunderbird floored it, I was letting the expletives fly. That was the longest night of my life. Good Lord, we got our Good stuff back that Sunday. Looking back, it is a funny story that Thunderbird and I laugh about. Actually, I made a joke referring to that night Friday night and that is why I decided to post the story.

Play Another Song For Me
-Rex

The Two Jehovah Witnesses At the Concert?

Since mid September 2008, Thunderbird and I have been to about twenty concerts together. This picture was taken in Austin over New Years. One of the first concerts we attended was a show in Dallas, Rhett Miller (lead singer of Old '97s) was doing a charity gig at The Granada. We decided to hit up that show on a Friday nite then check out Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes) and his new band The Mystic Valley Band. Conor's show was amazing. One of our favorites. We pulled up and parked behind The Granada and made our way inside. The place wasn't packed that much. Most of the crowd was near the walls, thats were seats were set up, the rest of us stood next to the stage and back. We were standing about fifty feet from the stage or more. We did not care to but upclose. Before Rhett got up Brent Best (lead singer of alt.country band Slobber Bone) did a short set. About six feet infront of us was this very pretty girl. I liked her style, tall boots, flowing dress with leg stockings. I mentioned to Thunderbird that I wanted to say something to her, but did not know what to say. Her and her friend walk to get drinks and I told Thunderbird "Look, lets take their spots so when they get back they will ask for their spots back thus they have to talk to us." He did not like this idea so I decided not to go with that one. The two girls make their way backbefore Brent Best took stage. As Brent Best gave a solid performance, I leand over to Thunderbird and said "This guy looks like Mr. Friendly." If Mr. Friendly does not sound familiar, then peep this folks. He is a character from LOST. Anyway, we spend most of Mr. Friendly's set making fun of him and talking about our thoughts on LOST. Before Rhett Miller played his set, some local DJ who looked like Dennis Miller gave away door prizes and told horrible "5 o'clock drive home DJ" jokes. The crowd was not impressed by him. He hit on the girls they hired to help him and made a few comments about the crowd then walked off. It was time to see Rhett. All during the show I looked at this stylish girl who was now about two feet away from me. I think I got a glimps of her face, enough to want to look again. As the charity concert was wrapping up I releazed that I would probably say nothing to this female and was satisfied with just that. DJ Dennis Miller came out to announce that the show was over, Rhett might have played six or seven songs. As Thunderbird said "Time to go," the two girls turned around and one said "So whats next?" We just stood their stunned, Thunderbird and I did not know what to do or say.

TO BE CONTINUED, trust me you want to stick around for the conclusion.

Play Another Song For Me

-Rex.

Divorce Pictures

Every Sunday afternoon I make my way to my grandparents house for Sunday Lunch. The food usually hits the table around 12:30 or later. So to pass the time I look at the Best Buy catalog, the sports pages, and maybe the funnies. If I feel like looking at hot girls that have walked the aisle the previous day, I will check out the LIVING SECTION. Some are dynamite and some. . . not so much. Most of the time I know the girls. My age group is the ones dominating this section or going through their first divorce. By this point in my life most of the people who got married are over and now are single. That's what I want to know, which girls are divorced now. How can we add that section to the paper? What would their picture be? Usually the girl is in a garden wearing a white dress smiling as big as she can. Would the divorce pictures look like this. . .
To let the Shreveport/Bossier area know that you are a free woman now and you have it "going on." Wonder who is taking care of the kids. That is another thing. In the Living Section it announces who all was in the wedding, where it was, the honeymoon destination and where you and the one you got hitched to are setting up shop once all is said and done. The Divorce Section needs to do the same. List where you like to kick it, which bars, favorite drinks, topics that you like, where you are going to settle down now that the divorce went final. I believe it should also give the reader a heads-up on what the ex looks like. We do not want Fat Cats looking like Lou's Basement in Fight Club. If the woman or man has children, it should also list that. Nothing can ruin a good night like hearing the baby monitor go off around 4am, I might as well just change the dipper and leave. Like I said, this is just an idea that I think would work.

Play A Song For Me-

Rex.

The Time I Got Pulled Over

I just left Woodlands, TX and had bought two new albums to listen to on my journey home. The two albums were The White Stripes- Get Behind Me Satan (and) Coldplay- X & Y. The Coldplay record totally disappointed me while The White Stripes had put out an amazing effort. This story isn't about the music though, its about the cop. Rain splashed on my windshield as I made my way across Texas. Quickly, the rain picked up and I was driving in a thunderstorm for about thirty miles until the rain let up. I am a very cautious driver even when it is not bad weather. I also love traffic, its odd but true. I still had my wippers still going but a slow speed and the headlights were just shining on the cement in front of me as a cop darted past me going in the other direction. I watched him in my rear-view mirror as he spun the car around and started coming up behind me. I checked my speed and realized I am going five, maybe even ten, under the speed limit. The rain stopped just as he flicked his lights on, I pulled over and tried not to freak out. This was the first time I was ever pulled over and as hard as I tried. . . I flipped out. I got nervous, wondering what I have done to be pulled over. Pushing my long hair behind my left ear, I rolled down the window and the cop asked his first of many questions. Dressed in a raggedy shirt with a couple of skulls&crossbones, a few rubber bracelets, an Eagle ring I bought at a gas station in the middle of Arkansas, jeans, and sneakers that I wore all during high school. The K-Swiss for those who remember them. I had some long hair and a scruffy beard. Basically I looked like I was on drugs or sold them. This picture was taken around then, I think. That is my friend Bono.










I have no clue how to do these picture post. Any who, the cop asked "Do you know why I pulled you over son?" I was quick to answer with "Zero clue, sir. I was not even going the speed limit." He notifies me about my brake light being out. I tell him thanks and figured that was it, that I would be on my way. He gazed at me and my "hobo chic" look and goes on to ask me "do you mind stepping out of the car young man?" I have nothing to hide, so I agree to get out of the car. As I wait a while two other cop cars come up and park as I stand there with nothing to hide. I did not move one ince, just stood there with my hands clasped together behind my head. He comes back from the squad car and starts in with the questions, and becomes a hard-ass about it. Who is Gary?- My dad. Where are you going?- Shreveport, Louisiana. Where are you coming from?- Houston. Why were you there?- Helping my brother move in. What does your brother do in Houston?- Landscape lighting. Why are there pots and pans in the trunk?- Stuff my brother did not need. Do you have any firearmes?- No sir. Knives?- Not any. Weapons of mass destruction? No sir, but I do have "Appetite For Destruction" by Guns N Roses in my cd-case.
He cracks a smile and hands me back my license and says "Get the hell out of here." I go on my way with just a warning and a story to tell.

Play A Song For Me-

Rex

Apparently she can live without me

Back in high school I had a crush on Elizabeth "Izzy" Griffin. I did not act on this feeling due to the fact that I did not have my drivers license until the age of 19. . . or was it 20? So needless to say we never hung out during our high school days. After we graduated we became the best of friends, we were always kicking it. As we grew closer, the feelings grew stronger. From 2003-2005 we must of hung out 2 million times, dinners, movies, watching television, concerts, listening to music, and just enjoying eachother company. The picture you see at the top is the definition of our friendship (at the time 2004), she was loud, brash, and loveable. I was very to myself, only opened up to those close to me. We would go to dinners with others and I would only talk to Izzy and she knew I wasn't much for other people. Man those were great times. I have become less awkward now days. I am more open to those who I do not know. She was in and out of relationships during our friendship so she never really gave me a chance to speak up on how I felt. I believe there was a secret crush going on between us, I could be wrong. . . probably am. One nite, we were talking on the phone and she mentioned wanted to date an old fashion guy. A guy like me. It was the Fall of 2005 and our favorite band U2 were on tour, so we got a group of people together to make the trip to Dallas to see one of the greatest bands of all time perform. My now roommate Hester, Bono (Brent Lowrey), his fience Becky, Izzy, and myself set out for Dallas. I mention to Bono about making a move on Izzy, he thinks its a solid idea. Im not one for kissing someone out of the blue so I knew right off the bat I would not dare do that, Im old fashion remember. We get to Dallas for the show, Hester has a seat by himself across the arena, we hike a crazy amount of stairs to reach our seats (Bono, Becky, Izzy, and myself). We are in the nose bleeds and five rows from touching the back wall of the aren, I almost had vertigo and I am not talking about the U2 song. Bono keeps leaning over telling me to make my move. I keep shaking my head as in "not now." I ge so flippin nervous before stuff like this. On stage U2 goes into one of their most famous songs, "With Or Without You." My friend Bono nudges me and says "do it now, kiss her! How freaking cool would it be to have your first kiss with her while U2 plays With Or Without You?" I shake my head once again and mouthed "are you nuts???" As we stood there listening to one of the most moving, well known powerful love songs I take Izzy's hand. . . and say to her "Izzy, you want to go on a date for real, like a real date?" I nearly threw up right there, where did I get the nuggets (balls) to say that stuff? I told you I was old fashioned, I asked this girl out on a date when we have hung out a million times before. As if on a bed of nails she makes me wait, still holding hands, while U2 is still playing that classic song she answers my question with "We have been on a million dates, we just didn't know it. My life is crazy right now. . ." I say okay, we drop hands when the song ends. The three hour drive home that nite was a little odd and definitely silent. All I can remember on the way home is Hester ordering a bison burger from the Dairy Palace. To this day everytime I hear "With Or Without You" I think about this story and for some reason I smile. I think it is because I actually had the courage to say something, even though it was a little too late. Better late than never. Hester even texts me every once in a while if he hears the song and mentions that show and the situation. Did it hurt our friendship or end it. . . not at all. Even though she is no longer living anywhere close to me we still make time to talk on the phone or text eachother, most of the time saying ruthless things to eachother but we both know that we honestly care and love eachother. She was just in town a few weeks ago and we had dinner, that was fun. Here is a more recent photo.

Play a song for me,

-Rex

Who He Told His Secrets To.

Just yesterday I sat down at Jason's Deli to have lunch with my friend Cookie (Allison McInnis). We try to get together at least once a week so we can have a good laugh during our hectic week. On the way to our meet up place (usually somewhere to eat, she is trying to fatten me up) I jot down 3-8 stories I want to share with her. I do not write the whole story, mainly the title such as "Only Five Bucks?" (which I should share with my viewers). On the day of Jason's Deli I had only a few things (a picture and a pair of glasses I wanted her to see), so we free stylied.






We sat down and went on talking about everything from swimming to guy I named "Dodger Dog" sitting about 20 feet away from us. At one point I just looked at her and blurted "you look like the type of person that would have an imaginary friend." She laughs. She has two older sisters and a butt load of friends but yet she announces that she did have an imaginary friend named Hermie. She became "friends" with Hermie in middle school. Thats not bad, the fact that her friend Morgan was "friends" with Hermie first and Cookie asked if she could be "friends" with him too had me laughing so hard at her. I think I made her feel bad, I guess I wasn't suppose to laugh at this story. So to make her feel better, I offered my own "this is how sad my childhood was" story. I told her about how my brother was older than me and I did not have that many friends in my neighborhood ( I lived in Sunset Acres back when it turned to a bad place). I would have secrets that I could not share with anyone since no friends were around. I skipped having an imaginary friend and did something very strange. My bedroom was filled with movie posters and sports posters (Tom Glavin & John Smoltz "Gone With the Wind" poster which they were both on the mound and dressing like cowboys.) When I had secrets or needed to just talk I would turn to. . .


That is correct, I shared my secrets with a "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" movie poster. Funny thing is (if you read the Club BLVD story) I more ashamed of this than doing what I did in the Club BLVD story. The good thing is Roger still holds our conversations and no one knows where he is at the moment, not even I. Knowing him, he probably has a blog in which he is releasing all my secrets and daily stories onto the internet. Roger Rabbit, I don't trust him anymore.