The Ballad of Jimmy Dinge
"Most stories start with a beginnin'." Jimmy took a drag and finished his smoke. "But I hated my childhood... so let's not start there."
"Where would you like to start? This is your cover, Jim. I just put the words to the damned page."
"Spoken like a true poet." Jimmy poured a fresh one in his glass, dropped it down his gullet and set up a triple to nurse for the rest of the interview.
"Ready when you are." Samuel turned on the dictaphone, took off his pen cap, and waited.
"I could say it started with a good song, but it really started with itchy feet. I knew I wasn't born to stay in one place, but for 16 years I worked my old man's gig... I was a grease monkey. I must've turned a 100 skips from failure to fly in my short time... but this ain't a story about turnin' wrenches and personally, I'd like to leave my old man out of this."
He uncapped a canteen and cut his poison with water, took a sip and then did it again to get the right mix.
"I never played until I started barterin'. It was hard for me to get work in the shops, on account of me bein' underage; so I took to the barter ads in the local bars. Some days I'd sleep upright against the smoke machines until somebody'd put up somethin' good. Sometimes I'd run into the restroom when I'd see people comin'...then I'd walk out, drying my hands like I'd just taken a leak and I'd bum a smoke while they posted."
Jimmy lit up.
"Truth is: I didn't smoke back then. Couldn't even tell you when I started. I just asked for the damned things so I had some kinda currency. One'd get me a pop, two'd get me a snack, and anything over five'd score me some suds... but the truth is I bartered the beer too.
I used to keep a hold of all the bottle caps I'd found and then recap the suds when theys wasn't lookin'. Everytime I had a six pack or more, I ate like a king and any time I wasn't hungry they got me into the picture show or scored me an exchange.
By the time I was 22, I had it all figured out. Or at least I thought..."
He cleared his throat and took a deep swig. He then poured the rest of his water in the glass to make his good time last.
"I didn't even know what a Theremin was until I got it in trade. To be honest, I really didn't care for it at first... I spent so much time tryin' to convince myself that I was a fiddler or guitarist, but when I finally gave in and cranked that sucker on... it was kismet...
But that's enough for now... I got a curtain in 5.
We'll talk after."
