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PORTLAND 1980: HOW TO SETTLE IN A NEW TOWN

 

portland 1980

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One song stuck with me on the bus ride from NYC to Portland 1980: The second verse of Lodi, by Creedence Clearwater:

 

I rode in on the Greyhound
I’ll be walkin’ out if I go
I was just passin’ through
Must be seven seven months or more
Ran out of time and money
Looks like they took my friends
Oh Lord, I’m stuck in Lodi again
Yes, a bus ride from from east coast to west coast, a three day bus ride. By the time I showed up in Portland 1980 I was riding a Trailways bus, switching from Greyhound in Utah.

If you’ve never ridden a bus with strangers for three days, you’re in luck here. Three days creates a community of sharing, though no one enjoyed sharing the smell once the guy two rows away took off his shoes.

 

One young woman hauled out her guitar and we all did a sing along. Strangers all became friends in song. If you’ve ever been embarrassed about your singing voice, take a long bus ride and sing to strangers you’ll never see again. They won’t mind, and if they do, they’ll complain to other strangers who don’t care.

 

Good voice or bad, let ‘er rip.

 

If you don’t know words to the song being sung, hum along as a back-up singer, like a Pip for Gladys Knight. If she had played Tiny Dancer we could have been Almost Famous.

 

Instead, I was traveling on more of a breakeven deal, where you learn nothing breaks even, especially a heart.

 

They say bad things happen for a reason
But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding
‘Cause she’s moved on while I’m still grieving
And when a heart breaks no it don’t break even

 

It took three days on the road to figure out why the women I knew always moved on. Could it be my voice? My hair? My face? Or could it be bird dogging sons of bitches stepping into my relationships and scooping up on my girls?

 

It was a reoccurring theme on both coasts. By the time I got off the bus I knew what I had to do in Portland 1980: Find my own dance partner and hold her close.

 

She doesn’t have to be tiny.

 

portland 1980

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About David Gillaspie

I am a writer. This is my blog story day by day.

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  1. […] After walking around Manhattan and finding the perfect neighborhood, I wanted to find that neighborhood in Portland. When I did it started Portland fever. […]