The Bouncer King

INT.  BOUNCER KING BACK OFFICE - EVENING

A slightly disheveled young man sits at a DESK in a small and cluttered BACK OFFICE. He mindlessly clicks around on an ancient DESKTOP COMPUTER. The PHONE on his desk rings. He quickly grabs the handset and rests it between his ear and shoulder without taking his eyes off the computer screen.

OFFICE EMPLOYEE

Bouncer King, this is Brian

INT.  BIKER BAR - SAME TIME

A bar manager stands behind a busy COUNTER in a dark and crowded BAR with the house PHONE pressed tightly to one ear, his finger stuck firmly in the other. There is a ROCK BAND beginning to warm up on STAGE, and a few dozen intimidating men with LONG BEARDS, SUNGLASSES, and BIKER GEAR are milling around between the bar and stage.

BAR MANAGER

Hey, yeah, hey, I need to get a couple bouncers down to Paddy’s on 4^th for an event tonight.

INT.  BOUNCER KING BACK OFFICE - SAME TIME

The office employee grabs a PEN and PAD, still keeping his eyes glued to his computer.

OFFICE EMPLOYEE

                                     OK, great, have you used our services before?

INT.  BIKER BAR - SAME TIME

The manager almost has to shout over the din of the band warming up. Stage hands in BLACK T-SHIRTS run cables past him as he tries, unsuccessfully, to get out of the way.

INTERCUT – PHONE CONVERSATION

BAR MANAGER

Nope, it’s just that neither of our bouncers are working tonight.

OFFICE EMPLOYEE

                                    Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I can just send a tech over, if you want.

BAR MANAGER

(Sidelong glance at the stage hands) No, we’re good there. We just need a couple bouncers. One for each entrance, I think.

OFFICE EMPLOYEE

The employee has turned his attention from his screen to his pad of paper. His brow is furrowed, and one hand props up his forehead as he tries to wrap his mind around the situation.

OK. And you said Paddy’s over on 4^th? Like Paddy’s the bar? What kind of event are you talking about?

BAR MANAGER

(Becoming slightly annoyed) It’s just a music event. Will that be a problem?

OFFICE EMPLOYEE

No…No I don’t think so. But you’ll need to use our "Tuff Bouncers", which are an extra $150 each for the night.

BAR MANAGER

A BOTTLE flies past his face and smashes on the wall behind him.

                                    OK, fine, whatever. I need them quick. How long will they take to get here?

OFFICE EMPLOYEE

                                    (Still has a confused look on his face) I can have them there and working in an hour.

BAR MANAGER

                                     Brilliant. See you guys soon.

EXT.  BIKER BAR - TWILIGHT

Thumping rock music can be heard in the background. A line of bikers has formed outside the bar, but it appears to have started inside, rather than out. Stoic faces and dark sunglasses mask emotion of any kind. The line leads up to one of two over-sized BOUNCY CASTLES, each have two bikers bouncing vigorously around inside, entirely emotionless, still with sunglasses on.

Adventures (?) in Unemployment: Day 2

Dollars and Sentiments

Happy Monday. There is an older man across the street from this coffee shop who is digging aluminum cans out of a garbage dumpster. He wears a backpack and some gardening gloves. He fishes his wares from deep within the dumpster by putting a stick in the mouths of the cans, lifting his prizes out quickly and easily. They’re probably worth 5c a piece, and it looks like he’s found about 20 so far. Interestingly, there is a recycling bin next to the garbage dumpster which he largely ignores. While it may be worthwhile to point out that he is in fact working, while I am not, this is not why I bring him up. Rather, what caught my attention is how he wears his backpack: He’s going one-strap style, but instead of left strap over left shoulder (standard playground rules); he slings the left strap over his right shoulder, effectively turning the backpack into a messenger bag. Again, I mention this because I have worn a backpack nearly every day since I was about 3, and it has never once occurred to me to do that. What else have I been missing?

Dollars seem to have a polarization effect around certain aspects in a relationship; let me fumble through this explain: Imagine for a moment you are standing on a pier on a sunny day, looking for fish in a lake. Put on polarized sunglasses, and all of a sudden you can see right to the bottom and know exactly where all the fish are. The same seems to be true when including money in the equation of a relationship: formerly obfuscated elements suddenly become highlighted. Now to be clear, I’m not suggesting that adding money eliminates problems, or vice-versa, but to recognize early on a shift in focus of relationship elements brought about with a change in dollars would not be a bad thing.

I bring this up in part to acknowledge the unfailing support I’ve received from friends and family during this first phase of change. I’m getting married in a month, which is more than enough reason to become stressed by the dismantlement of the framework of my livelihood, but all y’all little fishies have kept me from even thinking I could drown. So thanks a lot.

Though if I’m honest, this experience has brought to into sharp relief the role of a (soon-to-be) husband as “provider”, and what it means to have lost functionality in that regard. Deep-rooted self doubts asking “what am I good for”, however quickly squelched by the lovely lady friend, bubble up now and again. To work, in the abstract, lends a sense of purpose to the station of an individual; the satisfaction of contribution as one half of a couple; and the strength found in membership of a team. Taken together, the opportunity to feel devastation at the loss of these components is, in my mind, justified.

Not in Nura’s though. Good lord not even for a moment. Trying to use “but I just got fired” as reason to eat extra cookies, or play games on the phone, or even sleep in on Sundays will get you slapped across the face. FYI.