I’d been on the road a little over a year when I first met Gino. One night as my shift ended, I drove into town, stopped at my motel room, showered, changed and headed to the Red Rose Diner for dinner. The place was nearly empty when I arrived, the dinner rush in this small, farming town had long since come and gone. I walked to the end of the counter and sat down a few stools away from a stranger sipping on a cup of coffee.
    As I sat studying the menu I couldn’t help noticing the man sitting at the counter with me. His clothes were ragged, his shaggy hair was dirty and unwashed and he was smoking a roll-your-own cigarette. He held his coffee cup with two hands as if it were the last sip of coffee he’d ever experience. I figured he was a homeless drifter with no particular place to go. The waitress approached and I ordered a hot beef sandwich and a cup of coffee. She thanked me and walked down the counter. She stopped in front of the stranger and asked him if he wanted to order. He hesitated for a moment before answering. “No ma’am, just coffee’s fine.”
    I had a hunch he hadn’t eaten a meal in at least a day or two. If I offered to buy his dinner and he had money to buy his own, he’d feel insulted. If I didn’t offer to buy his dinner and he didn’t have any money, he’d leave hungrier than he was before. I was unsure what to do. I swallowed the last of my coffee, walked to the cash register, handed the waitress a twenty dollar bill and told her to keep the change, but to promise me she’d buy the stranger at the counter something to eat. Then I handed her another ten dollars. “This’s for you. I appreciate the favor.”
    I still remember her expression of surprise. Before she could answer I walked out the door and didn’t look back. A few weeks later, driving north out of town, I was surprised to see that same stranger standing along the road thumbing a ride. I pulled over and he climbed into the cab of my truck. He peered at me for a few minutes without saying anything. I offered him a cigarette, he took it and fished in his pocket for a match. Finally he spoke. “Ain’t you the fella I saw at the Red Rose Diner a while back?”
    I nodded. “Yup. I eat most my dinners there.”
    “You bought my dinner there. I remember. I didn’t have a chance to thank you. So thank you sir. I really do appreciate it.”
    I smiled slightly. “You can call me Jim, Lonnie, James, Loren or James Loren, but don’t call me sir! It makes me nervous and I just hate bein’ nervous.”
    “My name’s Gino. I’m damn pleased to meet ya James Loren.” We talked as the miles passed. Gino was headed north with no particular destination in mind. He didn’t say much about himself, other than that he was looking for work and it was hard for him to find. I explained to him that I had a friend in the town I was headed to that owned a cattle ranch and there might be some work there. He thanked me repeatedly and I cautioned him it was no sure thing, but that I’d be glad to hook him up with the owner. When we got to our destination, I gave my friend a call and explained Gino’s situation. The timing was right. Grant was looking for some help and was willing to hire Gino. We met at a local diner, had dinner and I watched as Grant and Gino drove away.
    I didn’t see Gino again. He was out on the ranch working and I was working on a machinery installation at a food processing plant in town. The project finished and as we always did, the crew and I stopped at the first bar we found and celebrated the job’s completion. During the evening I met a woman and fell in lust. We left the bar and went to my motel room. I don’t remember much about what happened next, but I do remember waking up the next morning to a note scribbled across the bathroom mirror. My late-night lover had taken all my money and left. She left the change in my pocket, but my wallet was EMPTY. I cursed myself for being such an easy mark and drove to the diner, trying to decide what to do next. There was just enough change in my pocket to cover the cost of a phone call and a cup of coffee. I was famished. Starving. But I had no money. I walked into the diner and sat nursing a cup of coffee, deciding how to call my boss and get an advance on my per diem pay, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Gino standing behind me. he sat down and we talked for a few minutes. Then he smiled and handed me a twenty dollar bill. “I never forgot what you did for me,” he explained. “Now that I’m working steady I just wanted to repay my debt.”

May your journey into a new week be filled with quiet wonder, much happiness and safe passage.

    Those who've followed my blog for a time soon discover my fascination with what I refer to as magic.....or....magick, if you prefer a more precise spelling. When I was a nipper I was fascinated by the illusions the magician could create before my eyes. The logical segment of my brain would set to work analyzing precisely how the process took place, yet the spiritual segment was more interested in exploring that sixth sense that I was becoming increasingly aware existed. Unlike speech or touch or taste this sense was far more elusive and esoteric.
    It was about this same time in my life that I began to realize there were magicians of another kind in my world. These magicians seemed able to share insight, wisdom and perception that defied any logical explanation I could provide. It was what the old ones referred to as spirit guides. Some would call them angels. And others would use a reference more comfortable to their beliefs.
    Over the years I've grown to appreciate the sign posts scattered along the dusty shoulder on life's highway. And I am no longer frightened by the sudden appearance of entities I unexpectedly encounter. They are spirit guides navigating a dimension different than mine, yet much the same.
    My way of explaining it all is to use the wonderful metaphor you all recognize as the Hitchcock Railway. It is on those magical, mystical rides deep inside myself that I feel the true convergence of my senses. Touch and sight and scent and sound and speech all blend in shapes and forms and textures that illuminate the darkness that sometimes settles over me like a moonless night.
    It is during times like these when I'm eternally thankful for the sanctuary; a magical place in another dimension and time, a simple and rustic structure remaining hidden away in long-ago history of a place called Boiler Bay.
    Is it real? Is the Hitchcock Railway real? Perhaps.....perhaps not. It is, as Ramsey Lewis once explored with his music...."Real Compared To What?"

Mrs. Morgan: Are you going to shower with me?

Captain Morgan: Okay.

Mrs. Morgan: Why are you standing in the shower with your clothes on?

Captain Morgan: It's my new high-efficiency mode.

Mrs. Morgan: High efficiency?

Captain Morgan: Yup. I'll wash my clothes while I shower.

Mrs. Morgan: I thought that's what the washing machine was for.

Captain Morgan: This'll be more efficient. And we'll save on the utility bills. Cool, huh?

Mrs. Morgan: Listen. You don't climb in the washer to get clean and clothes don't go in the shower to be washed.

Captain Morgan: Awww, hon. Where's your sense of adventure?

Mrs. Morgan: Take your clothes off and I'll show you an adventure!

Captain Morgan: Oh goody!

Mrs. Morgan: Where did you go?

Captain Morgan: To the laundry room. You told me to take my clothes off.

Mrs. Morgan: H'mmm. Where are your clothes?

Captain Morgan: In the washer, silly. Isn't that where you wanted them?

Mrs. Morgan: You put everything in together, didn't you?

Captain Morgan: Yes.

Mrs. Morgan: White clothes with the colored clothes?

Captain Morgan: Well, yes. I figured it'd be more efficient to wash everything in one load.

Mrs. Morgan: You're hopeless. And why are you so fixated on efficiency all of a sudden?

Captain Morgan: I've been thinking about it for awhile, now.

Mrs. Morgan: Oh really? And why are you peeing in the shower?? Oh, don't say it. Not more efficiency!! I hate it when you do that. What's next. You gonna shit in the sink?

Captain Morgan: H'mmm.

Mrs. Morgan: Don't even THINK about it!

Captain Morgan: (wagging penis wildly) Isn't this amazing?

Mrs. Morgan: (grinning wickedly) Now quit dawdling and finish your shower. I'd rather make love in bed than in the shower. Remember last time we tried that?

Captain Morgan: I do! That was sort've disastrous, but it was fun.

Mrs. Morgan: Easy for you to say. You landed on top of me and almost broke my ribs.

Captain Morgan: Well, you did recover quickly.

Mrs. Morgan: So you thought. But yes, you do have some pretty incredible healing techniques.

Captain Morgan:(beaming proudly) It's my magic wand! I am invincible!

Mrs. Morgan: I'm gonna show you invincible if you don't come out of the shower.

Should you ever find yourself on board the Hitchcock Railway here are some of those with whom you just might become acquainted.