Well, It Happened. The Captain Is Drinking Again.

"Fucking, shitting, and dying is all there is you know?
That's what really binds all our sad souls together in this big mess of life.
See that person over there?
They don't know what the hell they're running towards to or from or even WHY?
Not that one,
or that one over there.
If they say otherwise, it's all just one,
god damn lie,
and a God-Damn SHAM."

An old drunken friend (Andrew) walked into where i was drinking at 7:38 P.M.
and started up all this conversation about (after a three year abscence)
'the end of it ALL'.
 
And about how nothing really mattered.
Not money,
not bills,
not cars,
not whores,
not ladies,
not drinking,
cigarettes,
kindness,
abuse,
god,
the devil,
this religion,
or that religion,
not the cat on the window sill,
the death of a family or friend,
rape,
murder,
sex,
birth,
abortions,
this president or the next,
that country or another one,
communism,
democracy,
voting,
choices,
music,
sculpting,
painting,
writing,
art as a whole,
mt writing,
my silly little poems,
short stories,
prose,
my books,
not HIM,
not ME,
and certainly not YOU either.
 
But I had offered him a beer and a cigarette,
and he was more than willing to accept both.
So I knew he was bullshitting about, AT LEAST,
two of the things he said didn't matter.......
 
"Damn straight."
He took a good long drink from his beer.
"Everyone thinks there's this big thing at the end of it all,
and there isn't. There ain't no pearly gates,
or some sort of ascension.
AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT DAMN REINCARNATION B.S.!
I'd become a scientologist before I bought into that kinda shit!"
 
"By 'buy'. you mean that quite literally don't you?"
 
"HAHAHAHA! Harold, man, you still got it!
But you do bring up a good ol' point....
I guess i wouldn't go THAT far.
I may be no intellect. But I ain't no Dumb-ass!"
 
I had to smile at this snide comment,
only due to that the feelings...well...weren't NOT mutual.
 
"WELL, what the hell is it all about then?" I said
(as more of a statement then a question)
I followed that with "another beer?"
"Well, WAIT, first and foremost, YES, but also,
do you have any whiskey?"
I gave him a nod.
"Well bring it to the G-D table!"
and I did.
 
We both took long enough pulls
and he coughed and "WHEEEEEE-WHOOOOOED" like no other at the taste of sweet Kentucky bourbon.
After he settled down,
he grabbed my pack of cigarettes and lit one up.I knew he was trying to come up with a good answer for me and I had no where to be,
so I took another slug from the bottle.
His cigarette burned about half ways down, unashed, when he looked up,
grabbed the bottle, took a good hit,
and then teary eyed he replied
 
"Harold man, it's just about getting through it all."
 
I laughed, grabbed the bottle out of his hand, tipped it back,
and lit up myself a cigarette.
 
I thought,
'That's one of the better answers i've heard....'