Charlie and the King of Emerald Park

Charlie would come see me
Every Thursday
Two pm

It was a regular occurence

Sometimes we'd talk Shakespeare
Because he was auditioning for 'The Tempest' in school
And he wanted Caliban

I said--Why do you want Caliban?
He's ugly
And he doesn't say much

And Charlie said--

I like his speech about dreams

I reminded him that it's not a speech
It's a soliloquy
And then I poured us both a beer

I believe I may have been the first person
To give that kid a drink
And considering what he became
Later in life
I guess I should feel bad about that

Sometimes alcoholics can be like vampires
We like creating more of our own
So we won't be so damn lonely

The first day I met Charlie
He was rolling some busted tires
Out from under my trailer
So I went and got my shotgun

It doesn't fire anything
Except a little flag that says--Kapow!
But most people don't wait around long enough
To figure that out

Charlie was the first person
To see the shotgun
And ask what the flag on the inside said

That's how I knew we were going to be pals

Emerald Park is similar to Greenland
In that the name is nice
But the place itself
Is shittier than a pigpen on Cinco de Mayo

I started living there after my wife threw me out
For refusing to talk to her anymore

I thought that was kinda unfair

I was perfectly content to live with the woman
So long as we didn't have to hear
What was on each other's minds

She wasn't keen on the idea
So I bought a trailer in Emerald Park
And got ready to live out the rest of my days
Drunk, stoned, and satisfied

Then Charlie came around
Stealing tires

He said he needed them for an art project

--This is during his art phase--

And I asked what sort of project was he making
With busted tires?

Was he attempting a pop culture commentary circa Andy Warhol
Or was he going to carve Jesus into the tire
And say something about religion
Being a bunch of hot air
That supports a gas-guzzling society?

He looked at me funny and said--Uh, I kinda just wanted to do something about tire swings

That's when I took him under my wing

I got him through the art phase okay
And then the debate club phase
And then the drama club phase
And that's when we did most of our talking
About Shakespeare

Charlie always liked Henry IV
But only Part One

When I'd ask him why he'd say--

'I don't like when he's mean to Falstaff.'

I'd explain to him that Falstaff was a symbol
Of foolish youth and reckless behavior
But Charlie would just say--

'I don't care.  I like Falstaff.  He was there from the beginning.  You don't do that to a friend who's there from the beginning.'

If there was one thing Charlie couldn't tolerate
It was somebody without a sense of loyalty

When Charlie left home for L.A.
I remember sending him off
With a notebook and some nice pens
I ordered off the television

I told him that there was a writer in there somewhere
And he needed to let him out
But I don't think he believed me

When he came back home
I could tell something about him had changed

Living in California does that to people

Too much sun
Is like too much salt
Makes you gobble up bullshit like it's baby food
'Cause you can't taste what it really is

Charlie showed up at my trailer
And I had two beers open
Before he stepped out of the car
But when he did all he said--

'Still at it, huh?'

--And I could tell by the tone in his voice
That there wasn't any admiration left in there

He had sunglasses on
And nice shoes
And his car was grey

A grey car, can you imagine?

Who in fucks' sake would want to drive a grey car?

He wouldn't even take the sunglasses off
While he was looking at me

Just shook his head
And crosses his arms

I just looked at him and said--

'I know thee not, old man'

And he got right back in his car
And took off

Believe it or not, I lived to a halfway-decent age
And by the time I was sixty
They were calling me 'The King of Emerald Park'

Still, I'd been dead for awhile
When I heard about Charlie dying, and...

It's hard to know who to mourn for, you know?

A person ends up being so many different people
By the time they die
That it's unfair to expect you're going to like all of them

I wasn't upset
The day Charlie drove away from me
And my trailer

I wasn't going to miss that guy

But did I miss the kid who stole my tires?

Every day

Every goddamned day