365 Days of Tommy P: Day 315

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 (315)

On my orientation day when I was a freshman at UIC we played an ice –breaker to get to know each other. I don’t remember what the game was called how it really went. But, some one would say something and if that applied to anyone that person / those people would have to stand in the center of the circle. At one point then subject was “I’m going commando right now.” One girl stepped forward and stood in the center of the circle. She smiled a little bashfully. Everyone started looking around confused and asking what “going commando” meant. She was my first friend I made.

365 Days of Tommy P: Day 314

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 (314)

On the Saturday of C.C.’s birthday weekend, Timmy C and I were in a cell phone store, because he yet again needed a new phone. We had a car full of hung-over/still drunk rowdies waiting for us in the parking lot. At one point, a sales associate approached me and said, “Excuse me sir, I believe there is a call for you.” “What.” I responded, not so much a question. “Are you Tom?” “No.” “Oh, well, the person on the phone said that she was looking for a young man in a green t-shirt and torn jean-shorts, responding to the name Tom.” “Oh . . . I’ll take the call.” “What is your name?” “Tom.” “Here, it’s your mother.” I took the phone and turned to look out the windows to the parking lot. “Hello?” All I could hear was the loud distortion of four drunken assholes laughing as I saw them in the car losing it.

Timmy C broke his new phone less than 12 hours later that night at C.C.’s party.

365 Days of Tommy P: Day 85

Thursday, March 26, 2009 (85)

Valentine’s Night 2008 I was walking home in the rain down the avenue. I came across a single long-stem red rose laying down the sidewalk. It was sad, beautiful, and iconic. I took it and have had it ever since. I have an obsession and a fascination with what I believe to be iconic imagery.

365 Days of Tommy P: Day 48

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 (48)

When I was an underclassman in high school, my friend Jorge and I found ourselves hanging out with a upperclassman/lesbian/punk from a rival high school. For some reason she took to me and decided to make me her project. The three of us went down to Clark and Belmont for an afternoon. Our first stop was The Alley. I had never been there before, and my reaction was as that of a child entering Disney World for the first time. I was looking around at all of the shirts hanging on the walls, all of the jewelry in cases, and the odd looking people who worked there. She started pulling off of the racks for me to look at and try on. Eventually we came to an agreement on a jacket that I only purchased because it was fifty percent off (everything there was rather expensive). The garment was a black velvet-like felt fabric, and on the left side displayed a flaming skull that had a metal spear through its jaw.

From there we went to a used record store around the corner. She perused the punk collection and pulled out Anti-Flag’s “Die For The Government,” (I don’t think she spent too long browsing given that it was an “A” selection). After that we went to a shop that is no longer standing, (it was torn down as part of the Brown Line expansion project, (along with the original Bottom Lounge, which is appropriate the scene died in 2004)). She picked out a bottle of blue Manic Panic hair dye for me. At the check out counter the cashier looked at the hair dye, then looked me up and down. It was after a school day and I was still dressed in my dress code clothes from school consisting of khaki pants and a collared button-down shirt. The cashier then asked, “Do you listen to Blink-182?”

I haven’t worn the coat in years. I have five Anti-Flag albums on my iPod. The hair dye remains unopened in my bathroom (even after four moves). And Blink-182 has just reunited . . .

365 Days of Tommy P: Day 37

Friday, February 6, 2009 (37)

A number of years back, it’s hard to tell these days when exactly, when I was the sex symbol and bass player for my band No Fate, I was stopped at a red light on my way to band practice in Chicago. It was a warm and sunny summer afternoon as I waited in my dark blue Honda Accord for the traffic light to turn green. I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw two young ladies dancing to music in their seats. I slid on my shades on the new Reforma demo I got outside of the Metro the previous evening. Movement in my rear view mirror caught my attention and I looked into at the girls again. They had just put on sunglasses as well and were still dancing. The light turned green and the warm summer breeze surrounded me as I drove down the boulevard with the windows down and the sunroof open. At the next stoplight they were still behind, this time smiling and waving. I waved back to them and they turned to each other and laughed. I shifted my car into park and got out leaving the door open behind me. I approached the open window on the driver’s side of the girls’ car. They looked at each other again and did more of what looked like a giggle than a laugh.

“Would you girls like a free CD?” I asked with a smile as I removed a No Fate demo from my pocket.

“Thank you.” The driver said with a grin as she took the CD from me.

“Would you like a free cookie?” The passenger asked me, holding a tin of homemade cookies, as she leaned over her friend with a wide white smile.

“Thank you,” I said as I smiled to both girls and returned to my car before the light turned green.

A few minutes later something struck my rear windshield. It was a cookie. I saw in my mirror that the girls were laughing again. I turned down stereo and heard that they were blasting the CD that I had just given them. I raised my hand up through my sunroof and the passenger made a second throw. This time the cookie she had thrown found its way to my hand.