The Most Olympia Moment
Sitting in Caffe Vita on a Sunday afternoon, these are the things I see:
Two young men in black suits, looking ridiculously serious, cross the street and storm into the cafe. They cross the room in measured, authoritative, steps. One of them slams a black briefcase down on a table where a hipster-looking student type sits unperturbed. He, the tall one, reaches into the briefcase and grabs a roll of ducktape. Oh crap, I laugh. He rips off a piece of tape and smacks it over the kid's the mouth. What the hell, I laugh harder.
I'm not worried--I see one of these black suits, the short one, on the bus all the time; I'm pretty sure he works at Evergreen. They leave just as surely as they came in, amid muffled laughter and DID YOU SEE THATs. One of the baristas asks the kid if he's okay, if he wants her to call the police. He keeps his head down, shakes out an ambiguous "no". I laugh again, look out the window. I see a rockabilly couple crossing the street: skinny pale dude with a pompadour escorting a plump vixen decked out in a black skirt and heels, wearing lots of blush, laughing. She knows she looks good.
Meanwhile the couple next to me (are they a couple, I wonder, or is she his personal trainer?) carry on their conversation about pumping iron. She is the dominant voice here, outlining the best way to get cut, as opposed to buff. He looks terrified. Maybe they're a couple, I consider, but if they are, he's trying to escape...
This is great, I laugh once more. I catch a glimpse of "low-rider bike guy" cruising around outside, headphones on as usual. He's got tattoos on his arms, on his face. Wears a backward cap. He rides about six different versions of the same bicycle, frame kissing the ground, arms stretched toward the handles above his head.
I love it. I see him all the time.
Comments
I've only been to Olympia maybe 5 times so far, but I know both lowrider bike guy and the Vita.
Posted by: amelia | February 7, 2008 01:52 PM
I read this yesterday and thought it had the air of a few of my classmates. Sure enough, I saw one of the suspected parties today and interrogated... it was indeed. They are a peer group focused on seemingly random performance art.
It's cool that I've found your blog.
Posted by: Otis Sherman | February 26, 2008 01:13 AM