ARCASHA

H E G



Paul Simon

December 16, 2001 - 15:44

We were in a restaurant yesterday, Luvofmylife and I, in the touristy part of town. We were just there for breakfast. Near the end of the meal, I found a hair under the last piece of lettuce. When the waiter came around, I pointed out said hair and stated �you might want to take note of that�, being just a bit pissed about it.

While I was in the can, said waiter (Manuel from �Faulty Towers� me thinks) told Luvofmylife that it was likely my hair. I came out of the can and Luvofmylife recanted this to me and I got even more pissed. However, Luvofmylife convinced me not to say anything (being good Canadians that we are) and just never go back there.

I really think we should have at least told the owner since she was present and we frequent that little dump quite often...but...what do I know.

Anyway, that�s not where I was going with that story. Maddy got something happening with her reminiscences of Simon and Garfunkel the other day and it just seemed worth writing about.

The restaurant was playing Simon and (sometimes) Garfunkel tunes on their sound system - but mostly Paul Simon tunes. When the player got to �Loves me Like a Rock�, a huge torrent of memories came back to me. I think it might have been from Simon�s first solo album but I�m not sure.

It was 1973. I was just starting college in a new city and the big hit tune on the radio at the time was �Loves me Like a Rock�.

It was my first time living away from home. I had been away from my parents for long stretches of time but I still had home as my base. Now I was on my own. I was moving into a room and board type of situation in the downtown area.

The landlady was in her late fifties, a bit of a shut-in, and way too talkative for me. I was renting that place because my father thought it was just right. In other words, it was cheap. Actually, the landlady was just lonely and she was renting the room for next to nothing because she wanted company.

I was the wrong guy for that. I don�t know if there�s such a thing as a young male with the sensitivity to be an old lady�s companion. Come to think of it, I doubt that I could do it to this day.

Well, I was out of there within the month and the little old lady got a nice young girl to keep her company.

When I heard that tune in that hairy little restaurant, though, I had a vision of that lady�s back yard with the autumn leaves turning to the rich colours that you get at that time of the year - red, yellow, brown. She had three huge maple trees back there. The black squirrels were stuffing their little ratty faces with nuts.

And Paul Simon was singing �Loves me Like a Rock� on the radio. That song had an almost creamy sounding black quartet singing the chorus. It was the kind of tune that stayed with you for days. The kind that you couldn�t get out of your head even if you wanted to. I loved that song.

And I was starting a new life to the sound of Paul Simon.

Arc

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