In the dream I re-entered the house where all the activity was for the tour and didn’t see anyone when suddenly a 250 lb tiger approached me. At first I thought it was a joke, two people inside a huge animal costume until it jumped in the air and the thud of its weight and the way it’s eyes seemed to be breathing I realized it was real and unamused. Unlikely I can spar with a killing expert plus when I was eleven I never finished my Judo training with Tug Wilson. I whispered Grant’s name a little urgently.
He was in the next room on the phone confirming a show for Jerry Jerry at the opera house in Ashcroft, British Columbia. The place that was run by a charming guy named Martin who in a previous life was with the Hare Krishnas in Los Angeles trying to turn people on who he approached in airports. I played there the year before and stayed up a long while fascinated by Martin’s life stories. BC always the centre of magical touring. No surprise there was a tiger in my booking agent’s kitchen. A few years earlier the first time we played the Sunshine Coast, when we disembarked from the ferry we encountered large handwritten signs put up on telephone poles by Jamie, the promoter. These signs were brief encouragements every 3 or 4 kilometres “Welcome Bob”, “This way Bob”, “Almost there, Bob”.
Grant entered oblivious about the tiger. Wanted to know if I would play Victoria. I pointed at the tiger and he looked annoyed at me.
“Are you going to play Steamers or what?” I changed the subject.
“What do you think of comments?” He rolled his eyes like it didn’t mean anything. “But they missed the point”. He paused a long time and then smiled,
“About being jaded and the subway?”
“Yes” I said.
“Ok look, I don’t like trying to explain this because most people can’t follow it plus you’re not even paying me for this information but here’s the thing – people are like machines on auto pilot and if you try to change them you’re just like them. To get angry or upset when someone is jumping up and down angry and upset with you, that’s pointless. They just want to hear their own voice bragging about what kind of guy they are. As if it was something other than a mechanical experience – so don’t be the same, now where’s the tiger?” I looked around didn’t see it.
“How did you do that? Where is it?”
“We’re good for Steamers?”
“Yes sure but where’s the tiger?”
“I dunno it was your tiger not mine.”