House Keys

Keri has been back from LA for two months. She grew up in Milwaukee and had been there 'five winters’, as she put it. She works as a hairdresser and had no problem getting back into the place she’d worked for sixteen years before she left.

We were about to pull up to her place and she realized she’d forgotten her keys in the car. No wonder. She had been waiting because her service was going to be quick enough she could wait - right up until it wasn’t. Better to wait at home. She really wanted this to be her fault and I had to tell three stories about other people forgetting their keys and having to make the extra trip before she could let it go.

"It’s okay. People forget their keys all the time."

I asked her about the west coast water shortage. She said that the folks in LA were in denial. What shortage? Yes, there are ever-increasing fines but the effect is a long way from altering common behaviors. The way people water their lawns is criminal even without a shortage. Stupid wasteful.

While still in LA she rescued a Jack Russell Papillion mutt-puppy that seems to be putting on winter weight here in Milwaukee. He used to get melancholy when it rained and she was concerned that he might not do well here. She says her blood is thickening and she’s put on a couple pounds as well. 

“It doesn’t take long to forget a Wisconsin winter after you’ve moved to warmer climate.” she said.

We talked about hairdressers, bartenders, customers, stories, and psychiatry. She said she runs into quite a few that go over the line into inappropriate sharing. It has happened enough that she knows she will not be seeing this person again. They have shared way too much and they both know it. That does not happen to me in the shuttle.

Otherwise, yes, by the end of the day she, too, has had it up to here with superficial chat about the weather.

I met Daniel Z of natrecstudio.com, a musician that runs a recording studio. We talked about business, general creativity and passion more than music or the music business. He’s worked in NY, LA, Japan for six years before coming back home to set up shop. He’s glad he can make a living doing what he loves.

He’s got tons of vintage gear, current Mac software and would much rather have musicians do their own performance magic rather than him patching it up with digital effects just because he can. 

“Yes, I can fix the pitch of that note,” he says, “but it's not authentic and it so often takes time that doesn’t get billed out." 

I was glad to be able to run out and grab him again after his car was done. When I pulled up at his storefront on National Avenue he was sweeping the sidewalk while waiting for me. Good local citizen.

He had also forgotten his house keys this morning. However, he remembered before I even put it in gear.