PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

The Dead in Pittsburgh was an intense experience for a 19 year old getting old to see the world.  I ended up booking a room at a cheap hotel in a seedy part of town.  I was sent over there after learning the “Y” was all booked for available rooms.

This was the kind of place where you got the key to the room at the desk each time you went up to the room.  The was a bathroom at the end of the hall.  They had an adjoining bar which featured strippers.

After the Dead show was over, several DeadHeads found their way into the bar.  No one bothered to card me so I just ordered a beer and a shot.  I was coming down from an acid trip and I was not ready to head upstairs to my room for sleep.  

One of the strippers made a clear attempt to curry favor from the DeadHeads by playing “White Rabbit” and “Sugar Magnolia.” 

She was cute but oddly, (especially since I was only 19 at the time) as she was removing articles of clothing I was imagining her in full tie dyed regalia twirling in the concourse at the Dead show.  Maybe she wanted to go but couldn’t get off work.  I pounded a shot of Jacquin’s Blackberry Brandy.  She was smiling in the direction of us DeadHeads.

They also had a featured dancer to put all the other strippers in their place.  She had it all going on in a plastic fantastic sort of way.  She was a bit too aloof for my tastes.  A lot of the other drunks in the room didn’t seem to mind.  I noticed the hippie inclined stripper was talking with one of the DeadHeads.  He bought her a drink and they seemed quite cozy.

The place was seedy.  I was thinking back to the desk clerks at the “Y”.  One of them joked that I might lose my cherry over at the Edison Hotel.  A quick glance around the room and I determined that I damn sure wasn't going to find one.

After a few beers, I got bored and decided to go up to the room.  I had to get up fairly early to catch an Amtrak train.  I said goodnight to the hippie stripper and the DeadHead guy she was talking with.  They were now kissing.  The featured stripper was now fully clothed and heading out the door.

I took a lonely walk up the creaking stairs.  I utilized the bathroom before going to my room.  I quickly locked the door and turned on the black and white TV with poor reception.  I had the volume on low and couldn’t tell you what I was actually watching.  There were cigarette burns on the blanket on the bed.  I was a 19 year old boy starting to learn what was really going on in the world around me.