binky sucking pirate

Well, my last 24 hours have been something out of a twisted fairytale - a check to why I live in cities...the characters you can encounter with such frequency are overwhelming, sometimes the energy is just so, and they all come out of the cracks to congregate. It is like I am partaking in an offbeat martian comedy or something out of the parable of the poisoned well. I was in San Telmo around 4 in the am, street drinking with a group of friends and misfits when my body becomes suddenly aware of a creature before I even get a visual. Milling about yet close to the group, he was a beraggeled trip. With a fit of nappy hair, tangled beard, massive duct tape backpack, and one piece jumper. His steps were far apart with bent knees, moving close to the ground and pirate eyeing our group, circling, yet keeping a good brick throws distance. The real kicker - a neon pink pacifier in his mouth all the while sucking hungrily. We decide to move on to a corner under a beautiful lamplight so my friends could preform. Our group was quite the motley crew as well - toothless older dude who had a never ending supply of tall tales, a gaucho cowboy esque man who plays the cajon and sings wonderful flamenco, his incredibly gay mormon brother who click clacks in his high heeled dancing shoes and speaks such fast castellano slang (thank god for Bueno, entonces...)my head spun trying to get a handle on what the hell we were laughing about, my doll like sweet friend with a glow like a bottecelli, a blue haired punky street kid, and some Austraillians (It seems like the Aussies are everywhere, they are like movie extras in my life). So, we head under the street light, on a misty night kickin it down a cobblestone street in the beautiful antique barrio. Pirate binky sucker follows in the shadows. When we proceed to stoop it under that beautiful orb and my friend breaks incredible rhythms on the cajon and song, his brother throws down a wooden board and dances the most amazing high speed flamenco tap with extraordinary elaborate and exaggerated hand gestures remanecint of New Zealand bird mating dances. In my visual I have the creature, who quickly slinks over onto an open lit area of the side walk (there are a good 15 people around, mind you) and takes a shit. He then then proceeds to guard his creation, walking the perimeter, almost like he was taking reconnaissance. Between the flamboyant dancing and the binky sucking feces circling pirate I lost it and laughed so hard I about peed myself. Back in San Telmo this afternoon, I went with a friend to play guitar and sing to the streets in the sunshine. Again I found myself surrounded with a group of the strangest cats...one man who played and sang deep tango love songs fully acting them out with guitar and complete chamuyero drama, a young street kid who couldn't get enough of our deep south blue grass songs, an older matronly piano teacher, and an old man from Uraguay who also sang tango loud enough to keep the pigeons off of our empanadas. We passed around guitars and shared music, ending up in a parrilla where they gave us free beer, wine, and food while we brought the house down with songs sitting at the bar. Music is the vibration of unity bringing us all together. Its power to connect cultures and age groups, creatures and freaks is just endless. What a day!