There is a powerful
wave of cosmic energy that somehow moves us in certain directions. All living
creatures crawl about aimlessly until caught in a stream of this invisible
current which allows them to connect. I know this to be true and here is a
clear example of how it works.
I had set up
several book promo events in Vegas; first the Blood Moon Social Club Reunion on
the 16th and Steamathon on the 30th at the Main street
casino. So I found myself alone and wondering what to do on New Year’s Eve. I
really wasn’t in the mood for huge crowds of tourists on the strip. Or a pleasant,
chatty gathering with family, all happy and full of blessings that come with
children and their friends. My mood was much darker than that and I needed a
place to blend in with the shadows.
On a recommendation from a FB friend Necie
Aevum, I dropped into Scarlet a dark red Goth scene in the arts district. It
was just before midnight New Year’s Eve. The music never stopped. I like it
when it pounds my chest. It’s like a heart massage with sound. 2015 was a
relentless domino line of tragedies and disasters for me and my family and also
for my author friend R.E. ‘Rex’ Riepe. Author of 30 post-apocalyptic books and a
killer guitar player. Rex has been a great friend and mentor in my effort to
launch my Crossbreeds series; a diesel punk sci-fi western. Like me he was in a
dark place worse than me in fact and he needed a change of venue as well. He
and I, two forlorn widowers did a little bar hopping to outrun the demons of
yesteryear. I hope they got left behind as the countdown to midnight was called.
If not we will slay them in the year to come.
Now some of
you may be wondering why a pair of old sixties rock-n-roll outlaws in the deep throws
of depression would want to hang with a bunch of kids in black. Well, I tell
you being Goth is not about wearing black on black on black garb or purple in
your hair. Being Goth means you can walk into the darkest pit and see the faintest
spark of light. It means you can create art from every color of the rainbow and
still make it black. And oddly enough for all their dark and grim personas we
noticed everyone was happy and having a good time. So were we.
***
On the first
night of the New Year Rex and I went out again this time Necie, whom I had
never met in person had posted that Oddfellows was happening. So we rolled out
after midnight to Freemont street. I have been following Necie for a while now.
She is a talented designer, delivers her video rants with the blunt force of a black
leather boot and is linked into Vegas night life. We found Oddfellows and she
was right again it was great. We discovered Necie on the dance floor where as
usual she was the Dark Star. A stunning 6ft red-head is hard to miss. Give her
a sword and she is a nightclubbing Red Sonja. I thanked her for her guidance in
our quest for a music scene that would lift some of the burden of loss Rex and
I carried into 2016. My buddy and I then melded into the throng of clubbers and
had a few drinks. We were not drowning in booze and mind numbing music. I would
say we were comfortably wading in it up to our necks.
We were
about to leave and see what else the Freemont experience had to offer when I
got a powerful jolt. The flow of the cosmic current was suddenly very strong.
A face in
the growing crowed beamed at me. A face I’ve known for 25 years, Mathew Gray
Gubler he calls himself when he’s working for the FBI on Criminal Minds or Dr.
Spencer Reid if you prefer. It had been years since I’d seen Matt the Hat [his
show name back when he was a kid magician]. After graduating from film school he
went off making movies ‘Life after Beth and Suburban Gothic’. I delved into
writing novels and building Mystic Canyon an artist’s retreat in New Mexico. But
the invisible cosmic current flows heavy into Las Vegas and on this night in
that unlikely spot we were both riding the same wave.
We laughed
hysterically at memories of how we turned all his school friends into zombies
and shot a horror movie on VHS. Or the time I sliced up vegetables with a samurai
sword on his bare stomach. I can still hear his terrified mother’s scream as if
it were yesterday. It was a wonderful reunion. This seemingly random encounter
would not have happened had I not followed Necie’s posts. Coincidence say you.
I say not likely. I could have asked for directions from any number of my friends
who I’m very familiar with. Who knows where I would have landed? We often do
things differently without knowing the why of it. Somehow I just sensed if anyone
could help it would be her.
So a friend
I never met and a friend in need of cheering led me to an old friend from the
past. An omen of a new beginning? I think maybe, we shall see. Sometimes it’s
good to just go with the current and see where it flows.
To all my vetterSverse
readers, Blood Moon members and Face Book friends have a Happy New Year and may
the cosmic current be with you. Did you notice how I did that whole current
thing and never mentioned the Star Wars F-word once?
I hope to
see you at the reunion on Jan. 16th, at 953 E. Sahara av. 9-B. Thank You, one and all for your
support and friendship this last year. I made it through in large part due to
all of you.
Karl Clay Vetter
No comments:
Post a Comment