urban fashion... urban chic

gwadzilla archive with words on Jim Rapp and other things...

this weekend past I dropped in at a party the Lamont Collective
another party for the bicycle tour from DC to Toronto
three woman and their bicycles
from community garden to community garden
it was a good party
it was a good gathering

at one point in the party I walked out on the porch
on the porch sat a young man with his arm in a sling
as I went to sit down he asked me if I was a messenger
I could tell from his tone that he was not really asking if I were a messenger
I could tell that he was a messenger
I answered no... then under his breath I heard the words of an arguement that he has played through his head many times before
but this arguement hardly played loud enough for me to hear
but I heard the basic gist just the same

I think that this kid thougth that I was a wanna be messenger
with my knickers and my messenger bag

we had a little discussion
although he was not much for discussion
as I think his focus was more on the soreness of his shoulder or the depression of being injured and out of the game
I explained that the bag from Timbuk2 was in fact a freebie from the company...
a company that used to sponsor the mountain bike team that I race for
then I explained that if messenger bag companies only sold bags to messengers... well... there would be no messenger bag companies
he was not looking for a discussion
he was not looking for an arguement
I got his point that it would be funny for someone to dress up like a doctor if they were not a doctor
but... I am not dressed up like a messenger
heck... I was not dressed up like a cyclist
I was dressed up like a person walking down the street in the clothing that I wear everyday to a house that was having a party

it was funny
this little attack
from this guy
a guy whose "street cred" I know nothing about
not sure of his name, rank, or serial number
or in this case... his nickname, his position in the courier world (comission, set wage, in house,) or his messenger number

I ride and race bicycles
bicycles are part of my life
bicycles have been part of my life for my whole life
two decades ago I worked as a messenger on and off for a bit
perhaps working as a messenger before this kid even learned to ride a bike
wearing a pack which carries the logo of my local bike shop which is also my team sponsor
a pack that fits nicely the toys I needed for the evening

I hope that kid did not do too much of that dangerous dance with alcohol and percocets
it would suck to go to bed and not wake up in the morning