Interns, The Guys, and Fathers

Ernie called me at work to say he was there, ready to pick me up. I looked at the clock and couldn't believe it was 5:00. I finished up the email I was in the middle of, closed up, set the alarm, and walked out to the car. Halfway there I looked up and Ernie was openly laughing at me. Evidently I was dragging my feet and looked beat to hell. He made me laugh as well and I got in the car and rattled on about the day and all its craziness. 

He took me out to Fries and Peanuts for a drink to celebrate the fact that we'd gotten a check we were waiting for (whew). We sat and talked, nibbled a peanut, and chatted with our beloved Roger and Ceal. They had just gotten good news so it felt like a good day. We headed home, and to continue the celebration, ordered pizza. Then Owen broke the news to me. 

I give you: the first Exile on Main Street Intern!

I am beyond tickled and happy for him and I just love that Jeff Brandt. Mm-hmmm.

I called Leo down so he could hear the news and he was appropriately excited for his brother. Then we just sat and talked as it got dark and we waited for the pizza. We started with his internship, segued into jobs, minimum wage, the class structure of our country, the 1%, then moved into abortion rights and general political philosophies. I swear they amaze me more day by day, those two do. I like the people they are, and the adults they are becoming, so very, very much. They will be good men. They have true and clear hearts. And they're funny as hell.

Oh, and here is a contract Owen wrote up for Ernie the other night because he' d managed to get Ernie to promise to take him to a midnight launch of some game this fall. It was a moment of weakness for Ernie and followed a music discussion which had somehow verged into Rush, and then I told the story of my father sitting in the car in the parking lot overnight while I lined up with all the older stoner boys to wait for the local Flipside record store to open up their Ticketron. Yes. So somehow, because of my father, Ernie now has to take Owen to a midnight launch. I imagine my father would be chortling.