Stories
The following are other stories that we have written throughout the years, enjoy!
Other Inspired Stories
Poetry
The Story of ThoughtLink
By Rebecca Agrait, 4/04.
The following is the story of ThoughtLink, told by its first employee. It is non-fiction and it's rated: CWB (more on this later). Click here to read more of our stories.
Hello. It's me, ThoughtLink's first employee. Little did I know that when I joined ThoughtLink I'd witness several people being killed in different cities; a pirate invasion; and I'd become a rock star! But let's start at the beginning. ThoughtLink was born out of a need to innovate and release creativity. Long before I was a twinkle in ThoughtLink's payroll, a great collaboration was born. Marcy Stahl and Julia Loughran met on a busy day while working at the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA). Marcy was working on distributed man-in-the-loop simulation data analysis and Julia was busy developing expert systems for the FBI. Marcy began to fear she'd grow old and die in her office at IDA and she knew she had to escape to avoid that fate. (I've heard some people have turned gray and actually start to petrify while working there). One day Marcy said to herself, 'I swear that I will never wear pantyhose again!' As it turns out Julia was also ready to move on because she felt too constrained and, frankly, was bored. The idea was to start a business, work hard, have fun, and become leaders in the industry in new ways of thinking. And so they did just that.
Fast forward 5 years and I was born (into the company that is)! I was immediately drawn by their energy, creativity and intellect (after all this story is rated CWB-the underground company name, chicks with brains!). I was also struck by how different, yet complementary their work styles are. Julia feels she tends to act before she thinks and she describes Marcy as doing the opposite. Marcy feels she is cautious, while she thinks Julia is passionate and enthusiastic. I describe meetings with them as Yoxing, a combination of very different workouts, yoga and kickboxing. Marcy is our Organizational Yoga Instructor and Julia the Business Kickboxing Master (see TLI story Yoxing).
It's been seven years since ThoughtLink was founded (as of February 2004) and they are pleasantly surprised about how far they've come and can't believe they are growing the company to include employees (their previous model was to hire consultants on a per-project basis). This business relationship has blossomed and exceeded their expectations. Julia is grateful for Marcy's balance, and loyalty. Marcy feels they are intellectual soul mates as they tend to love the same ideas.
Today we are one big happy and pregnant family! I am expecting siblings very soon as ThoughtLink will soon hire more employees. And that is the story of us. But wait, there's more... You're probably wondering about my witnessing a massacre and a pirate invasion, and how I became a rock star. As for the massacre, I witnessed many simulated weapons of mass destruction attacks while working for the Office for Domestic Preparedness. The pirate invasion took place June, 2003 as Julia had a wonderful pirate-themed birthday extravaganza complete with a plank and pirate ship.
Lastly, I became a rock star in May, 2003 during a trip to Seattle where Julia, Marcy and I lived up the rock star fantasy by lip singing to 'I Love Rock and Roll' as the members of the band The Barking Snails. Look for us in a town near you!
 Back to the Stories menu
Drooling Newby
By Rebecca Agrait, 12/02.
Our president exhibited an impressive display of business savvy at the first conference I attended with her. In a matter of two days I watched her approach a potential sponsor, diagram an expanding business idea in a cocktail napkin & secure funding! It rendered me a drooling newby. Back to the Stories menu
Hiring Colleen Mackey as our Summer Intern
By Julia Loughran
ThoughtLink's World Headquarters back up to the W&OD bike trail - a perfect spot for walking Labrador retrievers in the mornings and afternoons. On one summer afternoon in 1999, while I was walking my Labradors, Rosie and Jazz, a woman runner stopped to ask me a number of questions about the dogs - their ages, names, etc. After I finished talking about "my children", the woman (Joanne Mackey) mentioned her 2 daughters, commenting that the youngest daughter, Colleen, just finished her freshman year at Thomas Jefferson High School - a prestigious technology magnet school in northern Virginia. I was familiar with T.J. because while working at IDA, I had Summer Interns who attended school there. I always found these students to be bright, energetic, and full of potential. So, when Joanne asked if ThoughtLink might have a summer job available for Colleen, I agreed that Marcy and I should meet with her. Colleen and her mother came to ThoughtLink HQ and Marcy and I found Colleen to be enthusiastic and quite poised for her 14 years.
Since that time, Colleen has worked for ThoughtLink every summer. Four years later, she has just completed her first year at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. She has done a variety of jobs - from researching topics of interest on the internet, clipping relevant articles from technical journals, helping to organize a team of T.J. students for our initial SCUDHunt experiment, as well as analyzing and transcribing voice data from SCUDHunt. She has also filled in as a house and pet sitter when Wiley and I have been out of town (although now, Rosie and Jazz have passed on - and Ruby is now the spoiled lab in the house). Overall, we have been pleased having Colleen as part of the ThoughtLink team - which just goes to prove, you never know who you will meet on the trail that might lead to a new ThoughtLink story.
Back to the Stories menu
How we got the ODP contract
By Marcy Stahl
A company we had worked with in the past approached us about teaming together on a proposal to ODP, in which they would develop a custom-built training and exercise simulation and TLI would provide an evaluation of the simulation's effectiveness. Julia went on the marketing call, and spent about 5 minutes of the 60-minute visit describing TLI's capabilities. The remainder of the time was spent on the other company's capabilities and concept for the simulation.
Some time after the marketing visit, Julia got a follow-up email from one of the ODP attendees. It turned out that our experience in simulation and games was a good match for their need to evaluate information technologies for domestic preparedness training and exercising. We met with ODP to discuss their needs and ended up getting a two-year contract, followed by additional work. And it all started by going along on someone else's marketing call....
Back to the Stories menu
Our Substitute Lawyer Wears a West Point Ring
By Julia Loughran
When ThoughtLink was working out the details for our work with the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP), we were told that we would be teaming with an 8A company. Initially, this arrangement seemed fine - we had met with the company's Founder and CEO, and he appeared to be an on-track, get-the-job-done, retired military kind of person. Slowly as we worked out the details however, our trust and confidence in the CEO and company began to wane. Probably the most severe offense in my mind was the fact that this company was trying to write ThoughtLink out of the work - with Marcy and I getting our funding - but, the support personnel for the project coming from the 8A firm - with the idea being that Marcy and I would manage their people. This was NOT acceptable and we spoke directly with our ODP sponsor, to rectify this situation. Still, when the sub-contract was ready for us to sign - we were still not happy. It appeared they could terminate us for any time, for any reason, substitute their personnel, and take all the credit for our work! Needless to say, our enthusiasm for this "arranged marriage" had all but disappeared.
We worked to make changes to the subcontracting agreement with our lawyer at Squires, Sanders, and Dempsey. She agreed with us that the restraints on us were severe and all of the clauses were one-sided. But, when we presented the changes, the company seemed unwilling to budge on any of the changes. In a last ditch effort to salvage the relationship, we decided we would meet with face-to face, bringing our lawyer in tow.
This is where our lawyer's brilliance shone through. She had done some research on the 8A company's web site and noted that all of the principals of the company had Army backgrounds. She thought that our arriving with a female lawyer would not have been the right card to play. Instead, she offered up a lawyer at SSD who graduated from West Point. She felt he could "talk their language." This was a wise decision and I wonder how the story would have been different had our female lawyer come with us instead of the lawyer with the West Point ring. I fear all three of us would have walked out of there without a signed contract. Instead, the West Point lawyer subtly indicated that he was one of "them", which made them feel better, and as soon as he realized that they would not compromise on any changes, he privately counseled us to either sign up and hope for the best, or drop the deal right there. As it turned out, the company did leave us alone to do the work, and most importantly, the sponsor has been pleased with our work. It was a rocky start followed by a happy ending.
Back to the Stories menu
The Escalator was going DOWN!
By Julia Loughran
"Maybe you need to give up on the idea of ThoughtLink," said a colleague, pointing out that in our first 2 years of business our only "real" customer had been DARPA. He made this comment when the Marcy, he and I were on our way down an escalator to the Metro. We were all going to the U.S. Army Conference in downtown D.C. How fitting such a negative comment came when we were going DOWN!
At first, the statement itself made me feel down. Was he right? Was there any chance for ThoughtLink to become a successful and viable company? To answer these things I had to reflect on where we had come and where I saw us going. I believed in my heart we were too full of great ideas to not be successful. So instead of getting depressed, I used his comment to make me think harder about getting additional contracts outside of DARPA. And that is just what we did! We let go of our initial "sugar daddy" and found new work with clients like the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), National Defense University (NDU), and the US Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR). It's great to reflect now, 5 years later, how wrong this colleague was and how we were able to take that negative comment, accept if for the information it contained, and turn the story to one going UP instead of DOWN.
Back to the Stories menu
ThoughtLink's business plan
By Marcy Stahl
When Julia and I started ThoughtLink, we wrote a business plan, at least it was our version of a business plan. It turned out to be an excellent exercise, because it made explicit what we both wanted to get out of the company and what our values were.
The key precepts were:
- work less
- earn more
- never work with jerks.
I recently got an email from someone I had gone out with (once) and in that email, he described how he remembered what I told him about the TLI business plan and how he thought about that story every day when he turned into his company's parking lot at 6:45 am. " and there I hear Marcy's voice and her wonderful words on working less and earning more. I am apparently doing things upside down."
Back to the Stories menu
ThoughtLink's First Employee
By Marcy Stahl
When Julia and I started ThoughtLink, a major part of our motivation was to improve the quality of our lives. Our decision to avoid employees fit into that - we wanted to avoid the perceived hassles of managing people as well as the responsibility of ensuring they were getting paid, had medical insurance, etc.
That worked for six years. We used subcontractors to flesh out our capabilities when we needed a larger team. We were like a happy yuppie couple - no kids, we could go out whenever we wanted, and we never suffered sleepless nights wondering where the children were.
Then we got a phone call from our favorite subcontractor, Rebecca, telling us she had gotten a full-time job offer from Orange County FL and she wanted to accept it. She was calling to see if she could still work for us, but on a more limited basis.
Now we were on the horns of a dilemma: give up one of our guiding principles and try to hire Rebecca full-time for TLI, or let a key member of our team go.
That decision took about 5 minutes to make! We loved everything Rebecca did for us and she was a perfect fit with our TLI "culture".
We made her an offer, she accepted, and we have been a happy employer ever since. She recently wrote in an email: Did I mention I'm glad I didn't leave to go work for the county...wearing heels, pantyhose!, working with a union...
Back to the Stories menu
To the perspective TLI member
By Rebecca Agrait, 10/03
1 who knows TLI knows the 2 constantly break through the ceiling more and more. Ahhhh but they are more than that.they are now 3. They create, create, & create.synergy! Many good reasons for their success exist, I'll name 4. Well, let's see .alas that is one of the reasons, they are visionaries! One + one + one = 5! Allow me to continue and you will see. The second reason I promise you, reader, it won't bore. After all it's about me! 6 years together with no kids and they decided to have a baby! Yet they can hang with marines and those on the pentagon floor, I'm telling you man they are hard core! They are chicks with brains who don't work with jerks and they invited me in.how lucky! A member of the team you are now, no doubt, seduced to now be. So you see, I had to put down the reasons why you too this team will adore. 7 years of bad luck will strike those who cannot see. This summer yet another of their creative ideas I quickly 8 up, they said "Lets have a VBC!" I'm telling you 9 out of 10 times your ideas will not be discarded in the virtual cutting room floor. So if you are offered an in, have the wisdom to accept the key. dare to come in.join the creative potpourri! Need I say more?
Back to the Stories menu
Yogxing
By Rebecca Agrait 8/03
An internal ThoughtLink (ODP team) meeting is very much like a workout co-taught by a Yoga & a kickboxing instructor. Like any other workout it begins with a warm up of greetings & updates. It is followed by a few vision stretches, as we are presented with the BIG picture of where we've been & where we are going. Before you know it a flurry of bag punching escalates the workout in a high paced display of diversity of thought & creativity as we drill down on details. It is impressive (& highly entertaining) to observe Marcy (the Organizational Yoga Instructor ) and Julia (the Business Kickboxing Master) first work out our creativity, often leading to heated discussions and incongruous conclusions, and then cool things down to produce a sensible vision of our project. It continues to amaze me how different their work styles are & how well they workout together.
Back to the Stories menu
Other Inspired Stories
Communication Case Study: "Now I have a great email reply"
By Rebecca Agrait, 11/3/2003
Having spent much time on the periphery of an organization (I have friends in a small video game making company that I'll refer to as company X , and have been consulted on about their processes. I have also attended some of their social gatherings) I began to form organizing schemas about their communication (& miscommunication) patterns. There's always a misunderstanding, always some drama. This is not at all uncommon to most organizations. What's interesting is the communication format. Although all team members are co-located email and electronic message postings are frequently the sites for airing disapproval and addressing conflicts. I've heard about many mis-es (miscommunication, misunderstandings, misdirection, mis-etc.) addressed over email. In fact today the latest drama (an employee who was apparently wrong and wanted to complain) was communicated via email. The manager has told me that he has thought of a response to his employee and said, "Now I have a great email reply [for him]". Why not, I wonder, walk the ten steps to the employee's cubicle and speak to him in person?
One might think it's conflict avoidance but the fact that they publicly post (via electronic bulletin board) disagreements for the entire company to see, leads me to believe that is not the sole reason. There are many factors at play here but my company X communication pattern schema is that their culture has dictated this approach. This, coupled with the technological comfort and savvy of all employees, results in the preference for miscommunication clarification electronically. I believe there is an overall trend in corporate America to communicate electronically (even for co-located employees), however I venture to guess that some organizations still conduct most meetings face to face. What are the factors, then, that predict communication patterns? Should we be able to predict these factors we could, theoretically, fashion communication mediums into an "optimal" arrangement so as to minimize time loss and maximize communication effectiveness. It might not be so simple, but it would be fun to experiment and figure it out. Despite all our rage we are still just rats in a cage -The Smashing Pumpkins.
Back to the Other Inspired Stories menu
HomeWork
By Rebecca Agrait, 1/14/2004
Chances are you, or someone you know, work, at least part-time, from home. I'm sure we could come up with many stories of comical incidents that arise as a result of blending the home and work environments (e.g., dogs barking in the background or drier buzzing while you are on a very important teleconference). Kind of reminds me of living with my parents as a teenager and attempting a phone conversation with that cute-boy-who-finally-called. You have the phone cord stretched to the max to allow you to sit in the coat closet and get some privacy while you try to find out if he likes you (or your best friend) before you can admit you like him, when your father picks up the phone and says "I found your retainer in the kitchen".er...that's another story for another time (where is my 6 th grade hello kitty journal anyway?).
A friend of mine who works from home, who shall remain anonymous but whose name sounds a lot like Tristan (except she's a female and you could replace the 'T' for a 'K' and get a clue as to her real identity), had the funniest episode of work from home embarrassment I have heard (and I challenge you to come up with something better!). She had just woken up when her boss stopped by to pick up some files.the horror of the unexpected visit from the boss who you never, ever, see, and is the last person you expect on your door step. Luckily T ristan's boss is an easy going guy who got a kick out of the just out of bed attire: unmatched top (no bra!) and bottom, pony tail and last night's make up still on. Well Mr. Boss man, along with a few other colleagues, were picking up some files she was originally going to deliver to the office so T ristan had to assemble them in his presence.luckily her assistant (her boyfriend who was also.not fully dressed!) was with her and lent a helping hand compiling the files. Well, this took longer than anticipated so by the time they were finished it was time for a lunch meeting (who needs a shower and a clean set of clothes anyway?). Here it comes.ready for it.wait for it.Ok, I won't keep you in suspense any longer: T ristan got in her car to be followed by Mr. Boss man and company to the restaurant and drove down the block when she realized her sandals were not in the car as she thought!! "Pardon me fellows while I turn around and grab some shoes for our lunch meeting!" Now THAT is the best work from home story EVER!
Back to the Other Inspired Stories menu
I'm in love with the parenthesis
By Rebecca Agrait, 11/6/03
Because I always have a lot to say (even when I don't). I was once told "people like you have ten thoughts for every thought a normal person has". (Never fear) I took this as a complement. The parenthesis allows me to insert extra comments at the end of a thought (if there is such a thing). It also allows me to preface thoughts with interjections (& silly jokes). Of course, I could do a lot of this with commas (but that that makes me feel so exposed). (My name is Rebecca and) I'm in love with the parenthesis!
P.s.- I'm also a fan of the P.s.
Back to the Other Inspired Stories menu
By Rebecca Agrait, 10/25/03
Are we, in our business practices like the ocean, I wonder.
Is there a certain pull-a tendency towards a particular action?
Or do we invent & re-invent ourselves with every deliverable & report we produce?
Looking back and reflecting on the course of our professional lives, are there any major patterns of business survival that reflect our preferences & our professio-genetic makeup?
Could we identify moments of truth that draw us in?
Do we think we are in control?
We believe we are.
Is anyone?
Or is it bigger than that, like the moon's effect on the tide?
How predictable-the ocean, a science!
Yet no two wave breaks are alike.
The possibilities are endless so maybe it does come down to the old adage perception is reality.
If we can invent ourselves an extra hour of daylight as we set our clocks back tonight I choose to invent a grait, big, COLOSAL, business ocean of waves. Some I will ride, some I won't.
Back to the Other Inspired Stories menu
By Rebecca Agrait, 9/03
- Confidence in an idea automatically makes it a good one (at least to the person who had it).
- All organizations have teams.
- There are a lot of people who will never be satisfied with their jobs.
- People are thirsty for change as long as a different label disguises it.
- There is a BIG idea looming underneath the surface of my brain. I just don't know what it is.yet!
- Joy to the world I don't work in a call center or manufacturing line!
- Organizational culture dictates which latest fad/organizational trend will work.
- Cartoons are great; diverse sense of humor is a gift.
- Some people have something important to say but they let fear of formal public speaking get in the way. I say don't make it so formal!
- Assess your assessment process.
Back to the Other Inspired Stories menu
Visualization Tip #1
By Rebecca Agrait 8/03
Whether you're in a bowling alley or in the office, the important thing is NOT to keep your eye on the ball, but to keep your eye on your own thumb!
Back to the Other Inspired Stories menu
Poetry
Chemically Gifted
When people ask
why my spirits are lifted
I always reply
I’m chemically gifted
In the mornin’
No bitchin’ or moanin’
I just take a dose
Of my own serotonin
Back to the poetry menu
In Tribute to the Leonid Meteor Shower By Julia Loughran, 11/19/01
A shooting start streaks across the
Black sky. Small particles of dust
Colliding with the earth's atmosphere;
Debris from the comet Temple Tuttle.
Every 33 years, recorded since 902 AD, Leonid meteors have
Fallen. Repeating the process again, and again, while
Giant female sea turtles, oblivious to the meteors, come ashore
Helpless to protect all the eggs they will lay.
I think about the cycle of life,
Journeys within journeys,
Kings long gone,
Loves never materialized,
Memories held tight, some lost
Never to be remembered again.
Ocean tides rise and fall
Paying no heed to the imperious
Queen who sits on her
Royal throne.
Stars continue to shine, a myriad of
Twinkling lights appear each night, while
Under the ocean, hidden in the blackness,
Venomous sea life
Wait for their kill and we wait for
Xanadu -
Yearning for the ultimate
Zen moment.
Back to the poetry menu
Midnight at Macy’s
When the last clerks at Macy’s turned out the lights,
The products they sold came to life for the night.
A tuxedo in men’s wear took a long sequined gown,
Up to electronics for a night on the town.
The music was big band played rather loud
And the chairs down from house wares formed quite a crowd.
The hat rack and broom caused quite a sight
As they danced in the dim of the soft moonlight.
The Maytag dryers proved a great place to hide,
For a bunch of men’s socks out for a ride.
In the sleepwear department, pajamas stayed on their racks
“The night is for sleeping,” they said turning their backs.
But, the wing tips and dress pumps joined in the fun
As they crossed the dance floor, they could not be outdone.
The night passed quickly and everyone knew,
When the clock struck six the automatic coffeemaker would brew.
A fresh pot of coffee would greet the new morning light,
And the party’d be over --- until the next night.
--Julia Loughran
April 23, 2003
Started during Poetry Boot Camp during an assignment on Anthropomorphism
Completed this draft for ThoughtLink’s 4/23 poetry reading.
Back to the poetry menu Poem for Marcy On the Occasion of TLI's 4 th Anniversary By Julia Loughran, March 17, 2001
Our fourth anniversary! We must be on track
and I thought, what a good time for us to look back
On how ThoughtLink, Inc. came into be,
on how "you" and "I", came to be "we."
In IDA's Sim Center we prepared for a crowd,
and you thought to yourself, "That woman's TOO LOUD!"
You analyzed data of missiles shot into the sky,
and I analyzed data for the FBI.
Dick Schwartz was the one who sealed our fate
We all thought a DIS repository'd be great.
We went on a road show; we peddled our brief,
not knowing one day, it would lead to LEAF.
Like the Little Red Hen, we went looking for cash
but, with DMSO and others our hopes were all dashed.
Then came an idea, CAETI at DARPA
with $72 million we needn't look farther.
For a user we found the Army's VTP,
frequent trips to Ft. Knox; all of Radcliff we'd see.
We worked side by side, and we kept coming back,
I guess that it's true, that opposites attract.
Our "verts", they were different, yours "intro", mine "extro."
Your process is structured, where mine is more free flow.
Then came a day we both wanted to leave,
"Let's start our own company," you said, pulling my sleeve.
You'd seen Kevin do it; he made it look simple,
the process as easy as popping a pimple.
You'd do the paper work, submit the forms that we'd need,
And I'd do the marketing, my eyes glowing with greed.
Selecting a name nearly drove us insane.
We had to make sure we could get the domain!
ThoughtLink, it is - lawyers collected their fee.
But our alter ego is C.W.B.
The "B" is for brains - that's for hitting the books,
the "C" is for chicks, 'cause we also have looks.
The projects came slowly, OSim and Arrey,
those were paths we learned, just wouldn't pay.
Our first real, live dollar, that came from Dell.
We'd dipped our cup in the deep DARPA well.
The water was sweet; we'd get started right now!
But, with Marcy in California, the question was "How?"
The answer was simple - collaboration was it!
We'd preached of the benefits, we'd make the shoe fit.
Our study linked OOTW, collaboration, and games.
We hoped the results would soon lead to our fame.
"A training void," we cried, startling both men and mice.
The answer, we said, is quite simple, "It's DICE."
The money confirmed, an experiment we'd do,
with USG agencies at NDU.
Our interest in games led us to Connections to play.
It was at this conference, we met our friends, CNA.
We developed a game, SCUDHunt, played on the Net,
and from it, a measure for SSA we would get.
Since then we've done other projects, both big and small.
But the time has grown late and I can't list them all.
Lately, in complexity and poetry we train,
hoping we'll exercise more of our brain.
It's hard to predict what the future will hold,
But, I'm confident, there's still a lot to be told.
So thanks for being there, for saying just what I need.
You're more than a business partner, but a great friend, indeed!
Back to the poetry menu
Remains The day started like any other – but more so.
Blue skies. A Tuesday.
Who could imagine the terror?
The smoke?
The news spoke of thousands killed –
Of needing more body bags.
Body bags. Two cold
simple words.
Intended to carry the remains of those lives
ended too early. Incapable
of containing all that
they were.
Lives touched. Dreams never fulfilled.
Family memories. Simple triumphs.
Laughter shared. And futures
cut short.
Rescuers pass buckets in a continuous human chain,
snaking their way through the rubble.
The dust. The debris.
One asks
What can contain the human spirit?
Mere body bags seem not enough
And so we ask - where do we go
from here?
Julia Loughran
9/24/01 – Written on reflecting on the 9/11/01 tragedy at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center and in Pennsylvania.
Back to the poetry menu Riding the Big Easy
Senses shocked awake after
a long hibernation,
I climb aboard.
A warm wind
whips through
gas-lit street lamps
shadows dancing
iron balconies
bedecked with
beads and baubles
Fat Tuesday’s leftovers
a continuous party
brass band blares
competing with the crowd
voices amplified by
alcohol coursing through veins
I pity tonight’s vampire
who finds a
much diluted drink.
A too-soon
morning sun creeps
into windows
shuttered cracks
we recoil
like Dracula,
tho’ the night stalker
can’t resist the calling
hot chickory coffee
and beignets
deep fried
and plastered with
gobs of sticky powdered sugar.
clambering trucks
spray streets – washing away
dirt and debris,
mingled smells
of stale beer and vomit.
omniscient observer,
a black cat sits
in a window
the green streetcar
transports us
tourist’s camera
millionaire’s money
mansions along St. Charles,
sunset glitters
spraying prisms of light
stained glass
welcoming the night
jarring the soul
awake again.
Snake & Jake’s
Christmas Club Lounge
a local joint
nestled between
two crack houses,
entering the darkness
retina’s fight – expand
letting in the
too-little light,
fumbling, feeling our way
around yard sale
furniture – still reeking of cat urine –
to the back deck,
tiki lights and laughter
drinking cold beers
from sterilized bottles
bets placed
the rats race
on neighboring rooftops
the crowd’s deafening cheers.
out front,
a black man hopes to sell
his illegal commodities
wearing a 6-foot python
draped around his neck
tooth gapped grin
he asks me
are you a Born Red-Head?
… cause … I always
wanted me
a Born Red-Head.
Grabbing my sweater, I turn
enjoyed the ride
but it’s time
to go home.
Julia Loughran
Poetry Boot Camp – Place Poem
10/15/01
Back to the poetry menu
Tiger Butter 
Back to the poetry menu
|
