no room for hipsters

I am a member of a group of guys that call ourselves the Walking Tour.  I didn’t get their permission to write this, but I know they will understand. 

We are A, Austin Church; a writer, poet, and account executive for a creative firm http://www.morriscreative.com/company/people/austin-church/.  His blogs are to your left, the one self titled and also “whats left out.” 

Next is the letter B, Ben Bannister; singer/songwriter and “the guy you want to know” at the Square Room, Knoxville’s newest downtown music venue www.thesquareroom.com. 

Jesse Watkins; photographer, singer/songwriter, audio/visual media guru and co creator of www.rabbitwife.com, again to your left.

Levon Walker; one handed gimp that is leaving his friends next week but they still let him hang out.

We are the Walking Tour just as the English poets used to take daylong walks together in Elizabethan times along the countryside to talk in prose and jest as to sharpen the pens of one another.  We have coffee on Tuesdays at Pete’s Diner at 7:30 am and talk about writing, accountability, and bacon n eggs. 

Today is Tuesday and the Walking Tour was in session.  I just realized it was my last one as I fell into my cubicle and I’m wishing I had said more as I was leaving than “shit, I got a parking ticket.” 

They wouldn’t mind me telling you that this morning we talked mostly about the 1996 Mt. Everest climbing disaster, the elevation of Kathmandu, and why guys play video games more than girls.  As I was coming in to work I was thinking that it wasn’t that important of a conversation.  Really?  Maybe not, but how many times do we say to people we value that we’d like to intentionally give some structure to the relationship?  “Since you and I are sort of similar and doing our best in a lot of the same things, lets try and be a part of that together for encouragement.” 

 Our conversations aren’t always about Shakespeare.  Look around a diner at 7:30am in East Tennessee and you probably wouldn’t want to get caught saying Shakespeare too loud, anyway.   I’m sad to be leaving them.  Maybe we can make it an exclusive facebook group, at least for my sake, until I can come back and rejoin. 

What if I woke up to these three walls of cube instead this morning?  You can’t really waste time when you spend time with people you care about.  But this cube is calling me now and I am procrastinating.  Is my point across?  I think my point’s across.  This is my last Tuesday of formal employment and sitting at a desk.  I promise. 

Tags: Austin Church, Ben Bannister, Jesse Watkins, Knights Tale, Morris creative, Mt Everest disaster, Pete's Diner, the Square Room