I have been seating here lately, thinking of how to speed up my life. And when that happens, I often see myself, living a whole new life, somewhere afar. One of my favourite imaginings, sees me living in America, with my one true desire, a certain Miss Carla Gugino. I know it sounds crazy saying this, but recent events have shown to me, that just about anything is possible, especially in America.
The outcome of all my daydreaming, which I wish to present here, for its own sake and probably mine, I have chosen to title
BANTU MOOR AND THE ITALIANS
Part 1:
I arrive in America, and stand looking across, a rather, empty street. I don't really know, what I am looking for, but simply seek to stare around me. There are people there, but I just can't seem to see them. After a while of doing this, probably a long while, I hear a voice say to me, "Whats the matter?" I turn around, to see myself faced by a burly man. I kinda hesitate answering him, and then set out to say, "I am looking for a place to stay". He looks at me quizzically, along with a short downward glare, and says, "You from around here?" I look at him shortly, and almost set out to shake his hand, while saying, "No, I just got here." He looks me up again, this time obviously and then turns around, while jutting two fingers forward with his raised hand, while saying, "Come with me." I immediately follow him, not knowing where he is taking me. I somewhat seize him up, and then notice, he is Italian-American. I somewhat loosen up, and quickly walk up to him, by him. He looks at me quickly, with a side ways glance, and keeps walking, somewhat leaving me behind. "You are Italian" I say, he looks somewhat behind and then says, "Yeah, I am", before stopping and saying to me, "Where are you from?" I hesitate again, before saying, "Kenya". He promptly turns away, and keeps walking, leaving me feeling a bit confused. I pick up my pace, and again, begin to quickly follow him. He gets to a pickup truck, before turning to me and says, "Is that all you have?" I look at myself, wondering what he is talking about and upon glancing quickly up, see his eyes shift from my bag, to my face. I look at the bag and quickly say, "Oh yeah, that's all I have got." He opens the door, from within the truck, and I get in. I really don't know where we are going, and I don't really intend to ask either. Minutes later, the truck, stops at an apartment house, in a place I know nothing off. I get out of the truck, kinda feeling uneasy, and look around me. Surprisingly to me, the grass is well cut and the house looks well kept, from up-close. I hear a voice say to me, "This way", and I look up to see the burly man, enter the house, before following suit. I somewhat run up to the door, and go in to the house. The man is standing in the living room, looking towards the mantle piece. I walk in, and upon seeing him, set out to do the same. "How do you like it?" he says to me. I look around quickly, even glancing towards the ceiling, and a smile starts to open up, on my mouth. "I like it" I say, "Good" he says, before walking away towards what I mostly believe, is the Kitchen. I drop my bag, as I begin towards the kitchen too, and find him looking at the sink, from a distance. "This is the Kitchen" he says, and I look around appearing I believe, to be somewhat amazed. At this moment I am thinking, "I really want this apartment". He stands there, with his mouth folded, and when I walk towards the sink, begins to make his way towards the staircase. I hear a voice say, "hey", and I walk out of the Kitchen, and follow the footsteps I hear, up the staircase. I take two at a time, and in no time, I am at a higher floor. The man by now, has opened a door and left the lights on, to what I believe is the washroom and is proceeding to open another door. I walk in behind him, after quickly glancing into the washroom, and he stands somewhat near me, looking at the bed. I look at the bed, and notice it has a mattress and some sheets folded nearby. At this moment, I am quite amazed, and quickly turn to the man and ask, "how much is this?" He remains looking at the bed, and somewhat folds his mouth while partially raising his left hand, and says to me, "Don't worry about that, if you want it, its yours." I am kinda shocked, and believe I truly don't know what he means, yet again, I am thinking, "this is America". He walks out of the room, while I am still looking around, and I hear him walk down the stairs. I somewhat feel shocked, and quickly follow him down the stairs. He is looking around the living room again, and I get there, still feeling a bit shocked. He looks at me and says, "you got any money?" I feel kinda offended when he says this, and looking unabatedly back at him, begin to shake my head somewhat, while struggling to think and say something, at the same time. He looks at me again, before taking out his wallet and pulling out what I eventually recognize, as a hundred dollar bill. He says to me, "There is a convenience store, down the road" before turning away and sets off towards the door. I am kinda shocked at whats going on, and as he starts out from the door, I extend my hand while somewhat running towards him, and whimper out, "Hey". He turns around, like I just called him by his first name, and I stop near him somewhat, not knowing what to say. I then proceed to say, "My name is Bantu", he just turns around and while walking away says to me, "I will be back tomorrow", with his head partially raised sideways. I stand by the doorway, and watch as he drives out from the driveway, before moving backward in, and shutting the door. I look at the hundred dollar bill, somewhat crumpled in my hand, and consider going out, to buy something to eat. But before I do, I pick up my bag, and quickly run upstairs, to my room. I get up there, put my bag in a corner, and then sit on the bed, while looking up and around.
On the next day, I am kinda up early, and simply lay on my bed, looking around my room. I eventually get out of bed, and proceed to take a rather long shower. I get back into my room, and look sideways, for my bag. I put it on my bed, open it, and take out some new clothes. I am looking for something white, for an unknown reason, and settle on some white khaki pants and undecidedly choose, between a black t-shirt and a black shirt. Having put on the shirt, I rush down for some unknown reason, like as if, I expect something interesting, to happen any moment. I go to the Kitchen and open the fridge, really expecting, to find some food in there. Its all empty, with the exception, of some butter. I look around kinda shocked and disappointed, and see some water glasses hanging by a door. I pick out one of them, and also decide to open the door. Its a storage of some sort, and there is pail in there, with a mop in it. I close the door, somewhat hurriedly, and turn to the sink, where I then turn on a tap, and fill my glass with water. I drink it up and when I am done, simply stand somewhat bending, with one of my hands, placed near the sink, and look around while staring up. I drink up the rest of the water, and put the glass into the sink, and walk out into the living room. I am not really feeling hungry, just excited really. I approach the sofa in the living room, and decide to turn on the Tv. I am kinda excited doing so, and when its on, sit down to see whats on it. The news is on, and I am kinda disappointed, in that, it very much looks like the news, outside America. I switch the station, kinda surprised to find the remote control, neatly placed before me. Its all appears to be a bore to me, and I know its because, I don't have cable. Eventually though, I get to a station, showing old movies. I don't know whether to watch it or not, but I decide to. I figure, that I will go out for lunch later on. I am thinking Chinese. I settle in to watch "Some like it hot" with Marilyn Monroe, and half way through, I am kinda surprised, at how good it is. As the ending approaches, I hear the door open, and I am kinda startled, believing it to be locked. I look around shocked, and the same burly man from yesterday, peers in and then walks in. I struggle somewhat to get up, and just stand there, as he walks in with a grocers bag, filled with goodies I believe. He places it on the dining table close by, and I hurriedly before slowing down, rush to the table. "I got something for ya" he says to me, and when he places the bag on the table, I reach out to peek, into it. He then turns around as if to go out, and I am kinda surprised again. I make out to almost touch him, and once again, I hear myself say, "hey". He turns around, with an expression that almost says, "what?" I simply stand there motionless, as if trying to say something, but my mind is at that moment, totally blank. He looks at me, and I believe he sees, that I am kinda lost. "Look kid" he says to me, "here, take this", before handing me a card; I look at it, and as he turns to go out says, "drop in tomorrow, I will see what I can do for ya." He leaves again, and I just stand there for a moment, looking at the card, and then at the door that has just been shut, before me. The card says, "The Joy Club", and there is an address down there, which I hope is nearby. At this moment, I still don't really know, my exact address.
On the very next day, with a jacket on, I make my way to the club. I am at first kind of worried about how to get there as I leave my apartment, but when I get out, its all sunny and warm, and I kind of loosen up. I walk out onto the street, and just stand there. I don't know whether to go left or right. One thing I do know, is that I am not afraid, of walking far. I then set out on my left, and simply look around, as I walk along the street. I get to a junction, that appears to be busy, and I look at a building, that appears to be an office complex. I look up at it, and then back at the junction. I stand there, and I am surprised at how multicultural, the place is. Really surprised I think. I begin to look around, for someone to ask the location, of the club. Everyone seems to be walking at a first pace, and after a while, I decide to go into the office complex and ask for directions. I walk up to it, and as I attempt to go in, I find the doors locked. I am surprised and then shocked, and I am standing there looking at the doors, when I see a big black man, standing there nearby, looking back at me. He just simply stares at me, and I don't really know how to tell him, what I want. I begin to raise the card and point it at him, which I really do, for a moment, but he simply glares back at me. I just then simply turn around, and go back on to the street. I am standing there, wondering whom to ask the question to, and I find myself seeking to ask a white person. I am looking as people pass, and I make out to ask a certain white woman, but stop when she somewhat looks downwards sideways. I back off and simply stand still. For some reason, I can feel the eyes of the security guard in the complex, looking at me. I am standing there, when a tall white man, with a briefcase and a good hairdo, comes along to pass by. I jump in to stop him, and as he is walking along, turns to look at me and then at the card I have outstretched at him, which he then looks into. He looks at it, and then at me, as I ask him, where the club is. He looks at it again, and somewhat folds his lips before saying, "I really don't know". He gives back the card to me, and keeps on walking. I am at my wits end at the moment, and I really don't know, what to do. I see a taxi go by, and I am thinking, I should have run up, and stopped it. I simply stand there, and as I am thinking of going back home, see a slick looking white man, coming by. He has a similar hairdo, to the other man that passed by before, but he is dressed in jeans, and a knitted vest over a blue shirt. I just jump in without thinking much and say, "Hey man, can you help me out here?" He stops to look at me, as if I am crazy, and then kind of opens his hands and says "What?" I point out the card at him, which he then somewhat grabs, before asking him how to get there. He looks at the card, then turns towards the junction and with his mouth folded, kinda looks down the street. "Go down that way" he says, pointing me down the street to the right, its about two blocks down. He hands over the card to me, and I am about to say "thanks", but he simply walks on without looking back. I head down in the direction pointed out, and eventually really, kinda due to feeling more confident, find myself at the club. I walk in and its kinda dark in there. Its not what I expected. There are stools everywhere set around high placed, small round, kind of raised tables, and at the back, is a pool table, with some guys playing pool. I look over at them, and notice they are Italians, but other kinds of Italians. I look around again apprehensively, before hearing a deep gruff voice say to me, "How can I help you?" I turn around almost shocked, to find a burly man, standing behind the bar. I walk up to him almost immediately, and he just looks at me. I don't really know what to say, but I then decide to show him the card. He gestures at it, with two of his fingers, and I give it to him. He looks at it, and with his mouth folded and arms somewhat wide open, asks me if I want a drink. I sit at the bar excitedly, and he waits with arms outstretched on his side of the bar, waiting for my order. I don't really know what to say, and he folds his mouth and simply somewhat glares at me, with the fold becoming deeper. I kind of twist my mouth, and I kind of look, at the big posters with drinks on them at the back wall of the bar, and he says to me, "what can I get you?" in an almost whisper. I simply look back at him with a twisted mouth and knowing I do have some money with me, say, "a martini". He looks somewhat down, while opening his arms with a face with a folded mouth, and I believe sets out, to make me, a martini. About five martinis later, which I kind of learn that I do not really have to pay for, I am kind of really relaxed and feeling joyous. I turn around, with the back of my arms now placed on the bar, and look towards the pool table. Towards it, there is a TV on. I look at it somewhat with interest, and I hear a sound next to me on the bar, and I turn to see that the barman, has placed a remote control near me. I turn to look at him, as he walks away from me, and pick up the remote control, and raise it somewhat slowly, to change channels. I keep on switching, until I get to MTV 2. There is a song on it, Its Bon Jovi's Always. I smile widely to myself, and begin to turn up the volume. As I do so, a person at the pool table, raises his head to say "Hey", towards the barman. I am kind of surprised at that, and turn quickly to look at the barman, who is wiping clean a glass while looking at it, but I get the feeling, he was looking at me, a few seconds ago. I turn to the pool table again, and the guys at the table, somewhat look down, when I look there. I don't really know, what to make of the whole episode. As the video comes to a close, I lower the volume, and turn to look at the barman, with a smile on my face. It is then, having drank many a martini, look at the barman somewhat confidently, and ask him, if he knows Carla Gugino. He just stands there looking at me, with his body edged forward, and still wiping a glass clean, and says to me as I slimmer onto my stool, "Why?" "I just want to know" I somewhat say, before really looking at him. He kind of looks at me quizzically for a moment, and then goes back to wiping his glass, before then walking away. I sit back on my stool and before long, I start to feel my head swoon. I am not to happy, about how I am feeling, and decide to ease up, by wondering whether I should walk up to the group, at the pool table. I look at them, and decide not to. I am seated there on my stool, simply looking down towards the floor, when I hear a voice come in. I am kind of interested to see who it is, and raise my head up lazily, and after a moment or something like it, I am surprised to be looking at Al Pacino. The surprise, turns to shock, as I almost jump up, to say hi. But before I can do this, Al Pacino sees me looking at him, and begins to do a small circular dance before me, stopping at intervals, to look at me. I am kinda surprised he would do this, but at the second or third look, I let out a big smile. "How you doin' ", he says to me. I jump off my seat and say, "fine". He kinda looks at me, like I have had too much to drink, and then walks by me. He goes up to the pool table, and says hi to just about everybody, before going into the back, of the bar. Later on, he comes out, and I am still seated at the bar stool, replaying to myself, the walkout by Al Pacino, into the back of the bar. He comes up to me and says, "Where are you from?", and I say to him, "Kenya". He looks at me, while deeply pouting his mouth, and then says to me, "Nice to meet you" with his hands partially open, before pausing and adding, "and your name is?" I kind of look at him, because he has placed his ear near my mouth, and I then say to him, "Bantu". "What?" he says to me like again, and I say "Bantu, Bantu Moor". He looks at me kind of surprised, and then somewhat raises his hands partially. He looks at me again, before saying to me, "How do you like America?" Am like totally not sure, how to respond. I wait a moment, before saying, "I think its great." He lunges his upper body somewhat backwards and says, "That's good, I like that." He then asks me, if there is something I need. I don't really know what to say, and somewhat look back at the barman. I somewhat see him and feel him, walk away again. "Maybe another martini, some shoes" he says while looking down at my feet, "some girls maybe" he says, before I begin to somewhat laugh. "Whats so funny?" he asks me, and I look towards the far end of the bar from where I stand, not knowing what to say. He looks back at me and says to me, "Whats the matter, cat got your tongue?" I begin again, to set out laughing, and then say, "Do you know Carla Gugino" "What?" he says to me, as though surprised and shocked at the same time, and I kind of go quiet. "You ask me, if I know Carla Gugino?" I look at him, before saying "yes". "Why?" he then says to me, and I say, "I would love to speak to her." "To Carla Gugino" he says again, and I say, "Yes." He again partially raises his hands, and then solemnly says, "Okay." He walks a small distance away from me, and reaches out for his phone, in the side pocket, of his jacket. He pulls it out, and flips it open. He presses on a button, and as the phone appears to be ringing, points out a finger at me, as if telling me to wait. "Carla, Miss Carla Gugino" he says into the phone, "a moment please." He then turns around and hands me the phone, somewhat slowly. I take it from him uneasily, and bring it cautiously, to my ear. "hello" I say into it, before a cheery voice says back to me, "Hi". I am kinda shocked, and look to see Al Pacino, standing near me, with his hands partially raised, while looking somewhat downwards. I slowly hand back the phone to him, and he picks it up and says, "Carla, sorry about that" before flipping the phone shut. He then raises his hands, with the phone still in one of his hands, and still somewhat looking downwards, and then walks away, towards the pool table. I stand still as he does so, and turn to watch him walk away. I then turn around, to make a 360 degree turn in all, and turn to look at the barman, who is at the moment again, walking away from me. I somewhat sit at the bar again, but the barman has left. Some moments later, as I am still facing the bar, a hand raps once on my back and I hear a voice say, "I'll see you later" as I turn around, to see Al Pacino, walking out. I sit about for another 10 minutes, before I decide to leave.
The outcome of all my daydreaming, which I wish to present here, for its own sake and probably mine, I have chosen to title
BANTU MOOR AND THE ITALIANS
Part 1:
I arrive in America, and stand looking across, a rather, empty street. I don't really know, what I am looking for, but simply seek to stare around me. There are people there, but I just can't seem to see them. After a while of doing this, probably a long while, I hear a voice say to me, "Whats the matter?" I turn around, to see myself faced by a burly man. I kinda hesitate answering him, and then set out to say, "I am looking for a place to stay". He looks at me quizzically, along with a short downward glare, and says, "You from around here?" I look at him shortly, and almost set out to shake his hand, while saying, "No, I just got here." He looks me up again, this time obviously and then turns around, while jutting two fingers forward with his raised hand, while saying, "Come with me." I immediately follow him, not knowing where he is taking me. I somewhat seize him up, and then notice, he is Italian-American. I somewhat loosen up, and quickly walk up to him, by him. He looks at me quickly, with a side ways glance, and keeps walking, somewhat leaving me behind. "You are Italian" I say, he looks somewhat behind and then says, "Yeah, I am", before stopping and saying to me, "Where are you from?" I hesitate again, before saying, "Kenya". He promptly turns away, and keeps walking, leaving me feeling a bit confused. I pick up my pace, and again, begin to quickly follow him. He gets to a pickup truck, before turning to me and says, "Is that all you have?" I look at myself, wondering what he is talking about and upon glancing quickly up, see his eyes shift from my bag, to my face. I look at the bag and quickly say, "Oh yeah, that's all I have got." He opens the door, from within the truck, and I get in. I really don't know where we are going, and I don't really intend to ask either. Minutes later, the truck, stops at an apartment house, in a place I know nothing off. I get out of the truck, kinda feeling uneasy, and look around me. Surprisingly to me, the grass is well cut and the house looks well kept, from up-close. I hear a voice say to me, "This way", and I look up to see the burly man, enter the house, before following suit. I somewhat run up to the door, and go in to the house. The man is standing in the living room, looking towards the mantle piece. I walk in, and upon seeing him, set out to do the same. "How do you like it?" he says to me. I look around quickly, even glancing towards the ceiling, and a smile starts to open up, on my mouth. "I like it" I say, "Good" he says, before walking away towards what I mostly believe, is the Kitchen. I drop my bag, as I begin towards the kitchen too, and find him looking at the sink, from a distance. "This is the Kitchen" he says, and I look around appearing I believe, to be somewhat amazed. At this moment I am thinking, "I really want this apartment". He stands there, with his mouth folded, and when I walk towards the sink, begins to make his way towards the staircase. I hear a voice say, "hey", and I walk out of the Kitchen, and follow the footsteps I hear, up the staircase. I take two at a time, and in no time, I am at a higher floor. The man by now, has opened a door and left the lights on, to what I believe is the washroom and is proceeding to open another door. I walk in behind him, after quickly glancing into the washroom, and he stands somewhat near me, looking at the bed. I look at the bed, and notice it has a mattress and some sheets folded nearby. At this moment, I am quite amazed, and quickly turn to the man and ask, "how much is this?" He remains looking at the bed, and somewhat folds his mouth while partially raising his left hand, and says to me, "Don't worry about that, if you want it, its yours." I am kinda shocked, and believe I truly don't know what he means, yet again, I am thinking, "this is America". He walks out of the room, while I am still looking around, and I hear him walk down the stairs. I somewhat feel shocked, and quickly follow him down the stairs. He is looking around the living room again, and I get there, still feeling a bit shocked. He looks at me and says, "you got any money?" I feel kinda offended when he says this, and looking unabatedly back at him, begin to shake my head somewhat, while struggling to think and say something, at the same time. He looks at me again, before taking out his wallet and pulling out what I eventually recognize, as a hundred dollar bill. He says to me, "There is a convenience store, down the road" before turning away and sets off towards the door. I am kinda shocked at whats going on, and as he starts out from the door, I extend my hand while somewhat running towards him, and whimper out, "Hey". He turns around, like I just called him by his first name, and I stop near him somewhat, not knowing what to say. I then proceed to say, "My name is Bantu", he just turns around and while walking away says to me, "I will be back tomorrow", with his head partially raised sideways. I stand by the doorway, and watch as he drives out from the driveway, before moving backward in, and shutting the door. I look at the hundred dollar bill, somewhat crumpled in my hand, and consider going out, to buy something to eat. But before I do, I pick up my bag, and quickly run upstairs, to my room. I get up there, put my bag in a corner, and then sit on the bed, while looking up and around.
On the next day, I am kinda up early, and simply lay on my bed, looking around my room. I eventually get out of bed, and proceed to take a rather long shower. I get back into my room, and look sideways, for my bag. I put it on my bed, open it, and take out some new clothes. I am looking for something white, for an unknown reason, and settle on some white khaki pants and undecidedly choose, between a black t-shirt and a black shirt. Having put on the shirt, I rush down for some unknown reason, like as if, I expect something interesting, to happen any moment. I go to the Kitchen and open the fridge, really expecting, to find some food in there. Its all empty, with the exception, of some butter. I look around kinda shocked and disappointed, and see some water glasses hanging by a door. I pick out one of them, and also decide to open the door. Its a storage of some sort, and there is pail in there, with a mop in it. I close the door, somewhat hurriedly, and turn to the sink, where I then turn on a tap, and fill my glass with water. I drink it up and when I am done, simply stand somewhat bending, with one of my hands, placed near the sink, and look around while staring up. I drink up the rest of the water, and put the glass into the sink, and walk out into the living room. I am not really feeling hungry, just excited really. I approach the sofa in the living room, and decide to turn on the Tv. I am kinda excited doing so, and when its on, sit down to see whats on it. The news is on, and I am kinda disappointed, in that, it very much looks like the news, outside America. I switch the station, kinda surprised to find the remote control, neatly placed before me. Its all appears to be a bore to me, and I know its because, I don't have cable. Eventually though, I get to a station, showing old movies. I don't know whether to watch it or not, but I decide to. I figure, that I will go out for lunch later on. I am thinking Chinese. I settle in to watch "Some like it hot" with Marilyn Monroe, and half way through, I am kinda surprised, at how good it is. As the ending approaches, I hear the door open, and I am kinda startled, believing it to be locked. I look around shocked, and the same burly man from yesterday, peers in and then walks in. I struggle somewhat to get up, and just stand there, as he walks in with a grocers bag, filled with goodies I believe. He places it on the dining table close by, and I hurriedly before slowing down, rush to the table. "I got something for ya" he says to me, and when he places the bag on the table, I reach out to peek, into it. He then turns around as if to go out, and I am kinda surprised again. I make out to almost touch him, and once again, I hear myself say, "hey". He turns around, with an expression that almost says, "what?" I simply stand there motionless, as if trying to say something, but my mind is at that moment, totally blank. He looks at me, and I believe he sees, that I am kinda lost. "Look kid" he says to me, "here, take this", before handing me a card; I look at it, and as he turns to go out says, "drop in tomorrow, I will see what I can do for ya." He leaves again, and I just stand there for a moment, looking at the card, and then at the door that has just been shut, before me. The card says, "The Joy Club", and there is an address down there, which I hope is nearby. At this moment, I still don't really know, my exact address.
On the very next day, with a jacket on, I make my way to the club. I am at first kind of worried about how to get there as I leave my apartment, but when I get out, its all sunny and warm, and I kind of loosen up. I walk out onto the street, and just stand there. I don't know whether to go left or right. One thing I do know, is that I am not afraid, of walking far. I then set out on my left, and simply look around, as I walk along the street. I get to a junction, that appears to be busy, and I look at a building, that appears to be an office complex. I look up at it, and then back at the junction. I stand there, and I am surprised at how multicultural, the place is. Really surprised I think. I begin to look around, for someone to ask the location, of the club. Everyone seems to be walking at a first pace, and after a while, I decide to go into the office complex and ask for directions. I walk up to it, and as I attempt to go in, I find the doors locked. I am surprised and then shocked, and I am standing there looking at the doors, when I see a big black man, standing there nearby, looking back at me. He just simply stares at me, and I don't really know how to tell him, what I want. I begin to raise the card and point it at him, which I really do, for a moment, but he simply glares back at me. I just then simply turn around, and go back on to the street. I am standing there, wondering whom to ask the question to, and I find myself seeking to ask a white person. I am looking as people pass, and I make out to ask a certain white woman, but stop when she somewhat looks downwards sideways. I back off and simply stand still. For some reason, I can feel the eyes of the security guard in the complex, looking at me. I am standing there, when a tall white man, with a briefcase and a good hairdo, comes along to pass by. I jump in to stop him, and as he is walking along, turns to look at me and then at the card I have outstretched at him, which he then looks into. He looks at it, and then at me, as I ask him, where the club is. He looks at it again, and somewhat folds his lips before saying, "I really don't know". He gives back the card to me, and keeps on walking. I am at my wits end at the moment, and I really don't know, what to do. I see a taxi go by, and I am thinking, I should have run up, and stopped it. I simply stand there, and as I am thinking of going back home, see a slick looking white man, coming by. He has a similar hairdo, to the other man that passed by before, but he is dressed in jeans, and a knitted vest over a blue shirt. I just jump in without thinking much and say, "Hey man, can you help me out here?" He stops to look at me, as if I am crazy, and then kind of opens his hands and says "What?" I point out the card at him, which he then somewhat grabs, before asking him how to get there. He looks at the card, then turns towards the junction and with his mouth folded, kinda looks down the street. "Go down that way" he says, pointing me down the street to the right, its about two blocks down. He hands over the card to me, and I am about to say "thanks", but he simply walks on without looking back. I head down in the direction pointed out, and eventually really, kinda due to feeling more confident, find myself at the club. I walk in and its kinda dark in there. Its not what I expected. There are stools everywhere set around high placed, small round, kind of raised tables, and at the back, is a pool table, with some guys playing pool. I look over at them, and notice they are Italians, but other kinds of Italians. I look around again apprehensively, before hearing a deep gruff voice say to me, "How can I help you?" I turn around almost shocked, to find a burly man, standing behind the bar. I walk up to him almost immediately, and he just looks at me. I don't really know what to say, but I then decide to show him the card. He gestures at it, with two of his fingers, and I give it to him. He looks at it, and with his mouth folded and arms somewhat wide open, asks me if I want a drink. I sit at the bar excitedly, and he waits with arms outstretched on his side of the bar, waiting for my order. I don't really know what to say, and he folds his mouth and simply somewhat glares at me, with the fold becoming deeper. I kind of twist my mouth, and I kind of look, at the big posters with drinks on them at the back wall of the bar, and he says to me, "what can I get you?" in an almost whisper. I simply look back at him with a twisted mouth and knowing I do have some money with me, say, "a martini". He looks somewhat down, while opening his arms with a face with a folded mouth, and I believe sets out, to make me, a martini. About five martinis later, which I kind of learn that I do not really have to pay for, I am kind of really relaxed and feeling joyous. I turn around, with the back of my arms now placed on the bar, and look towards the pool table. Towards it, there is a TV on. I look at it somewhat with interest, and I hear a sound next to me on the bar, and I turn to see that the barman, has placed a remote control near me. I turn to look at him, as he walks away from me, and pick up the remote control, and raise it somewhat slowly, to change channels. I keep on switching, until I get to MTV 2. There is a song on it, Its Bon Jovi's Always. I smile widely to myself, and begin to turn up the volume. As I do so, a person at the pool table, raises his head to say "Hey", towards the barman. I am kind of surprised at that, and turn quickly to look at the barman, who is wiping clean a glass while looking at it, but I get the feeling, he was looking at me, a few seconds ago. I turn to the pool table again, and the guys at the table, somewhat look down, when I look there. I don't really know, what to make of the whole episode. As the video comes to a close, I lower the volume, and turn to look at the barman, with a smile on my face. It is then, having drank many a martini, look at the barman somewhat confidently, and ask him, if he knows Carla Gugino. He just stands there looking at me, with his body edged forward, and still wiping a glass clean, and says to me as I slimmer onto my stool, "Why?" "I just want to know" I somewhat say, before really looking at him. He kind of looks at me quizzically for a moment, and then goes back to wiping his glass, before then walking away. I sit back on my stool and before long, I start to feel my head swoon. I am not to happy, about how I am feeling, and decide to ease up, by wondering whether I should walk up to the group, at the pool table. I look at them, and decide not to. I am seated there on my stool, simply looking down towards the floor, when I hear a voice come in. I am kind of interested to see who it is, and raise my head up lazily, and after a moment or something like it, I am surprised to be looking at Al Pacino. The surprise, turns to shock, as I almost jump up, to say hi. But before I can do this, Al Pacino sees me looking at him, and begins to do a small circular dance before me, stopping at intervals, to look at me. I am kinda surprised he would do this, but at the second or third look, I let out a big smile. "How you doin' ", he says to me. I jump off my seat and say, "fine". He kinda looks at me, like I have had too much to drink, and then walks by me. He goes up to the pool table, and says hi to just about everybody, before going into the back, of the bar. Later on, he comes out, and I am still seated at the bar stool, replaying to myself, the walkout by Al Pacino, into the back of the bar. He comes up to me and says, "Where are you from?", and I say to him, "Kenya". He looks at me, while deeply pouting his mouth, and then says to me, "Nice to meet you" with his hands partially open, before pausing and adding, "and your name is?" I kind of look at him, because he has placed his ear near my mouth, and I then say to him, "Bantu". "What?" he says to me like again, and I say "Bantu, Bantu Moor". He looks at me kind of surprised, and then somewhat raises his hands partially. He looks at me again, before saying to me, "How do you like America?" Am like totally not sure, how to respond. I wait a moment, before saying, "I think its great." He lunges his upper body somewhat backwards and says, "That's good, I like that." He then asks me, if there is something I need. I don't really know what to say, and somewhat look back at the barman. I somewhat see him and feel him, walk away again. "Maybe another martini, some shoes" he says while looking down at my feet, "some girls maybe" he says, before I begin to somewhat laugh. "Whats so funny?" he asks me, and I look towards the far end of the bar from where I stand, not knowing what to say. He looks back at me and says to me, "Whats the matter, cat got your tongue?" I begin again, to set out laughing, and then say, "Do you know Carla Gugino" "What?" he says to me, as though surprised and shocked at the same time, and I kind of go quiet. "You ask me, if I know Carla Gugino?" I look at him, before saying "yes". "Why?" he then says to me, and I say, "I would love to speak to her." "To Carla Gugino" he says again, and I say, "Yes." He again partially raises his hands, and then solemnly says, "Okay." He walks a small distance away from me, and reaches out for his phone, in the side pocket, of his jacket. He pulls it out, and flips it open. He presses on a button, and as the phone appears to be ringing, points out a finger at me, as if telling me to wait. "Carla, Miss Carla Gugino" he says into the phone, "a moment please." He then turns around and hands me the phone, somewhat slowly. I take it from him uneasily, and bring it cautiously, to my ear. "hello" I say into it, before a cheery voice says back to me, "Hi". I am kinda shocked, and look to see Al Pacino, standing near me, with his hands partially raised, while looking somewhat downwards. I slowly hand back the phone to him, and he picks it up and says, "Carla, sorry about that" before flipping the phone shut. He then raises his hands, with the phone still in one of his hands, and still somewhat looking downwards, and then walks away, towards the pool table. I stand still as he does so, and turn to watch him walk away. I then turn around, to make a 360 degree turn in all, and turn to look at the barman, who is at the moment again, walking away from me. I somewhat sit at the bar again, but the barman has left. Some moments later, as I am still facing the bar, a hand raps once on my back and I hear a voice say, "I'll see you later" as I turn around, to see Al Pacino, walking out. I sit about for another 10 minutes, before I decide to leave.
