The Outsider

     I am an outsider.  I am not from here.  I am mostly from Los Angeles, with an eight year stint in Utah.

     I am 45 years old now.  Seventeen of those years I have spent in San Francisco.  Some say you are not a true resident until you have been here for twenty years.

     Anyhow, I go to a local bar every night called, "The Texan Outhouse".  It has nothing to do with Texas.

     The bar is frequented by all kinds of people, from all walks of life.  Some of the customers are more well-off than others.  The economic range is 'completely homeless' to 'doing pretty good'.
   
     That is part of the appeal to the bar.  Anybody and everybody is welcome, some more than others.

     So, anyways, my perspective is of that of a fucked up artist ex-Mormon and current alcoholic.  I like to mix it up.

     I make art every night in the bar, and I often sell my art, too.  People like what I do enough to cough up some cash for it, which makes me happy.  It beats working.  Trumps it.

     Some people like me, some don't.  Nothing I can do about that, except to mind my P's and Q's.  I don't want to wear out my welcome.

     Sometimes I make fun of people in my art, and in my writing.  I think it is funny, that is why I do it.  Sometimes, however, I do it because I am morally outraged, or disturbed by what I see.

     One thing I do see, myself included, is people doing the same things over and over again, without variation.  I make fun of this a lot.

     For the most part, though, I don't know what to say.  It is just a bar.  It has a history and reputation of being a literary bar, though, where people would come in and write.
     Currently, I hear a lot of people say they are writers, but mostly they are talkers, I think.  I don't see any writing going on, except once in a while by the dedicated few.
     
     I do observe a lot of show-boating and drama.  There is a healthy competition at all times to be the center of attention, which is another great thing to make fun of.

     Overall, I like the bar a lot, and I like the freedom it provides.  I only wish more people would take advantage of this.  But that isn't my problem, is it?  No, I don't think so.

     Critics of my art work, and of me as a person, never buy my art anyhow, so I don't know why I care what they say.
     Hands down, the art that I do that sells the most is my naked lady art, so I'll continue doing that, drink a beer, and have a good time.