Poise in the Pocket

So its about midnightish. I'm finishing my liter size gladiator beer...and we're on the way back to the hotel. well, walking through the termini theres many o stairs. and i tripped and fell face first down about 6 of the marble stairs in the termini.

well it takes a certain kind of fall to knock out your teeth and a special kind of glass to put a gash in your hand the width of an index finger. maybe a gladiator size beer? my hand was covered in blood. my teeth i had spit out and we found a few cops. they surroded us, probably thinking that i had just gotton my ass kicked, but when we tried to tell them the story they figured out what happened. well, they were classy enough to call an ambulance.

the ambulance came rushing over and they shoved me and and kicked trey out. trey, stepped up in the clutch as i was sitting there, bleeding, he kept telling me to put my finger in it. well, i get to the ER and immediatly feel the anxiety of a foreign hospital, no money, no cigarettes and no teeth. they tell me to sit and keep the gauze on my hand. i guess, the intimadation finally set in when they called me into the room, and i sat down and they yelled ASI ASI. italian for...i dont know. it was really weird. needless to say. well they stiched up my gash (3 stiches) and tested my motor corrdination. all golden so they kicked me out...

stay in the waiting room they said. the waiting room was a glorified garage, with chairs and nothing else. my phone had died earliar, and i didnt have my trusty map. so i'm stuck...

in a foreign country, no cigarettes, no money, no phone, bloddied shorts, a blue shirt painted red in blood, and for lack of another word...no poise.

i went to use a pay phone to try to collect call my dad for advice, but of corse not only was it in italian but it wasnt working. great. pissed, i walked around the corner and thought about what to do. after dropping the f-bomb maybe a little bit too loud i talked to a cop who barly knew english. he tried to get me to stay in the waiting room and then he ended up giving me directions to the termini. which is a good 3, 4 blocks from my hotel.

now rome is set up alot like austin. many side streets, many crackheads around the corner. so around 2:30 a.m. i'm guestimating, i decide to take off and take it into my own hands. to hell with staying in a waiting room where a sitting duck (aka a short white boy covered in blood with a wallet) could get mobbed. so i said, lets do it. walk back. find the termini. find a map. get home.

keep in mind...what i didnt have.

money, phone, key, map, cigarettes, italian language skills, sense of direction...

honestly the only thing i had was a good idea of how to get from termini to the hotel. so i'm walking...im walking...im looking around....im walking...im literally freaking the hell out. then all the sudden i realized that the only thing i have is 'poise in the pocket.' the idea that i'm the quarteback facing a serious all out blitz (my shit situation) and ive got a great opportunity to throw it deep and score 6. (aka, get home with nothing and prove myself wrong, saying no to that shituation).

so when i was walking, i was praying, i was looking, i was begging. i finally came across a hotel that was still open. i figured hey, go in here...see if the dude speaks english. well i knock on the door, wake the poor guy up and ask...englea? englea? no no...map?!? map?!? asi, asi, here ya go.

well, i walked out of the hotel, and i needed to find cavor. the road that leads from the colosium to the termini. man, intimidating situation, but its alright i have a map. i see the termini and feel a sense of catching a break after this shit night. i see that its around 4 a.m and decide not to go into the creepy ass termini at 4 in the morning.

so i walk down one street, and nothing looks familiar so i bail. go to the next street, same story. so i think, shit, i am S....O....L

should i try to go back to the hospital, where ive mapped out my path or walk on fire and go for the hotel. well, anyone who knows me knows when i'm down by 2 with 3 seconds left on the clock, i always call for the 3 pointer game winner. well, finally i found the right street and literally stumbled upon the check in place. it was like seeing GOD! i was so happy to find it i ran in , thank GOD it was 24 hours and got directions to my hotel. well, i walked around...nickin begging guards with ak-47's who spoke only italian for a cigarette.

by the time i got back, i almost pissed myself with happyness that i pulled that off.

sigh...

i guess what got me back was the relaxed approach i finally realized when i left the hospital. thank God i had the kind of chip on my shoulder (which has moved to my front teeth) to get myself out of that situation. i'm gonna be able to retrospect on that night and know that i can handle everything. you talk about dealing with adversity trying to...pick up a girl. take a step back man, look at the situation i got myself out of. feck math, rabbit problems and everything. i figured my way in rome to a t, and got myself out. with no help other than from God. Talk to me now Todd, its audacious to predict the picture.

...cheers