Chamblee54

The December Little 5 Poetry Bash was held in the doorway between Java Lords and 7 Stages. JL had festive lighting, and turned the performers red, blue, green, and white by turns. This was especially flattering for L5PB majordomo Han Vance, who was dressed like an Elf. Han read selections for a stack of chap books, and was highly entertaining. There is something about being in the same room as someone, and able to hear them clearly, that just adds to the enjoyment of the evening.
Mitchell Padgett was the feature, and read for a while. Since there were only a handful of poets, you could read as much as you wanted to. Mitchell later expressed disappointment at the sparse crowd, which I could only agree with. Performing for your own enjoyment has its limits.
As I said, it was a tiny crowd, consisting mostly of fellow performers. We did have a newcomer, Johanna Smith. It is always fun to have more people, and maybe it will happen next month.
L5PB is not without disappointments. On my last visit to the fabled JL bathroom, the thumb lock was stuck, and the door was jar for my last piss of the night. If I had to shit, it would have been show time. Or I could not shit, and go blind instead. Stevie Wonder does not recommend this option.
After finding my vehicle intact and unbooted, I made my way up to N. Highland. When I got to the exit for the Ex-Pres-way, I took a left. You only die once, and the potholes come faster on the freeway, instead of the agonizing death of a thousand jostles on Briarcliff Road. Meanwhile, I was button pushing on the radio, and found a new episode of Drabblecast. Strange stories, by Strange authors, for Strange listeners. Unfortunately, this was not one of their better episodes, and I turned to this month’s New Yorker fiction podcast, which sucked in it’s own NPR-listening way. Sometimes free downloads are worth what you pay for them.
The last disappointment came on the trip home. I cherish my L5PB junk food run, and could already taste the ambrosial mystery meat from Taco Bell. Unfortunately, this facility is now only open 9am – 3am on Sunday. I backtracked across North Druid Hills, with it’s Byzantine construction projects, to the Burger King, next to the Arthur M. Blank hospital. BK is part of the hospital supply chain.