Seafood Joint

This is one of my favorite pieces, because it was one of the first original ideas I had that I wrote and produced based on a fictional-fantasy type situation that had roots in real life. Fact was, I did go to a Red Lobster with a black family -- their 9 year old was best friends with my 9 year old. Fact is, I got some dirty looks. I couldn't believe it. I now live in the south, but spent most of my life in the north. No one actually said anything to me, but I felt like they were pretty peeved I was eating at a table with these friends of ours. If you want to be ultra-liberal, you might make a case that I was the racist one, because in real life I may have felt something that didn't actually exist. Were the eyes booring holes through me my imagination? I maintain: no. But, make your case if you want.

At any rate, the thing that I most noticed was that these friends didn't even seem to notice or care. That's where the line "been through this too many times" comes from. I imagined that yes, racism probably still happens so much they didn't even notice anymore. What a shame. I also say toward the end of the piece that I understand how they must feel. Looking back, this is so ridiculous I wish I could easily redo the piece. There isn't any way a white male adult American can understand how 99% of the world feels. Guys like me are just about as free from repression as anyone has ever been.

Warning: I use the "s" word here -- a couple of minutes in. Some people have complained about the music, but I think it works. Like it or don't, but this piece is one of my favorites because now whenever I have one of these stories pop into my mind, I write it down. Seafood Joint was the first time I did that.

Seafood Joint