Further excerpts from a Journal I kept about visits from my friend Emerson
Who is Emerson? He is a bit of an enigma - a part-time poet and full-time drunk. He is not famous or a celebrity, but he's what some might call a ladies' man, although, after a night with him, they often wonder why. Silver tongue devil...
Valentine's Day has arrived, and it reminds me of when Emerson and I stumbled out of a cab back to my apartment in Orlando—about 35 years ago. He was passing through while I was staying in a three-bedroom apartment shared with six other people. Those were good times! 😉 I was working part-time, studying photography, and dating Robyn, whom I thought was the love of my life at the time. Emerson suggested we hang out by the pool and finish off the beers we had picked up on the way back.
I shrugged as we popped the lock on the apartment pool and opened a couple of beers. I talked about Robyn and how I was falling for her for the thousandth time that night when he sighed and suddenly pushed me into the pool. When I surfaced, I was understandably angry; being drunk and wet didn't help my mood. He squatted down, looking at me calmly while sipping his beer. Once I finished cursing at him, he said something that has stayed with me over the years. Like most things, the details of life can fade with time, but this particular moment came back to me today.
"You know truth is that the Earth and the universe don’t need anyone. Not a single person—parents, teachers, presidents, children, or anyone else.. The world doesn't need us. Any of us. It doesn't care who lives or who dies. Night and day keep on coming. Relentless. The world doesn't clearly give a damn about anybody. But that's sad. It's such a lonely, hollow truth. As a result, we seek out other people to fill the emptiness around us. We want to feel needed and to need others. If you say you love her, that’s fine, but just make sure she feels the same way about you. Otherwise, you need to cool off a bit."
He helped me out of the pool and finished his beer. After that, he walked me back to my apartment and said he would see me later. Ultimately, "later" turned out to be three years later. By that time, Robyn and I were no longer together. Emerson and I were sitting at a bar somewhere in Tallassee, talking about my classes. I was dating another woman, but it wasn't the same as before. Emerson gave me one of his Cheshire grins and said, "All you need is love, baby, but Lust does something wicked with her tongue that you like."
These memories popped into my head this Valentine's Day; they hadn't seen the light of day for a while.
I wonder what Emerson has been up to these days.
Complied from two entries written on December 2020 and November 2021
Updated February 14, 2025
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