Tides In...

I referred in an earlier Post to my best friend named "Ocean" I put his name In quotes because of the way he always signed his notes that he would leave if he came to visit and we weren't at home. Actually the note would simply consist of an "X". That would mean that "Ocean" had been there. It was sort of his "Zorro" Mark, He would leave it in motel rooms, on street signs, bathroom walls, every where he went. To this day If I look hard enough I can still find these "X"s around town, On street light post, on stop signs and etched in the mirrors of certain motel rooms. When ever he would come to visit who ever answered the door would exclaim "Tides In" That meant that "Ocean was at the door. Born and raised in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury district he was what some would call a hippy or "Street Person". In all the years I knew him he never really had a place of residence., But when asked if he was homeless he would reply "I'm not homeless, I live in Fairfield". I was told that he never went beyond the 7th or 8th grade but despite this fact he was one of the most intelligent and resourceful people I had ever known. He could fix just about anything using the most off the wall methods and substitute parts you could imagine,but it always worked. He always carried Duct Tape and super glue wherever he went and if some one needed something like a certain fuse or a certain type screw or bolt or what ever there was a good chance that he had it on his truck that we called the "The Dinosaur" More about that later. He was also quite a musician and played Bass fiddle and some saxophone. He had a 1949 Epiphone stand up Bass and could play it like nobodys business. Unfortunately He kept it at a friends house and there was a fire and well you can guess the rest. There is a lot more to tell about this unique individual but I will leave it here for now.



To be continued.....