The Author Who Gets Free Drinks: a (Hopefully) True Story, live (again) at Broken Piano for President

Patrick Wensink kindly re-posted my short essay thing “The Author Who Gets Free Drinks: A (Hopefully) True Story,” over at his blog, Broken Piano for President, which not coincidentally is the title of his recently released book. Head over to the site, take in the story. It’s about Tom Waits, free drinks, and Southwest Airlines. Here’s a lick:

This is the already true part: in June of 2008 I stood on a beach in San Diego wearing a full suit, paying more attention to my watch than to the ocean in front of me. For a boy from Kansas City, where the largest body of water might be a wort vessel at the Boulevard Brewery, this transposed priority says a lot. I had a flight, and as always, the airline schedule superseded any perceived relaxation. And it’s especially hard to relax when, with my suit beachwear I looked the part of a misplaced predator. Bikinied women covered themselves as I strolled the boardwalk.