No Watch, No Wallet, No Wireless...

“When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose, you’re invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal…how does it feel…" Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan

The day dawned nasty, sunless in a drenching rain. His mood mirrored the low barometric pressure. Having coffee, he noticed The Great Triumvirate ~ his watch, wallet and cell phone ~ lying on the counter in mocking judgment. Something about the combination of these godless idols caught his attention and gave him an idea. “An experiment,” he said aloud, a perfect diversion on a dreary day.

He removed his wallet’s contents: credit cards, $83 of cash, driver’s license, insurance card, gym card, business cards and an assortment of useless scraps of paper with mysterious names and numbers. Scattered upon the table, they seemed to synthesize the consistency of his life…crutches of enablement. Many live without them, could he? He pondered the question.

Today I’ll leave my watch, wallet and wireless and see how it goes, he concluded…a noble experiment of living without them for a day. So he left, strolling into the unknowns of the hour.

Hungry, his first stop was Publix and free coffee. Searching the aisles, he discovered fresh fruit, cheeses, bread, chips and dips and other delicacies. Later he moved on to Kroger, where there was much of the same. He ate modestly. In the cheese shop he found he could ask for tastes of a variety of cheeses, telling the clerk he’d be back soon. And so it went.

After brunch he became anxious, needing communication. Ah, the library, he remembered. There he found available a variety of newspapers, books, magazines, free…and nice comfortable chairs and clean bathrooms. Outside the rain poured in torrents. No one questioned his right to be there. No one cared that he was.

Night approached. After an appetizer-run through Whole Foods and their enticements, he strolled across the street. City lights reflected in a rainbow of colors from the wet, black streets. What a day to experiment with becoming utterly naked, he thought, as the doorman welcomed him with a smile into the elegant St. Regis Hotel. Did he suspect my subterfuge? He shrugged, walking across the plush carpet towards the bar.

He thought best on his feet and stood leaning on the mahogany bar as if he belonged. His back was against the wall, an appropriate metaphor for the experiment, he concluded. Pretense prefers such locations, where the scene can be overlooked for opportunities with impunity and anonymity. He was not a dissembling novice in bars…yet tonight was different, having no watch, no wallet and no wireless. He felt naked, vulnerable.

The crowd’s comportment was decorous and genteel. “May I help you, sir?” the cordial bartender asked. ”A water, tall glass, with two lemons, please, I’m waiting on someone,” he said. The water arrived, delivered without a smile. “Say, wonder if I could have a plate of those nuts and pretzels,” he asked. Obligatorily, the barkeep complied.

He sipped the water like an expensive glass of wine. The bar stretched almost the length of the room, with stools occupied by amiable patrons. Small tables were scattered throughout the room, accented by cushy leather chairs and shared by a dichotomous mixture of working types…older men mostly, younger women, each plying their trade over tall glasses filled with olives, or wine. From the dark paneling hung floor-length draperies, muting the room and giving it a cozy city feel.

A few of the men he knew, some from experience, others by reputation. He recognized none of the women, most of who were of a younger generation. Those who were not occupied by men concentrated intently on their Blackberries, as if to deflect the notion of insignificance. He understood the context of such interactions.

Cautiously he moved from the bar, shaking hands along the way with those he recognized. Nobody seemed to notice his glass of water, nobody asked. Nobody cared. Plastic credit cards flashed and cash lay damply upon the bar. He ordered another glass of water without incident or concern. He thought, you know, I’m having fun here and have not spent a dime.

The bar thinned out and he did likewise. He walked from the lobby through the door opened by the cordial doorman. The rain had subsided to a fine mist, fresh upon his face. He felt a rush of empowerment, sensing freedom from the tyranny of The Triune idols. What other superfluity could he shed? He contemplated this as he walked. Maybe another experiment tomorrow perhaps? Maybe.

But for today, no watch, no wallet, no wireless…no worry. This is America!

Bud Hearn
October 29, 2009