Dog Day Afternoon

A memorial for a friend who just died

His name was Johnny Mac

and he was a genius

I once described him

as looking like a civilized caveman

long before auto insurance ads

and when he sang

he was positively primal

anger and rage sloughed off of him

as he somersaulted through lyrics

he’d rip you to shreds while onstage

but off stage

he was a creampuff

not that he was a wimp

far from it

but he was the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet

unless he’d been drinking

you didn’t even want to know him if he’d been drinking

 

Nothing in life came easy for Johnny

he fought for every thing he had

and he didn’t have much

but he’d share anything he had with you

no matter how little he had

that’s the kind of guy he was

 

When I heard that he had died

something broke inside me

we’ve been through so much in our lives collectively

and he was just getting his life back together

two weeks away from finishing a new album with his old band

something he’s wanted for 15 years

 

Johnny must be laughing somewhere in the afterlife

cause everything he wanted in life

the recognition of his band, the news articles, the accolades

never happened till he died

he really must be laughing

like we’d laugh

when one of us messed up and had to repeat the action three times

or like we did after he kept me up all night

repeatedly trying to put a movie on a list that was already there

 

it’s just not fair