Stephen Mejias

Touring Edition

Stephen Mejias  |  Aug 29, 2006

Sorry about that. Kelli and I flew off to Maine. We spent most of our time on Mt. Desert Island. "Desert," in this case, is pronounced "dessert" (with a French accent, if you like). It was good and quiet. We drove along the coast in our pathetic PT Cruiser (Touring Edition), from Portland to Bar Harbor, listening to the new TV on the Radio. It starts off like a Sonic Youth song, but the drums change it all. And then the vocals change it more. Of the words I could make out: Hey hey, my baby / Won't you lay your hands on me / Mirror my malady / Transfer my tragedy. We decided that he really does sound like Peter Gabriel.

And then. We wrapped ourselves in blankets of green and ate lots of lobster. We had:

1. lobster rolls
2. lobster mashed potatoes
3. lobster pizza
4. lobster bisque
5. stuffed lobster
6. lobster in our pasta.

Matt, the laidback innkeeper, told us to stay away from the:

7. lobster ice-cream.

So we did. The blueberry ice-cream, however, was good.

We pushed our bodies to the top of Camden Hills and looked out at the tiny ships and the tall white steeples. We rode our bikes around rocky paths to the top of Acadia and wondered if we'd ever find the way down. We did. We visited the home where Wadsworth Longfellow was born and the cemetery where he was buried. We slept well and woke to green trees and soft rain.

In a gift shop on Main Street, I noticed something about the music: it sounded alive. I didn't stop to consider it much, but continued reading through the funny greeting cards. And then. Kelli pointed it out to me:

"There's a McIntosh preamp."

Their needles quivered against the blue light like sails against the big sky.

"And those are Phase Electronics speakers," said the guy behind the counter.

"It's funny," I told him, "I didn't see the gear until just now, but I noticed right away that the music had hi-end sound."

As soon as the words escaped my mouth, I wondered what they meant.

COMMENTS
Wes Phillips's picture
Submitted by Wes Phillips (not verified) on August 29, 2006 - 5:23pm

They mean you're one of us now. Heh heh heh.I laugh Sam Tellig's evil laugh.

Al Marcy's picture
Submitted by Al Marcy (not verified) on August 29, 2006 - 5:45pm

It gets worse :) I was at lunch at a good hotel and the Happy Hour solo guitar player was rehearsing," or tuning for the room. Whatever. He was like Chet Aitkins meets Charlie Byrd. His big Fender amp sounded so good I just grinned and didn't mention it. My lunch buddy said it first: ""That guy's guitar amp sounds way too good."" Yes. Life is a surprise", sometimes. I like it when somebody sounds too good ... we were late back from lunch.

Kevin's picture
Submitted by Kevin (not verified) on August 30, 2006 - 3:25am

And what was the lobster's opinion? Did he crack his pinchers? ;-)

Christian's picture
Submitted by Christian (not verified) on August 30, 2006 - 1:18pm

That sounds like a nice extended weekend. I love the east coast, or maritimes if you will. In some parts of eastern Quebec you can get a McHomard (Homard being french for lobster) at McDonald's. I tried one once and kept it down, but it just didn't go well with the fries.

Stephen Mejias's picture
Submitted by Stephen Mejias (not verified) on August 30, 2006 - 2:49pm

>In some parts of eastern Quebec you can get a McHomard (Homard being french for lobster) at McDonald's.Are you kidding me? Kelli and I joked about this, not knowing that it actually existed. Gross. I admire you, however, for braving it. It's interesting how there are regional variations to McDonalds' menu.

bllfrog's picture
Submitted by bllfrog (not verified) on September 2, 2006 - 12:14pm

We have the Green Chile double cheeseburger here at New Mexico McDonalds. Usually palatable at 99 cents.Stephen, you gotta try the Clam Rolls (w/ whole fried Quahogs) next time.

Stephen Mejias's picture
Submitted by Stephen Mejias (not verified) on September 5, 2006 - 1:58pm

>We have the Green Chile double cheeseburger here at New Mexico McDonalds.Wow. I hate McDonalds just as much as the next skinny, anti-corporate America American, but something about Green Chile double cheeseburgers and McLobsters makes me happy. I like knowing that they exist in this world.>Stephen, you gotta try the Clam Rolls (w/ whole fried Quahogs) next time.Oh man, I wanted to. But the deep fried onion middles and whoopie pie was more than I could handle. Next time, indeed.

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