Stepping out of the comfort zone...

Music | Rock Me Baby... by Gretchen

Note the time... I just returned from a night of poetry and music and a visual delight of people who came to attend Poetic Nights at the OHM Nightclub in Old Town. I've got Gretchen in my head singing "Rock me baby... Rock me all night long..." She is a little petite women dressed in a very conservative beige skirt and jacket that one would never think had this amazing sensual voice. She literally transformed into a sex kitten as she let out her song and fighting to unbutton her jacket.

Quite a few poets came out, 3 that had words that hit me up side the head. I had talked about stepping out of my comfort zone earlier, and tonite was a prime opportunity for me to do so. As one of the first poets that left a heavy impression on me read, I thought about my new series of photographs. "Portland Poets" was born. There was still the issue of introducing myself and talking with my possible future subjects. But with my cards in hand, I was surprised how easy I was able to talk with them. All 3 seemed genuinely interested, so in the next few weeks, we'll see if this starts to happen.

The evening went on with a great local band finishing up the night for me. I got to meet finally a woman that I had spoken with and communicated via the internet for a photo shoot. She is an amazing singer that joined the band for a song.

I'm riding home, thinking what a great night I had. Now I'm cruising along empty streets, traffic lights turning green as I approach the last turn before I can park my bike. Suddenly, a mere 4 blocks from my home, a car is blasting thru the intersection, apparently not seeing me as I am going thru the same intersection. Fortunately, I'm in a gear where I flipped the throttle, accelerated hard, slide over to my left as the car misses me by 5 feet.

I'm not as shocked as I thought I should be. I could have been T-boned by a fast moving car. For a moment, I heard in my head the collision. My night ended to reinforce me that stepping out of my comfort zone isn't as bad as being dead. I imagine things will come easier now.