Matrix..What a Band!

Last night I had a lot of fun and sadness all at the same time.

I went to a local bar to watch a friend play drums in his band 'Matrix'. I have known Larry and his wife Paula since High School and I thought I would go and listen and enjoy people watching as I am not much of a drinker.
I have to say, I have never been a bar goer, and see why. I mean, when I walk in it isn't like I wouldn't fit in with all my piercings and tattoo, but the type of people I saw and the lives that they lead made me sad for them.
I saw people who were worn, 'rode hard and put away wet' they say. The women in their short skirts and the men eyeing them all the time.....they knew it. I saw the ones that the bartenders knew by name because this was their only hangout, their weekend (if not daily) routine.

I focused on one guy in particular. He stood out to me because I had recognized him. He looks exactly like a guy that fought at the XFS fights I worked last time. I knew it wasn't THE guy, but one of his family members, as they all looked alike...beautiful eyes, kind of grisly biker type with full beards and flat noses from to many breaks. He stumbled around the bar. If someone sat at his table he would get up and move to another one. He never spoke to anyone and would occasionally laugh at a joke that no one told but the voice in his head. I watched him drink beer after beer and retreat outside with some of the other patrons to partake in drug use I am sure. He would rummage thru his pockets on his cammo pants and pull out a handful of pills and put them in his mouth and swallow them with a swig of beer. His eyes were empty...his soul was empty. I felt so bad for him, thinking about how he and many like him only look forward to the next drink and drug, and it made me sad. I found myself saying a prayer for him and he is so lost in this world. I wonder if he passed away, what difference did he make in the world? It isn't to say that no one would miss him, but would anyone really notice?

I came home and told Curtis that I had a blast, the band was GREAT but the people I saw were sad. He reminded me why we don't go to bars and what did I think I was going to see. I guess I have just not thought much about it.
I think the look in the guys eyes will haunt me for a while, the look of lost. How I wanted to just bring him home and make him see that there is so much more to life than bars, booze and drugs. Of course, I think Curtis would draw the line at me bringing home odd drunks at all hours of the morning to save them. :-)