The Tough Talk - 4.1

Hit this to Talk Tough Yourself or roulez off to Johnny's, Part Four or rocket over to Johnny's, Part Eight or to the previous buncha Tough Talk (3) or up to the next Tough Talk (4.2)

Velocevita (The Fast Life) - 03/15/99 00:24:10
The Heat You Pack? A good rhythm section

Comments:
Jive Bopper, "If I should take a notion/to jump right in the ocean/ain't nobody's biznss what I do." I'm knockin' my kisses to Jefferson, even if he is lettin them fly by to the right and to the left. He's ducking them like punches.



HepCatJiveBopper - 03/14/99 18:00:11
The Heat You Pack? Neon gun

Comments:
Velocevita (The Fast Life) -- "I like pie, I hope to die / just get a load of this / when you get high, doggone the pie / come on baby, knock me a kiss."



Bobby Three-Heads - 03/14/99 15:20:45
The Heat You Pack? M-16

Comments:
You gourmands can talk about cuisine, but when it snows there's nothin like dipping a peanut butter sandwich into cream of tomato soup -- with some steaming Ovaltine in a mug on the side.



RicoSuave - 03/13/99 01:22:46
The Heat You Pack? Depends on the situation.

Comments:
Father Mac can deliver a bromide. "Your Bathsheba" he says to Uriah the Hittite. Uriah's Bathsheba looks like somebody else's to me.



Mrs. Watson - 03/12/99 19:07:48

Comments:
Father MacVicar, in "The Ecstasy" do you think John Donne is thinking of David and Bathsheba with this -- "And while our souls negotiate there . . . all day the same our postures were, and we said nothing all the day."?



JeanPaulHimself - 03/12/99 16:18:42
The Heat You Pack? What I need

Comments:
Mac, you got it wrong about David. I'll tell you why in a few minutes. I'm busy now with some music and some dancing.



Father MacVicar - 03/12/99 15:31:09
The Heat You Pack? Heat of Redemption

Comments:
Uriah, I offer to you the words of Joseph: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." Genesis 50:20. Your Bathsheba gave birth to the great Solomon, builder of The Temple; and David, well, Uriah, he got what was coming to him.



Uriah the Hittite - 03/12/99 13:32:45
The Heat You Pack? Old Testament heat.

Comments:
I'm mad. I'm bad. John Lee Hooker sings my song. I'm not pleased with the way this story shook out.



The Last Neanderthal - 03/12/99 12:09:59
The Heat You Pack? It's in the hard-wiring

Comments:
I'm looking for a new job -- more money, more fun. I just quit my old one.



Mrs. Watson - 03/12/99 07:40:54
The Heat You Pack? Steam

Comments:
The story for today begins this way: "And it came to pass in an even-tide that David arose from off his bed and walked upon the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman . . . and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 2 Samuel 11: 2-3.



Jefferson, Rousseau, and Doctor YaYa, The Root Man - 03/10/99 02:03:58
The Heat You Pack? Heat for all the boroughs and beyond

Comments:
Johnny's up the river, dudes. Maybe you wanta talk to us.



The Darktown Strutters - 03/10/99 00:56:37
The Heat You Pack? We got what it takes.

Comments:
Weve heard about this Johnnyboy and we wanta meet him.



Shanghai Lily, Notorious Coaster - 03/09/99 22:16:08
The Heat You Pack? Jazz on the gramopone in my compartment

Comments:
Risa Sterling Tharpe is un-American.



Father MacVicar - 03/09/99 21:51:51
The Heat You Pack? Secular Heat

Comments:
I like "The Exstasie".



Risa Sterling Tharpe - 03/09/99 21:49:02
The Heat You Pack? Amusement

Comments:
This place is sophomoric.



RicoSuave - 03/09/99 20:56:30
The Heat You Pack? It depends

Comments:
Father Mac, Paul's life sounds like what Little Joey's must be. So who wants in on this job? Forget it, Joey.



Mrs. Watson - 03/09/99 17:31:39
The Heat You Pack? Stream heat, large iron radiators

Comments:
Sister Mary Regina, your flaming tongue seems to be ahead of the first line. In Donne's Holy Sonnet 14 it's "three person'd God." And it's kinky too.



Sister Mary Regina, R.S.M. - 03/09/99 14:59:24
The Heat You Pack? tongue of flame

Comments:
To Johnny, Fr. Mac, Bros. Alphonse, Leon, and Paul: I suggest a full night of meditation on "Batter My Heart Three-Part God." And have a three-page report ready for me tomorrow.



HepCatJiveBopper - 03/09/99 12:44:36
The Heat You Pack? Neon gun

Comments
. . . not to mention the Finns, Father MacVicar.



Father MacVicar - 03/08/99 23:06:28
The Heat You Pack? The shine at Damascus

Comments:
Jean Paul, as a matter of fact, the Epicureans and the Stoics called Paul a 'babbler,' the Roman Orator Tertullus called him a 'pestilent fellow,' and it's even noted in Acts 20 that as Paul was 'long preaching' a young man in Traos named Eutychus died of boredom. Not to mention that in the most famous 'boast' in all the New Testament (II Corinthians), Paul himself reports that he'd five times received from the Jews 'forty stripes save one,' that he'd been shipwrecked, stoned, beaten with rods, in perils with robbers, heathen, false brethren and even his 'own countrymen.' Your criticism enjoys esteemed company, JeanPaul.



RicoSuave - 03/08/99 22:07:24
The Heat You Pack? It depends on the situation.

Comments
Is this some book club for philosophers? Anybody in here wanta pull a job? I got a plan for a million-dollar heist, and I need two dudes with attitude, character, and strong criminal impulses.



Katarina Baader - 03/08/99 20:24:26
The Heat You Pack? 98.6

Comments:
Yes, Mrs. Watson! That's how we know. If our heart dances.



Mrs. Watson - 03/08/99 19:47:16
The Heat You Pack? Steam heat

Comments:
For Johnny it seems to be jazz, for Father MacVicar it is the Bible, for Dr. YaYa it is the root, for the American Boy it is baseball. For me it is literature, and although I am not one for cautionary tales, I recommend Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" to you all. It is to the American short story, and to some sensibilities, what Joe DiMaggio is to baseball. I saw him play many times, by the way -- the Yankee Clipper in Yankee Stadium. My heart danced, as it did years later at the Polo Grounds while I watched Willie Mays.



American Boy - 03/08/99 17:30:13
The Heat You Pack? Smoke from the mound -- into the zone.

Comments:
Smooth Joe DiMaggio was the most compleat baseball player who ever lived. Natural grace beyond words -- the swing of the bat, the racehorse moves in centerfield, the eye for the ball. True baseball sprezzatura. A 56-game hitting streak. Untouched.



JeanPaulHimself - 03/08/99 00:06:35

Comments:
I'm overruling you on this one, Root Man. Father MacVicar is a man of conviction, just like you are. The Father may speak.



Doctor YaYa, Root Man - 03/07/99 20:30:16
The Heat You Pack? It's in the voodoo root

Comments:
Send somebody to yank Father MacVicar from the pulpit. The sermon's goin' overtime. Give him the hook.



Little Joey - 03/07/99 20:26:04
The Heat You Pack? you tell'em

Comments:
right on JeanPaul. you the kinda man i need to team up with.



JeanPaulHimself - 03/07/99 15:00:09
The Heat You Pack? Slipped into my alligator belt

Comments:
Mac, this Apostle Paul was a humorless zealot and a johnson with no style. He's the last biblical voice I'd summon.



Father MacVicar - 03/07/99 12:56:28
The Heat You Pack? Heat of Paul

Comments:
Very nice, JeanPaul. I sense the struggle of the artist in you. Perhaps this will capture your imagination: "But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:3-8 (KJV, of course.)



JeanPaulHimself - 03/05/99 19:54:47
The Heat You Pack? Frisk me, broads.

Comments:
That's better, Mac. Much better. "Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us . . . then I said in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me . . . then I said in my heart that this also is vanity." Ecclesiastes 1: 10, 15. King James Version.



Father MacVicar - 03/05/99 19:35:30
The Heat You Pack? Vulgate Heat

Comments:
JeanPaul, obviously I underestimated your erudition and fine taste. Though the message does not change, I'll offer my own favorite version: "nunc autem scripsi vobis non commisceri sic huis qui frater nominatur est fornicator aut avarus aut idolis serviens aut maledicus aut ebriosus aut rapax cum eiusmodi nec cibum sumere quid enim mihi de his qui foris sunt iudicare nonne de his qui intus sunt vos iudicatis nam eos qui foris sun Deus iudicate aferte malum ex vobis ispis." I Corinthians V: VII-X



JeanPaulHimself - 03/05/99 18:34:38
The Heat You Pack? Frisk me, broads.

Comments:
Little Joey, nobody believes you. You're a goofball. TO FATHER MACVICAR -- What abominable contempo translation do you read? The passage you quote, and all other passages, are far more powerful in the high poetry and majesty of the King James Version.



Cudjoe Key Dude - 03/05/99 17:57:47
The Heat You Pack? The chix rub aloe vera on it.

Comments:
Father MacVicar ...... Double Dude!!



Father MacVicar - 03/05/99 16:55:04
The Heat You Pack? Heat of The Word

Comments:
Dr. YaYa, I recommend a book for you, in fact an all-time best seller for centuries. Allow me to quote a small passage that you and your cohort JeanPaul should find particularly poignant: "It is obvious what proceeds from the flesh: lewd conduct, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, bickering, jealousy, outbursts of rage, selfish rivalries, dissentions, factions, envy, drunknness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I have warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!" 1 Corinthians, 5:19-21.



Little Joey - 03/05/99 12:17:35
The Heat You Pack? HE'S FINISHED

Comments:
Key West (AP). The Kid, famed mythic poet-adventurer, was discovered today lying face down in the sand on an uninhabited island 35 miles from the shores of Castro's Cuba. U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue Commander J.R. Plimpton was quoted as saying "It was terrible. Whoever did this, did it for a reason. The Kid suffered for a long time." Sources have indicated foul play, not drowning due to lack of conditioning. KID - your epitaph will read "HE WAS NO-ONE SPECIAL"



George Jackson - 03/05/99 11:05:40
The Heat You Pack? Crosstown heat

Comments:
So what happened, Velocevita? We get back to the States and you want Jefferson back. But he doesn't seem very interested. In fact, it seems to be very over. You're a ghost to him.



Doctor YaYa, Root Man - 03/04/99 18:02:51
The Heat You Pack? The heat of the root

Comments:
Father MacVicar, I'd say you have a very narrow idea of worship, prayer, and communion. Cigarettes and jazz and soul music don't rule out the sanctified moment. And as you know, fellow holy man, everything about the Apocrypha is questionable -- eight of those fourteen books read like tabloid prose to me. And much of the Old Testament too. I got a book for you to read -- "The Root" by Zanzibar YaYa, R.D. and L.D. Black Cat Bone Press put it out last year. International best-seller. Voodoo Apocrypha.



Cudjoe Key Dude - 03/03/99 23:56:28
The Heat You Pack? The chix rub aloe vera on it.

Comments:
Father MacVicar ...... Dude!



Father MacVicar - 03/03/99 21:31:40
The Heat You Pack? Holy Water, Incense and Rosary Beads

Comments:
Hubris, harlotry, incest and deceit. Sacrilege, sodomy and sanctimony. Cigarettes and jazz do not constitute prayer. Tabloids are not part of the Apocrypha and lounging about is not meditation. My task is great, Brothers and Sisters, and heavy is my burden.



Little Joey - 02/28/99 23:37:46
The Heat You Pack? All from the same seed

Comments:
you all must be related.



Cateyes - 02/28/99 23:24:24
The Heat You Pack? not enough it seems

Comments:
Goodbye would have been nice Johnny............



Sharla - 02/28/99 21:26:03
The Heat You Pack? black coffee in a paper cup

Comments:
Standing here on a cold corner....wishing the best for you Johnny. You dropped a fiver in my case once. Sending good karma your way.



JeanPaulHimself - 02/28/99 18:22:55
The Heat You Pack? It's nearby.

Comments:
Brother Leon, what do you do in Brother Paul's room every Thursday and Saturday night, say from 11:00 until about 4 a.m.? Maybe you'll have nothing more to say about my visit here. Maybe your mouth is now closed. And maybe you'll apologize for your prissy intrusion, say before sunset.



Brother Leon - 02/28/99 13:11:19
The Heat You Pack? Holy ardor

Comments:
No smoking in the guest rooms, Mr. Noir. Once again, I've had to report you to Brother Alphonse. The list of offenses grows.



Carmen Lopez - 02/28/99 10:27:58
The Heat You Pack? Look in my calfskin bag.

Comments:
So what do we have here? Johnny with the dancing heart?



RicoSuave - 02/28/99 02:11:36
The Heat You Pack? Depends on the situation.

Comments:
Like I said, the goofiest babbler ever to walk into this joint. Unfocused nonsense, nothing there. And goofy lookin' too.



Little Joey - 02/27/99 18:14:40
The Heat You Pack? The Time Has Come

Comments:
RICO - you aint nothin. that's all i got to say. JEFFERSON - ditto. where the hell've you been until now? what do you know? johnny's got nothin else to say either. the kid drowned last night. he was 7 miles out, now he's 7 hundred feet down. shark fodder. im here, im stayin.



Jefferson - 02/27/99 16:47:51
The Heat You Pack? To the quick

Comments:
No deal, Lucille. You can forget it, Velocevita/Velma. You're a ghost, and you don't want to walk near me. You want to do your walkin' somewhere else.



slkysstr - 02/27/99 13:33:15

Comments:
go kyd! rock the straits!



The Associated Press - 02/27/99 11:54:24
The Heat You Pack? Mythic Poet-Adventurer Dives into Journey

Comments:
Key West, FL. Although for weeks The Kid, the self-proclaimed Mythic Poet-Adventurer, has been Key West's most controversial attraction, scores of both fans and skeptics came together this morning to witness the elegant swan dive that marked the beginning of The Kid's daredevil swim to Cuba. With a flair for drama that has become his trademark, The Kid remained under water for a nail-biting seven minutes after his dive, finally resurfacing yards away to the cheers of his fans. With a grin and a wave, The Kid began the Long Swim.



Velocevita (The Fast Life) - 02/27/99 05:28:26

Comments:
Jefferson, boy, I love you and nobody else. So knock me a kiss.



Jefferson and Doctor YaYa, The Root Man - 02/27/99 02:35:58
The Heat You Pack? We got heat for all boroughs and more.

Comments:
Rico, you're right. Little Joey came in here the other night calling himself Little Caesar. Somebody looked over at him and told him he looked more like Little Gloria. Right now, Redbone's doin' "Come And Get Your Love." We've been doin' lots of soul music, true soul music, that sweet soul music, while Johnny's up the river -- Jackie Wilson, The O'Jays, The Spinners, Mr. Dynamite James Brown, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Booker T, Wicked Wilson Pickett, The Isley Brothers, Sam and Dave, the Shirelles. This joint is Soul Central.



RicoSuave - 02/27/99 00:54:42
The Heat You Pack? Depends on the situation

Comments:
I nominate Little Joey as The Goofiest Babbler ever to appear in the amber light of Johnny's Lounge.



Little Joey - 02/25/99 21:57:26
The Heat You Pack? Reachin' High and Long

Comments:
Kid - good luck, youre gonna need it, ya hear? i got word your little swim's gonna end up with you in a tuna can, get it? To The Tough Guy - you better watch your mouth, 'cause i got strong soap, ya hear? no one's gonna muscle me an' my guys, nobody.



JeanPaulHimself - 02/24/99 23:37:02
The Heat You Pack? Frisk me, broads.

Comments:
Load up, Kid, and do it. There's no reason not to. TO LITTLE JOEY -- You're the new game, all right. And the name of this game is "Little Joey Talks Tough To The Low Mirror."



the kid - 02/24/99 19:03:20
The Heat You Pack? Ginko Biloba, Siberian Ginsing, Echinacea Purpea, Spirulina, Norwegian Dulse, Chlorella, Beta Carotene

Comments:
on the night before a monumental, life-changing, mythic event, it's good to celebrate a little. shot of wheat grass for all my friends!



Little Joey - 02/21/99 20:22:54
The Heat You Pack? It's behind the eyes

Comments:
i'm the new game in town, and im takin over.



slkysstr - 02/21/99 13:02:17
The Heat You Pack? itz in the walllk

Comments:
jahneeza man who lykza vakashun. he got t'muzeeek daun reel looow & he wz reedin sm thik book lass nite hwen i tappd on hz wyndooow & sneekd in. he putta flannl gown ohnme & we lafffd & hadda gd tym. i lyykkat plase. he lovz it. we hd sm sprkling wine & cheez & bred wittis tahnghee mstrd. sympl thingz. i lyk hm lykiss. he loookz reel goood.



Shanghai Lily, Notorious Coaster - 02/20/99 18:43:44
The Heat You Pack? Jazz/Blues

Comments:
There can only be one voice in the air as the curtain falls on Johnny's, and that is the voice of Billie Holiday. Say "Comes Love" or "Body and Soul" or or "Am I Blue."



Dr. YaYa, The Root Man - 02/20/99 16:06:23
The Heat You Pack? The heat of the calamus root

Comments:
If this is it, and I say it's not, then I nominate four soul songs -- Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" followed by "Super Bad" (James Brown), then the Delfonics with "Didn't I", and then the finish -- Redbone doing "Come And Get Your Love."



Rick Blaine - 02/20/99 14:50:02
The Heat You Pack? Attitude

Comments:
There's only one song. It's the one Ilsa and I danced to at La Belle Aurore in Paris -- Glenn Miller's "Perfidia."



RicoSuave - 02/20/99 13:28:32
The Heat You Pack? Depends on the situation.

Comments:
It's gotta be Frank Sinatra.



Little Joey - 02/20/99 12:14:50
The Heat You Pack? where's all the tough nuts?

Comments:
something got to johnny in miami, mrs. watson. ive seen it happen to people like him before. he got jaded. lost heart. then he bails before the last dance is over. cant take it. wont face it. oh yeah, wheres the kid? him too.



Noir Vamp - 02/20/99 09:04:50
The Heat You Pack? Leaving my straight razor on the table, shining in the amber light

Comments:
I suggest Edith Piaf, the Little Sparrow, singing "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" or "L'Hymne a L'Amour" or even Charles Trenet's "La Mer." All three, one after the other. Let's`do it right.



Katarina Baader - 02/20/99 01:42:50
The Heat You Pack? Nostalgie de la bou

Comments:
Everybody out on the floor. I'm thinking it's time for The Last Dance at Johnny's. Something slow. What shall it be?



Mrs. Watson - 02/19/99 17:19:31
The Heat You Pack? Steam heat, large iron radiators

Comments:
What happened to Johnny in Miami, during that Monk-Ruminavi thing? For BerylB: This situation has inspired you to the heights of poetry.



jentilly - 02/19/99 12:54:38

Comments:
Sic transit gloria mundi.



BerylB - 02/19/99 10:58:48

Comments:
Incoherence. Esoterica. Randomness. Nonsense voices floating up from some void (e.g. Little Joey). Street-corner posturing. Threats tossed out like bones for any passing dog. No story. No glue. No control. The center cannot hold. Johnny's has become a rudderless boat, when once it shot through the waves of the Atlantic powered by twin 454 Mercs, leaving the world and all its cares in its wake.



Little Joey - 02/19/99 02:55:29
The Heat You Pack? i know too much

Comments:
i've said it time and time again, and i'll say it all over. im the new game in town. he aint the first, and he aint the last. this kid swimmin' thing - its a desparate cry for help. nobody cares, no one knows. every one of you better watch out.



Gloria - 02/18/99 21:49:14
The Heat You Pack? habanero, triple X

Comments:
I'm a shark! Kid, you flatter me. But then, while I'm talking, why don't you get your own joint? You seem to be dominating this space. Anybody hear from Johnny lately?



Little Joey - 02/18/99 00:39:40
The Heat You Pack? you cant get rid of me that easily

Comments:
I got friends, ya hear. connected friends that see through people like you. watch out.



Katarina Baader - 02/17/99 01:16:29
The Heat You Pack? 98.6

Comments:
Ditto, Cynthia, across the board.



Cynthia 5 - 02/16/99 23:58:33

Comments:
Kid, you're not Johnny. You won't do.



the kid - 02/16/99 21:39:01
The Heat You Pack? the sweat of heavy training

Comments:
these are exactly the kind of sharks i was talkin about. these sharks, like Reeee-co and Gloria and Katarina, with their pearly whites, trying to tear the kid apart. i will make the Long Swim in one week. all I need is one more backer.



Gloria - 02/16/99 05:12:02
The Heat You Pack? habanero, triple X

Comments:
Katarina sounds like the fortune cookie, and Rico, if you want to help, you can buy us all a drink. Bloody Mary, with heat.



RicoSuave - 02/15/99 22:41:38
The Heat You Pack?: Depends on the situation.

Comments:
I can harldy watch anymore -- this kid/Liz character writing things to himself. What can we do to help?



Liz - 02/15/99 21:09:30
The Heat You Pack? Uptown Chill

Comments:
I hate to admit it, but The Kid is clearly the George Gordon, Lord Byron of our times. And Gloria, whoever you are, you sound like a fortune cookie. You should make more of an effort, my dear. xxxxWherexxis thisxxwhatxxx Am I the kid xxor Liz? What is this?



HepCatJiveBopper - 02/15/99 20:06:22
The Heat You Pack? Neon gun

Comments:
So Carla, chick with the jumpin' jitters -- fire that sawed-off shotgun. This place needs an explosion. Maybe it'll wake somebody up.



Gloria - 02/15/99 19:11:11
The Heat You Pack? habarero, triple X

Comments:
Kid.....settle in there, boy. Be who you should be.



Carla - 02/15/99 17:09:35
The Heat You Pack? the heebie-jeebies & a sawed-off

Comments:
Do I have your attention? Forget about the "tough talk". Get ready for "real talk".



Bobby - 02/14/99 11:23:13

Comments:
So what was it all about?



andreadoria - 02/14/99 02:59:40

Comments:
Ava, you're not alone. There are several stories Johnny didn't come back to.



Ava Gardner From Part Three - 02/14/99 01:24:29
The Heat You Pack? Dry Sack

Comments:
He never came back to my story. It was a good one.



Katarina Baader - 02/13/99 21:46:43
The Heat You Pack? Fever of 101

Comments:
I'm home with the flu tonight, so I'm going to tap a few more words. I've been coming to Johnny's since it opened, but until recently I've never felt the need to let my presence be known. The lounge and its people have given me moments of amusement, and a few times I've even laughed out loud; but I must now say that all purpose and direction seem lost -- Johnny's asleep in a room at the Holy Cross Monastery and this kid is running loose in the guestbook. It looks like the end.



RicoSuave - 02/13/99 18:47:58
The Heat You Pack? Depends on the situation.

Comments:
Turns out I was right. The kid was an engineering major at CCNY, but now he's an inpatient at Bellevue. So we should allow him to continue sending us these fantasy postcards. No problem, kid.



The Associated Press - 02/13/99 13:55:28
The Heat You Pack? Mythic Poet-Adventurer Announces Plans for 'Long Swim'

Comments:
Key West, FL. Standing bronzed and muscular, wrapped from the waist down in a brightly-colored sarong, The Kid, mythic poet adventurer, announced his intention to make 'the long swim' to Cuba. The Uber Kid will be the first American to attempt this 180 mile round-trip adventure and believes he can accomplish the feat in three days. "That's a conservative estimate," The Kid explained at his recent press conference. "I have to allow for the possibility of minor delays, like twelve foot whitecaps or a shark attack." cont. C3



Katarina Baader - 02/12/99 11:38:48
The Heat You Pack? Cabaret nights

Comments:
Strange dear, but true dear / when I'm close to you dear / the stars fill the sky . . .



andreadoria - 02/11/99 23:57:21
The Heat You Pack? revenge, qui est douce

Comments:
All the women seem to have your number, Johnnyboy, and now it's public. You might as well take the vows, join the Benedictines, and stay there.



the rich kid - 02/11/99 20:54:18
The Heat You Pack? the big cash-in

Comments:
i was sprinting my second lap around Key West, cookin along, flyin, we're talkin major motion, when I got to that spot where South meets Duval, and i almost ran right off the island into the Big Pond. but i stopped short. there was that magical buoy, that sphinx of buoys, squat in the dirt like a fat red buddah: SOUTHERNMOST POINT, 90 MILES TO CUBA.



Cynthia 5 - 02/11/99 17:32:34

Comments:
Not by me either, Lily and Katarina.



Shanghai Lily, Notorious Coaster - 02/11/99 12:43:23

Comments:
Not by me either, Kat.



andreadoria - 02/10/99 23:23:04

Comments:
Looks like you just took a hit, Johnny.



Katarina Baader - 02/10/99 18:41:12

Comments:
There's a part of you that just can't be reached ... not by me.



Marlene Bauer - 02/10/99 17:23:43
The Heat You Pack? The alarm

Comments:
Johnny, you must wake up now. Surely there's no vow of silence for guests at the monastery, and even if there were, you wouldn't abide by it. So come back, Benedectine Johnny, and give us the story. Do it tonight. Give us some word-kisses. And somebody please shut this posturing kid up -- Dear God! Enough.



the kid - 02/10/99 13:53:25
The Heat You Pack? 650 cc's

Comments:
you never saw me, cudjoe key dude, but you knew i was there. i was the one who came rumbling through at 110 mph, rattling the windows on that rickety conch shack of yours and rousting you from your deep margarita stupor.



Cudjoe Key Dude - 02/10/99 11:24:08
The Heat You Pack? The chix rub aloe vera on it.

Comments:
Kid, was that you I saw creeping by at 15 mph, in a sarong, riding side-saddle on that old motorcycle? With a woman who looked like a bonefish holding onto your back? Was that the mythic poet-adventurer?



easy rider kid - 02/09/99 22:32:27
The Heat You Pack? already gotta root

Comments:
got no time for quack root doctors. me and the surfer girl are headin down to Key West. got a hold of an old Indian with fringed saddle bags. Gonna cruise US 1 South and those long bridges.



Cynthia 5 - 02/09/99 00:07:22
The Heat You Pack? It's mink-lined.

Comments:
According to the Root Man's diagnosis, Kid, you're in trouble.



Doctor YaYa, The Root Man - 02/08/99 21:32:18
The Heat You Pack? The heat of the root.

Comments:
Overdoses of gingko biloba and these other potions people are turning to cause head-ebola and mouthalomania. Kid, you're on the edge of collapse, and it takes big root to cure these diseases of our times. Usually they're fatal. I've watched people die. No root could cure them. Not even sumbul root. They babbled and babbled, just like you, and then they drifted off into The Big Sleep.



the super kid - 02/08/99 19:14:34
The Heat You Pack? lecithin, wheatgerm, sea kelp and ginsing

Comments:
I'm a crack-of-dawn riser. I am in training. I start off with five miles of beach, swim the big Ten K, then sprint two miles home to take a big bite of my fresh fruit surfer girl. I am strong and I am fast.



Blue Lou - 02/07/99 23:20:02
The Heat You Pack? It would scare you.

Comments:
Lu, where have you been? It sounds like dark conflict and tristesse are still within you. Spill it, girl. Let your hair down. Let your hair down and cry.



HepCatJiveBopper - 02/07/99 18:21:49

Comments:
Lu, who are these people -- Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald? Do they rock? Did they do that throbbing hip-hop song -- "When I'm Calling You"?



the kid - 02/07/99 11:17:37
The Heat You Pack? shot of wheat grass and a carrot juice chaser

Comments:
i'm creating inner purity through florida sun, gulf breezes, the right food, and regular tastes of this surfer girl, this strawberry blonde in a thong. anybody got a problem with this? rico, for example?



Lu - 02/07/99 00:34:21
The Heat You Pack? hard little heart

Comments:
Jentilly - re: how do you keep the song from fading too fast? Only the rare, great songs last. Most songs, most people, and most of our affairs are pretty ordinary. If you really want a song to last, you better plan to do most of the humming to yourself. You may bump into your Nelson Eddy, but chances are you won't be his Jeanette MacDonald.



Noir Vamp - 02/06/99 01:15:12

Comments:
avacado pomodoro, bruschetta, osso bucco, paglia fieno alla cardinale, melanzana, cavatelli, scampi alla alforno portofino, tortellini langostino, checa, capresse, beefa carpaccio.



Shanghai Lily, Notorious Coaster - 02/05/99 18:08:35
The Heat You Pack? Imagine.

Comments:
Johnny . . . wake up. It's me, Johnny.



the kid - 02/05/99 11:47:12
The Heat You Pack? the chicks know what i'm packin under the sarong

Comments:
not a bad summary, rico. you got a pretty good grasp of the complex life of a mythic poet-adventurer. after i score The Big Cash-in, maybe i'll hire you to pen my biography.



RicoSuave - 02/04/99 20:59:59
The Heat You Pack? Big laugh

Comments:
This Kid turns out to be an emergency case for Bellevue. He's all over the attitude map. Not long ago he's plotting a takeover of Johnny's lounge. Then he's writin' poems in Mexico and askin' for money and guns. Then he's desperate to impress some chick. Then he tells us he's gotten smart and that "hombre numero uno is back." And now he's wearing a sarong. Like I said......nut case. Got some big disorder.



the kid - 02/04/99 12:14:37
The Heat You Pack? calypso heat

Comments:
good work, jeanpaul. i had enough of them high-strung uptown chicks. i got me a surfer girl now. saw her teaching windsurfing to a buncha snowbirds in speedos on the beach outside the Don Cesar. strawberry blonde in a thong. got herself a little bungalow with fruit trees in the yard. gonna crash there awhile, give the barefoot life a try, work on my poems, wear a sarong all day, maybe even become a vegeterian. it's a healthy way of life, you know.



JeanPaulHimself - 02/03/99 18:17:33
The Heat You Pack? Maybe I don't need it here.

Comments:
Liz and Barbara -- Maybe the Kid had two uptown chix. Maybe you both got played. Either way, Liz, you're outta control, shameless, and irrational. Why're you callin him sweet names and threatening Barbara after he's blown town, trashed you, and told us all about it? And what kinda broad would answer to "uptown chick" in the first place? I'm accepting no more transmissions from either of you. This uptown chick opera is over.



Liz, the REAL Uptown Chick - 02/03/99 13:31:10
The Heat You Pack? Catscratch Fever

Comments:
I don't know who you are, Barb, or who you think you are, but the Kid is MINE, my poeta joven y guapo. So understand me, you opportunistic home-wrecking tramp, you stay clear of my man, or you'll have to deal with me.



Barbara V. - 02/03/99 00:06:15

Comments:
You're a see-through comedian, Kid.



the kid - 02/02/99 20:53:23
The Heat You Pack? shoot my old lady blues

Comments:
this uptown chick, man. she gone crazy. starts out maligning the kid all over town. big deal, i think, everyone does that. then for a week straight she rings me every ten minutes, hanging up real quick. chick move, i decide, they all resort to that. but then she starts followin me, spying. i was staying on St. Pete Beach on my way down to Key Largo, staying in that big pink hotel that looks like a cupcake, the Don Cesar, and that crazy uptown chick found me, came knocking at my door. told her she's banished, out the door, adios, and that crazy uptown chick spent the night in her baby benz, howlin at the gulf waters. she over the edge, man, that uptown chick. she gone.



Road Man - 02/02/99 01:00:03
The Heat You Pack? The shimmering two-lane blacktops of high summer

Comments:
So Jean Paul, do you have a story to tell? Or are you just going to stay asleep with all that insinuating jazz down low on your FM radio? I say you're Fosse-dancin' in your dreams when you should be telling the story.



jentilly - 02/01/99 23:41:38

Comments:
Question for the lounge: How do you keep the song from fading too fast?



Barbara V, "Uptown Chick" - 02/01/99 17:15:08
The Heat You Pack? relief, and a returned light heart

Comments:
Tell the truth, Kid, and shame the Devil. I threw you out because you laid around on the couch watching TV all day and all night, wouldn't even apply for a job, and daydreamed constantly about schemes for some Big Cash-in. The last straw, you will recall, was that poor woman you mugged on 82nd St. I once thought you were cute. I thought I could help you. I was wrong.



Darla & Sharla - 02/01/99 12:37:10
The Heat You Pack? Our mama's .22

Comments:
Yes and no and it's Carla you really have to watch out for.



ThickRedKiss - 02/01/99 00:44:19
The Heat You Pack? my heat is internal

Comments:
silky sister, i'll fly with you and we'll never leave my place.



Shanghai Lily, Notorious Coaster - 01/31/99 23:36:42
The Heat You Pack? Imagine

Comments:
It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily, but Doc is my passion, and Doc only. Oh, this moon out my window! It's making me crazy.



slkysstr - 01/31/99 17:09:40
The Heat You Pack? itz in the walllk

Comments:
jahneee, hwachu doooin up the rivr wittoz monks? hwatz goin on boy? you leevin meee in the drrrrk on thisss one & itznaht likeya. smthin gotta hold uvya? talllk-ta me boy. my grrlfrend elln stooort flize a pyper cherakee & we kd drahp daun onto that litl aeroport at noooburgh sum nite. hwachu thinka thiss eyedeeah?



Carmen Lopez - 01/31/99 15:46:22
The Heat You Pack? Refined, civilized, well-schooled warmth

Comments:
Darla and Sharla, I've noticed that both of you pack the same heat. Are you sisters? Twins? Let me know, please. My curiosity has been aroused. And HepCatJiveBopper, I too am looking forward to the appearance of this blue moon tonight. Last night's was so bright and so white and so long-lasting. It's an all-night-long moon, a memorable moon.



Noir Vamp - 01/31/99 02:27:38
The Heat You Pack? Freshly sharpened straight razor

Comments:
Wanda, I'm not through with Johnny yet, so keep your distance. I'm the reason he's there. And girlfriend, your veil is silly-looking. Full moon tonight -- a blue moon.



X-Treme Kewl-X - 01/30/99 20:20:38
The Heat You Pack? Dancin' sweat

Comments:
Jean Paul you can talk about the Stones, and Cynthia you can talk about that Aretha Sings the Blues CD, but today I recommend The New Radicals doin' "How Come?" (#7, Brainwashed CD).



Darla - 01/30/99 18:47:12
The Heat You Pack? my mama's .22

Comments:
Mrs. Watson, with all due respect, I've found that most of life is chimera. You think you've found something true & real & full of texture...and it just slips away.



Earlene - 01/30/99 18:05:43

Comments:
Send a $200 money order to the Adolph post office. Mama went crazy again.



Velocevita (The Fast Life) - 01/30/99 17:25:18
The Heat You Pack? North African

Comments:
Fez -- a chamber of wonders. Berbers, Kabyles, Arabs, Spanish, French. Donkeys, copper drums, goats' heads, the smell of mint and spices. We're lost in time.



JeanPaulHimself - 01/30/99 15:53:56
The Heat You Pack? I'm hiding it from Brother Alphonse.

Comments:
FinDeK, I got your seminar and I got your vision right here. Shine this, quack.



FinDeK - 01/30/99 07:18:49
The Heat You Pack? Get serious

Comments:
For RICO -- I sell a wide variety of therapeutic remedies, herbal and aromatic. Vitamins too. And in my seminars I also sell vision. For JEAN PAUL -- I'm pleased to see the rough beginnings of spiritual development within you. It is very deep inside, long-buried, but it is beginning to shine.



Wanda - 01/30/99 08:49:44
The Heat You Pack? Growing

Comments:
We're taking care of business here at the lounge, Johnny. What if I were to take the train up to Poughkeepsie? Think you might want to meet me at the station? Think you might want to sneak me in after dark?



JeanPaulHimself - 01/30/99 01:49:35
The Heat You Pack? Hidin' it inside a robe

Comments:
Kid, looks like you got smart on the subject of this uptown chick. You once were blind, but now you see. And I hear you got a new pair of Ray-Ban classics for that sub-tropical sun, too.



the kid - 01/29/99 15:04:44
The Heat You Pack? key largo heat

Comments:
it's over. had to send the uptown chick packin again. she made too many demands on me. get this, uptown chick: the kid changes for nobody, the kid is the kid and that's how he's gonna stay. i'm headin down to the keys, get some sun, enjoy the heat, maybe rite some poems. i'm leavin the cold weather and uptown chicks behind for good. hombre numero uno is back.



Brother Leon - 01/29/99 00:12:53
The Heat You Pack? Holy Ardor

Comments:
I'm suspicious of you, Jean Paul. I'm wondering if you belong here and I'm wondering about your motives. I'm thinking maybe we don't need guests like you. Where were you at vespers?



RicoSuave - 01/27/99 18:32:02
The Heat You Pack? Depends on the situation

Comments:
So whatta we got here? A buncha philosophers, tender sentiments, retired schoolteachers, millenialists, armchair spiritualists, and monks? When will the herbalists start showin' up? Any hombres left? Am I the last one standin'?



Mrs. Watson - 01/27/99 14:41:37
The Heat You Pack? Large iron radiators under my windows

Comments:
Johnny, to answer your question, I've concluded at the age of 70 that most of life is dumb chance. So if you encounter something that's true, real, deep, and rich in texture, don't walk away from it. I've also concluded that we should trust our intuition and not our intellects. To me, cool reason is just about useless in this crazy world.

Hit this to Talk Tough Yourself or shoot back to Johnny's, Part Four or to the previous Tough Talk (3) or up to the next Tough Talk (4.2) or take the 'A' Train up to Johnny's, Part Eight