High Numbers with Mary and Iggy

High Numbers with Mary and Iggy

It was 1981
and I had
just moved to Atlanta
a few months before.

I immediately landed
a job
just like the one I left
in Shadowville.

I went from
Harvey Lumber & Supply
to
Carolina Lumber & Supply.

So my comfort level was high
entering the new culture.

I caught the bus up
to join my wife and child
in Fall of 1980
as Lou Reed would say
"Those were different times."

Quite a bit different from
my red neck milieu
with newly converted
right wingers
cheering Ronald Reagan on.

That Winter
I listened
as Howard Cosell
announced
the night John Lennon died.

I split up with my wife
and moved into a grim
boarding house
reading Bukowski
getting my poetry tight.

Mary Sloan lived
with her brother Iggy
and Iggy's wife Shelly.

They lived
on a street
with a row of old houses
just north of Piedmont Park.

Their house
not too far from
my boarding house
so I'd hang out there
through many evenings.

Mary's brother
was a punk
everyone called him Iggy.

Iggy was five foot one
a bit of
the short man complex.

A tough character
but we got along great.

Iggy was a carpenter
who was my customer
at the lumber yard.

Every week or so
Iggy would stop in
to pick up materials
for the job he was on
that week.

He'd fire up a joint
and take his time
selecting lumber.

He was my friend
so I told him to
select the best looking
two-by-fours
or whatever else he needed.

After work
Cliff Olivier
my lumber yard sidekick and I
would usually stop in
the High Numbers Tavern
up on Cheshire Bridge Road.

Educational
with a safety net
the patrons were
a varied collection
of personalities.

Have a few beers
chili and sausages with peppers
or a slice of pie
next door
at Johnny's Pizza.

The best juke box
I'd ever seen
at High Numbers.

Everything from Johnny Cash
to the Ramones.
From The Clash
to Superfly.

Iggy would often
be there
as well
shooting pool.

Over on Cheshire Bridge Road
things were
somewhat more laid back
it was somewhat
out of time.

The High Numbers Club
was different
from a red neck honky tonk
or a disco gay bar.

High Numbers was
what they called a mixed bar
both straight and gay
mingled on the dance floor.

And this singer
named Mary.

She was Iggy's sister
a raving
raven haired beauty.

Mary was one of the dancers
who also sang
great Pat Benatar songs
aling with the juke box.

Mary looked
a lot like
Pat Benatar
also.

-Will Dockery 8-30-20