Flip is wearing sunglasses to do the dishes.
I said, "Do we have a blind musician thing going on here?" Blues musicians nearly always sport a disability as part of their names, and sometimes a piece of fruit, too: Blind Flip Parker, Lame Melon Parker, Crippled Lemon Parker, Blind Little Crippled Lame Lime Flip Parker...
"No, it's a cool thing," he said. "For someone who lived in Greenwich Village in its heyday, you are not cool."
"Why am I not cool? Because I don't wear sunglasses indoors?"
"You just don't understand," he said. "I understand. And I'm not even from New York. Such a waste."
He poured some more Ivory liquid into the sink.
I resisted the urge to tell him he looked very cool washing dishes. Like the Grand Opening of a 99 Cent Store. Or a Rolls Royce hood ornament hanging over the bed like a statue of Jesus on the cross.
I understand cool, too. I do. It's just a matter of interpretation, and dishpan hands.
