Jamming with Kentrell Lockett

“Shark Face Ass Boy!!” – joyous exclamation issued by Ole Miss defensive end Kentrell Lockett on his NFL Draft Twitter feed

Walking past the Houston Whole Foods with a coworker, I spotted Steve, an East Village fixture in his late 50s I know from my coffee shop, but who I hadn't seen in ages. As Steve approached the corner where we waited out the light, I relayed Steve's bio: Detroit native who once partied at the MC5's headquarters, Vietnam vet, punk scenester who took Super 8 footage of The Jam's first CBGB show, handyman behind untold area businesses' cabinets, wiring, and other things that handymen do.

I might've been bragging a little: I'm a guy who meets interesting people, and has the capacity to be interested by them.

The universe hates that kind of shit.

I shook Steve's hand. We talked about what he'd been up to (odd jobs for the Yippie Museum Cafe on Bleecker). He introduced me to his friends: a woman he'd gone to college with who'd moved to New York at the same time as him in the 70s, and her brother, both of whom now live in Berlin.

Between Vietnam and CBGB, I'd always assumed Steve hadn't gone to college. As we parted ways, he said “Good to see you, Mark.” My name isn't Mark. But it's cool, because Steve still keeps up with people he partied with 35 years ago and who've since moved to Berlin, and that's more important than remembering the name of everyone he ever met in a coffee shop.

“Hey...Mark,” my coworker grinned. I am a guy who takes the time to meet interesting people, and has the capacity to be interested by them, but sometimes, well...

“Shark Face Ass Boy!!” – a phrase people who are not Ole Miss defensive end Kentrell Lockett scream in order to admit minor but embarrassing mistakes and quickly put the whole matter behind them