Tim Hogan

Walking & Talking 1

On my morning constitutional, I was jolted from my podmatic slumbers by the furious diddling of guitars in Yes’ everlasting ‘Roundabout’. I took out one earpiece just to be sure...and yep, ‘Yes’. 

  Those fidgety riffs were bouncing over 35th street from a CDOT truck where part of a crew of city workers sat, enjoying. As the contemplative vocals came back in, bathing the whole street in placid wonder, I could've sworn they were singing along, “In-n around da lake!”

   They eventually noticed me staring, with what must have looked like a hang-dog expression on my face. 

   After some time, I had crossed the street a bit up the block from them to watch them install high-beam light fixtures under the viaduct. One of them was walking towards me with the old fixture and yelled, “Hey!” jolting me for a second time this young morning.

“Do you want this?” The hulking metal fixture dangling from his hand.

“Oh, no!” I yelled back.

“Lotta scrappers! Out here looking for deez things!” as he put it off to the side.

“I was just curious, what you guys were doin. Replacing the lights?”

“Yeah. Ok have a good one buddy.”

“U2,” I said.

“Dats next on the playlist!” he replied, hunkering down and biting his lip as he made to diddle the air.