TALK ABOUT YOUR LEFT FIELD JAWBREAKER

It's friday, time for the weekend...woo-hoo! Ann and I decide on a easy dinner and I jet to the grocery to procure corn dogs and mac and cheese. And cigarettes. I'm cruising along in the rodeo jamming out to nail bomb's "world of shit"...the most awesome song.ever. Nevermind that Rolling stone named Dylan's "Like a rolling stone" the top 500 song ever...I mean it's a great song, but, come on...Dylan has the best out of 500? I don't think so.
Anyway...I get done at the grocery and hit the liquor store for some vodka...this place is attached to the G&S lounge, and up until a year or so ago was run by the same family...bar and store, run by brothers George and Jimmy. I grew up with these guys...since seventh grade anyway. Jimmy is a blight on humanity...a real piece of work deserving of a beatdown...if you look up angry piece of shit in the dictionary, there is a picture of him next to the definition. He runs the lounge. And lounge is an oxymoron...the place reeks of ozone and your in constant fear of Jimmy deciding he doesn't like you and brandishing his cattle prod as he points you toward the door. George ran the store until he sold it to this vietnamese family and moved on, presumably as far away from Jimmy as possible. George was the nicest person you'd ever want to meet...even in a bad mood, he was pleasant in explaining said mood. He was my friend.
I have continued to patronize this store for a couple of reasons...1: It's right by our house. 2:George used to run it. and 3:The daughters that help run the place are fucking hot looking, as the graffiti I saw in the education building at UT proclaims "Jap chicks rule"...seriously, I was just looking for a place to stick this graffiti I saw...the family that bought the store are very nice and the service is always friendly and courteous. But the daughters are really cute...I guess that makes me a pervert...for "jap chicks"...who rock BTW.
Tonight, as I'm checking out, the short,petite daughter asks as she's ringing me up " Were you close to George"? I said yes and that we'd known each other for 30 plus years. She then proceeded to tell me he was dead...found alone in his house by his mom...apparently the victim of a heart attack. Jimmy, the asshole brother, is taking care of Josuah (Georges dog) , the obit will be in the paper tomorrow and the funeral is next week.
My brain melted...I welled up instantly, looking at this asian butterfly who realized she had just told someone that someone I had known and held in high regard was dead...and there were several people waiting ( and overhearing) in line. I just looked at her as time stood still for a minute..."$18.65" she said, and I reached into my pocket and handed her a 10...she put it back on the counter and looked at me and then it registered for her and me both...I gave her a 10 instead of a 20, And she just told me that someone I had known forever and held in close regard was gone...forever. The guy behind me just wanted to pay for his bourbon and get his drink on and was thinking, "move on you crybaby, I got some bourbon to drink and some internet porn to thump it to". He looked like that kind of person, but who knows... I payed and left and drove home, choking back the tears.
I called his mom and offered my condolences when I got home.
Godspeed, George...I'll miss you.