Listen to Cal & The Kat on Plato’s Cave™
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
East Coast Style. Either you got it or you don’t. You’ll like it or you won’t. It’s in your face. Real. Pulls no punches.
Take a finger of Jersey street smarts, two jiggers of old-school attitude, plus a heart that’s wider and brighter than the Las Vegas Strip, then stir smoothly and serve on the rocks. Now you have just a taste of my man Cal.
East Coast Style
Slip on the headphones and sip on the show and let me know how he grows on you. I think you’ll like him. “Cal” Jenkins is a proud father of a lovely 16-year-old daughter, an ex-military medic who served in Desert Storm and, now, the Director of Operations for a small business in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s high-rollin’ hot in Vegas, baby, where East Coast Style meets the Wild West.
Cal and I hit it off from the first words out of his mouth, which I recall as being some graphic verbal smackdown against our common enemy. We were going to go open up a big can o’ whupass on ‘em. Okay, it was virtual whupass, but we were playing to win.
Our back alley was Pirates of the Burning Sea. An online computer game. We still kicked their collective computer asses and were sunk many times trying while dying laughing about it. Oh, how we liked to cuss out that game. Making us pay to beta test it. Not ready for prime time. Ah, but who is?
Aaarghh, matey! From his first irascible growl to that ever-present self-deprecating wit, Cal has always had my back and never left me stranded behind enemy lines. From fighting as the underdog French in the Caribbean to adventuring across Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings Online, Cal and I’ve been gaming buddies for over a year now. We’ve never met.
Odd. Yet, he’s a brother in spirit, a brother in arms and a blood brother as much as any virtual family can expect to share in this 21st Century world of web-wide interconnectivity. In fact, I had no idea what he looked like until a few days ago when he told me how to find him on Facebook. I had imagined him taller.
We’ve been gaming and yakking for awhile, now, and I can honestly say that, if the chips were down, I’d call Cal.
Some bonds transcend silly games. Some words have greater meaning than the casual contracts verbally signed by the half-committed half-wits who should be fully committed or stay the hell out of my game. Some people get this and show up, consistently, right on time . . . with the cavalry, the kitchen sink and a big, jovial laugh that brings cheer to your heart. Even in the midst of chaos.
Cal is my cavalry. He makes me want to get into trouble, just so I can hear him coming to bail me out. He’s a patriot, a warrior and one of the kindest, most generous souls you’ll ever meet.
He can also bring a tear to your eye. Make you think. Make you care enough to get off your lazy ass and do something about it. Sometimes, talking about it just isn’t enough, but it’s a fine place to start. We invite you to start by listening in on our conversations.
Join Cal and me as we explore Plato’s Cave, ponder the shadows ‘pon the wall and try to find our way out. It can be dark and spooky in there, but if we hang together I think we can find the light at the end of the tunnel.
'From Plato's Cave' by artist Barry Mack
As long as it’s not a train, then we’re making progress . . . together. Like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. Like two privateers bobbing about a bloody pirate’s cove. Or two pint-size Hobbits rearranging goblin kneecaps deep beneath the Mines of Moria. Jumping off too many cliffs that are too high. Thankfully, it isn’t too real.
Or is it? How far would you jump for a friend? How deep would you go? Would you give your life? Or do you only make virtual commitments?
What if all it took was waking up, realizing you’re stuck in a cave and gathering the courage to step out into the light?
Lez go, Brutha. I gotcher back.
The Kat
Comments on this entry are closed.