Were you here for the show?

It was a perfect fall evening in Detroit and I was headed down to see one of my favorite acts: The Raveonettes. As customary they were playing at the Magic Stick, and I left early to avoid the crowds and to get tickets before they sold out. I parked across from the Karmanos cancer center underneath a long row of sunflower yellow hard maples that were at the height of their autumn color. Understandable I was in a good mood. The Rave always put on a good show; A high intensity mix of modern rock with a 50's twist. Their name itself derived from a mash up of the Buddy Holly song "Rave On," and the girl group The Ronettes. As I was about to enter the Magic Stick a sign on the door caught my attention. "Tonights Raveonettes performance is cancelled." An immediate wave of disappointment washed my mood sour. I had been looking forward to the concert for weeks. I stood outside the door on the sidewalk for several minutes hoping to overhear an explanation. My attention turned when the door opened and a midget walked out with a distraught look on his face. He walked past me and I did a quick take of our proportions. His head only came up to my waist. I waited a few more minutes but when I turned to leave I found him a few feet behind me. "Were you here for the show," he asked. I told him I was. "Well isn't this just a kick in the balls," he spat out. For a second I had to compose myself. It isn't everyday I come across a midget spitting out vulgarities, but what really made me almost crack up was the imagery. A kick in the balls for me would be a kick in the face for him. I wished him a good night and walked back to my car. I waited till I was a good distance away before I allowed myself to laugh at the whole situation. A kick to my shins would have constituted a kick to his balls. I was still laughing when I finally got back to my car. Moral of the story. If you ever see a man walking across the sidewalks of Detroit and laughing to himself, there may be a very logical explanation.