New Friends and the Beating Heart of Freedom

As anyone who sees any of my online work knows I carry the image of El Che very heavily into all of my online activities. What only those who know me in real life know is that I also carry his image with me in the flesh, if its wearing a t-shirt with his image, wearing a baret, or occasionally letting my hair grow out a bit and wearing a mustache and beard (the likeness can be pretty uncanny), I am not ashamed to show my admiration for this person. Sometimes it brings me a little persecution, and sometimes it brings me some attention from people who also love Che or his ideas.

I go out about 2 - 3 times a week to sing karaoke and am usually wearing something that shows people that I am a revolutionary. When I give my name to the KJ to sing I tell them El Che, I suppose that is rather presumptuous of me but hey, it's karaoke and really there isn't a more presumptuous thing to do then to butcher other peoples music at the cost of your fellow audience members. So tonight I am sitting there waiting to sing and this man come up to me, apparently he had seen the name El Che on the KJ's computer screen and asked who that was, the KJ pointed me out. He comes up to me and instantly we are friends, he introduces himself as a proud Argentinian, and authority on Dr. Guevara and he tells me that he really likes my shirt (guess which one I am wearing tonight). From there the conversation was like a roller coaster, like building a 10 year friendship in only a few hours. We talked about his life, as a captain in the Army during Vietnam, as a professional soccer player, as the holder of a degree in sociology and journalism, as a teacher and soccer coach now, and as a huge fan of Che.

This chance random encounter at a dive bar off the beaten path in Colorado could completely change so many things that I have to believe that there is a meaning and a purpose to it occurring. He and my Mother spoke to each other in Spanish for some time, a language I have never learned, and this man has decided that he is going to share some books with me about Che and the true circumstances surrounding his life and death. many of these are in Spanish so I am making the decision to learn Spanish so I can read them. I am going to take the opportunity to share with him as well this message of Freedom, Prosperity and Peace and see if his education in journalism and sociology can help me to advance the cause. Just so happens that he is also a consultant for translation services. So there also exists the opportunity to take many of the messages of Dr. Paul and the revolution and bring them to a broader audience.

I am very excited about the possibilities of all this and I will be sure to post the results as they occur. We also met some other people tonight who were very nice, many of whom I hope to be in contact with. It never ceases to amaze me, with just one conversation, with one passionate representation of my beliefs, people all around seem to come to life. They all want to talk about their own beliefs and feelings, and it is just incredible how many people have such great minds. You would never know it to look around, it could be the older gentleman sitting at the back of the bar minding his own business, the store clerk who rang your order, or the teacher who educates your children during school. All of these are Americans, and deep within every one of us there lies a love of freedom. In some it is on the tip of their tongue waiting for any excuse to jump out, in others it is dormant waiting to be set alight. But in the end:

"There is nothing more powerful then an idea whose time has come" - Paul Williams