I met this man by the name of Ehron in Albuquerque. He was very outgoing, intelligent, and great to talk to. Turns out he plays drums and a few other instruments. I immediately told him that we should jam.
I set up the piano and the bucket drums from the night before (See: Dance Party on the Streets of Albuquerque) on Central Ave and 3rd St. By 9:00 PM, Ehron came over and we started to jam. We were actually live streaming on the internet at the same time (Check it out below) and it sounded really good. I was throwing curve balls his way and he was hitting them. People were coming by and dancing, throwing money in our bucket, and really enjoying the music.
By 11 PM we started to slow down and take a break. I didn’t notice that because Ehron was closer to the bucket, he was taking a little bit of money and putting it in his pocket so that by the time it came down to splitting what we made, he had counted it and said we only made $15. I’m more than positive we made more than $75 all together because a few people gave us 20’s and 10’s.
Ehron said he was going to grab a bite and come back. He never showed up. But I knew exactly where he was sleeping that night. He got kicked out of his grandmothers house and was sleeping on the roof of this vacant building.
I went over there and called him out. I was really pissed off and told him that he robbed me and thats when he admitted it to me, “I’m an addict! This is my life. What? Are you going to punch me?” I told him I wouldn’t stoop down to his level and told him that I wanted to help him get off the street and change his life, but its impossible to help an addict who has been brainwashed by drugs.
Turns out he took the money and bought Oxycontin with it. He has been living this sort of lifestyle for a few months, his family pushed him away, and he was living on the streets. If I met Ehron again, I wouldn’t be angry. I wouldn’t get revenge. I would ask him to travel and play drums with me.