From the moment we arrived at Cinco de Mayo we all felt that something strange was just around the corner; there was a weird energy in the air. Teenagers were running laps around the restaurant, police were cruising by with their sirens on. Dave had grown a mustache.

Then, Stony arrived. Actually, we just call him Stony, a name he came up with as a “higher” alternative for nearby Sony Pictures. He told us he doesn’t use names anymore.

Over the next hour, Stony shared his story. He once had a scholarship to play soccer at a school in Colorado until he dropped out with only one class left to “invest” his tuition money in marijuana. He has spent the last 20+ years living on the streets. He played in bands. He loves U2 and Floyd and reggae. He is now starting a movement to abolish the use of money and talks about the soul-stealing things they don’t teach you in school. He wonders where you go when you dream.

The thing that struck us was that at one point Stony had lived what would be considered a normal life. He could have been someone we know or even one of us. Tonight he was just someone who wanted to be listened to and connect with some people for a while, and we all felt somewhat guilty for hoping he would move on sooner than he did.

Dave explains tonight’s episode like this:

In editing these episodes I look for the most “fun” portions from the evening, but we also knew that not every night would be fun or funny. This is an experiment in reality blogging. Each episode will represent what the night was about. Tonight was clearly about Stony and how it felt to have a homeless guy hover around our outdoor table while we were trying to eat dinner.

Tonight’s menu: the number 10 – Spanish cheese omelette, rice, beans & salad.