Please note the cleverly devised title to this post. Do you get it? It's a play on words of that old phrase "me, myself and I". Some (certainly not my roommates) might say that this phrase may accurately describe the motivation behind most of the things I do. I can't say I disagree. But dare I say that this is a quality that Tom and I share, his own propensity for "#1" nearly mirroring mine. It can be suffocating to be in the same room with the two of us, as our big heads leave little room for much else. Perhaps this is why we are friends...or enemies?
Tom has played guitar at Thursday Night Mass (the new Tuesday Night Mass) (which of course makes Tuesday Night Mass the new 6pm Lutheran Service) for the past four years. So imagine my surprise when Tom told me this fall that he was in a new Rock & Roll band (aka devil music). Clearly, I was opposed to this band from the outset, and not just because Tom was in it. Would my salvation be in jeopardy if I listened to their music? I couldn't be sure. The band was called M.O.O.S.E. and the Newfies and they were to have their first show last month at Caffrey's Pub right on Marquette's campus. (For the curious bystander, M.O.O.S.E officially stands for absolutely nothing, but unofficially stands for Men Offering Others Sexy Entertainment.) I refused to go to Tom's show (nothing could irritate Tom more) and fortunately, I felt that God had spared me from damnation by conveniently scheduling me to work that same Friday night. So not only did I ignore the facebook invite (each consecutive time Tom sent it to me), I wasn't even able to go. Nonetheless, Tom still apparently wanted me to be there, offering to ask two of my coworkers that he knew (Clete and RJ) to take this Friday night shift for me. This was an offer I never actually expected him to follow through on...
Now, two critical things happened in the weeks approaching Tom's first show at Caffrey's Pub. #1 Tom developed a certain propensity for a unnamed roommate of mine. This affinity was a near constant source of entertainment for the rest of us who were able to live and watch it go on...and on...and on. #2 A couple days before the show, Tom, shall we say, broke my confidence on a certain matter, for which I was less than pleased with him about. And don't you worry, gentle reader, I let him know about it. But like all good Catholics, Tom is very motivated by guilt, so the next day I received an olive branch text message from Tom. "I asked Clete if he could work for you," it read, "he's got a wedding." Moderately touched by the reconciliation he was offering via the newfangled technology of texting, I responded by thanking him for trying.
It was only a few hours later, when Tom, using his BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular, placed a real live phone call to me.
"Monica," he said. "I found someone to work for you!" Fairly amazed by this feat, I asked, "Wow, was RJ able to take it for me then?"
"Well...no," Tom replied. "RJ has a hockey game that night." I was now a bit confused. Who, other than the two coworkers Tom knew, would be taking my shift at the Information Desk on Friday night? "Then who is working for me, Tom?"
His reply? "Jeff." Jeff??, I thought.
"Tom," I asked, concerned. "Who is Jeff, and how did you go about getting him to work for me?"
"Well, Monica," Tom responded. "It's funny that you should ask. You see, after I found out neither Clete nor RJ could work for you, I just walked into the Union, walked up to the Info Desk, and told the two people working there that I had a friend named Monica who really needed someone to take her shift for her on Friday night, and I asked if either one of them was available. Jeff said he was, I gave him your email address, and he should be sending you an email shortly taking that shift." Tom was clearly very pleased with himself, but I myself was speechless. Jeff was obviously one of the new hires that I hadn't even had a chance to meet yet.
"Let me get this straight, you just walked up to two people that neither you or I know, and convinced one of them to take my shift on Friday so that I could come to your concert?"
"Yes," he responded, pridefully (of course).
And that, my friends, is how Tom Klind became the new shift manager at the Info Desk.
Now, before you get all caught up in how wonderful of a guy Tom is for going to such great lengths to rectify a friendship, let us look at this situation a little closer. There are three possible motivations for this act of decency:
#1 Tom could just be a really great guy, who wanted to help a friend out, and would go out of his way to do that. Possible.
#2 Tom's ego is so great that he would do anything possible to get even one more fan into his show. More likely.
#3 Tom realized that it would not bode well for his chances with my roommate if one of her roommates was pissed at him. Let's be honest, people, this is probably why he did this.
Anyway, at this point you might be wondering what any of this has to do with Christmas, and I tell you that I'm getting there, this is just back story (and yes, only I would write hundreds of words of back story before ever getting to the actual point). Now I was able to attend and dare I say enjoy Tom's show, and it was so successful that Caffrey's invited the band back for a Christmas show in December. Now, not wanting to let Tom think that I would actually willingly attend his subsequent show, I had to take a stand and make a deal with him. I tried to think of the most unlikely Christmas song the band would choose to play at their Christmas show, and make that the deal breaker. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" I told Tom. I would only attend his Christmas concert if and only if he played this song. He laughed, agreed, and I think perhaps thought I was kidding. For weeks. I wasn't.
I showed up to Tom's concert that night fashionably late, about 15 minutes into the set. There was already a crowd swelling around them as they jammed. I smiled at this because I walked in with a small sign that read, well, something like this:
Except imagine this: a crowd of people in front of M.O.O.S.E. and I enter Caffrey's unnoticed. As soon as I get there though, from behind all of these jiving people, I simply hold my sign above their heads, and I wait. Tom's singing...singing...singing...and all of a sudden he sees just the sign above the heads of his fans, doesn't even see me. And the kid just starts laughing on stage. People naturally began to look back at me, but I wasn't ashamed. Sure Tom had a set list prepared, but he knew what he needed to do. He had to play it. He promised. But he just ignored me. I did not give up.
Eventually others joined in the cheering for it as well, even people I didn't even know. Between songs, it just became a constant barrage of shouting for Tom to play God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, and the sign was waved high during other songs. By the break in the sets, I was getting a little dismayed, worried that maybe Tom thought us joking about this for weeks meant I was actually just joking about it. I wasn't. But then, a few songs into the second set......
....the kid came through. It was brief (Tom tried to tell me later that GRYMG only has one verse. False.) but it was wonderful. Some people missed it the first time around too, but Tom did not want to disappoint, so he played it again. And it was then that my Christmas dream came true. Some people wish for horses, some fine jewelery, and some...just want an old fashioned Christmas tune played. And who isn't excited about that??
But even if Tom hadn't come through, I probably would have still enjoyed the concert...maybe?
Note: The following text messages were exchanged in preparation for this post:
MONICA: Tom, would you be horribly offended if I wrote an entire blog post mocking you, or would it pad your ego?
TOM: Haha write two.
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