65200
although there were no invitations sent
no television announcers
S C R E A M I N G ! ! ! ! ! ! !
into our faces
that our presence was mandatory
and failure to appear would result in a lifetime of social exile
or torture
we understood
and
assembled
ourselves
in
a
single
file
nervously waiting to enter
constantly looking over our shoulders to see
and be seen
sometimes
a living room
sometimes
a dimly lit city basement
one window for ventilation
no refreshments
chairs
no amenities offered to the frigid guests
a mountain of 45's
feverishly playing on exhausted hi-fi stereo system
a pair of dying speakers
located on opposite ends of the musty cellar
one naked blue light above
the bare concrete floor below
the satisfaction was just being there to feed the hungry city ego
to possibly find love
or better yet
lust
the identity of the host was rarely known
never important
you paid your quarter to enter
rolled your dice
and took your chances at
the social
