17. 5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

"We're on the phone with VS. Dobbs. It's just after five p.m. on July 27--"

"26."

"26, right. And now, you're participating in this Blogathon thing."

"Right."

"Which is, well--let's call it what is is, a stay-awake-athon, right?"

"Yeah, with the written word as proof."

"And you're churning out these--what are they, stories? Are they stories, Dobbs?"

"Yeah. Sorta, I guess. They're just recollections. Thoughts about someone I miss."

"Laur."

"Yeah, Laur."

"And they're all sort off..." (mumbles something I can't understand to someone else in the room)

Faint voice from background: "Miserable. They're all miserable. They're [can't make this word out], but they make me glad I'm not him."

"Dobbs, did you hear that?"

"Sort of. Most of it."

"Well, the people here--the people at work here--at the station--we're wondering about a few things."

"What?"

"Well, one, where is this girl now?"

"I'm not sure."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"A while ago."

"'A while ago?' You never let on more than you have to, huh?"

"A while ago, now."º

"Right." [laughter] "We figured that."

"What else were you wondering?"

"Well, Sarah here. Our Girl Of The Phones--say 'Hi,' Sarah."

Female voice: "Hi, Dobbs."

"Hi, Sarah."

"Sarah loves you man." [lots of laughter]

Sarah: "Shutup!"

"It's true. She does. Truth be told, we never effin' heard of you till Sarah came in excited about you 'Being back.'"

Sarah: "Shut up!"

"It's true. You--she came in the other day and... are you still there, Dobbs?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"So she comes in in a good mood, and, trust me, Sarah is never in a good mood in the morning."

Sarah: "Shut up!" [much laughter] "You wish you knew, Bobby!" [oohs and awwws]

"Okay, well she came in and was all happy and she said that you'd emailed her and were going to be writing again."

"I emailed my list, yeah."

"Your 'list'? What is that, like a mailing list?"

"Yeah. Victory Shag."

"Victory Shag, right. She mentioend that. So you emailed your list to say you went away. So we're wondering where you were. Where are you back from?"

"Not physically away. Just, you know--"

"--doing other stuff."

"Yeah."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Just different things. Working. What else were you wondering?"

"Well, someone else here thinks you're full of it. That you're not actually writing and... and... what's the word... putting these things on your--"

"--posting them."

"What?"

"Posting them."

"Right. You're not actually doing all this in real time. He thinks that you wrote them all while you were 'away' and that you're just sitting around, I don't know, jerking off and putting--posting--these things every thirty minutes."

"You're the 'he'?"

"Huh?"

"Are you that he?"

[pause]

"Ya got me!" [much laughter from the back and foregound.]

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment."

"I bet you will. You have a rich inner life, huh?"

"Yeah. And you say 'huh' a lot."

"I do. I do. Good to see you're paying attention."

Sarah: "You are such a dink, Bobby..."

"Huh? Yeah, you hear that Dobbs?"

"Yeah."

"I'm a dink. Anyway, I got two more questions for you."

"Shoot."

"If I were able to call Laur on the phone, what do you think she'd say about your relationship with you? Do you think she's pining?"

"I doubt it."

"Huh?"

"I said, 'I doubt it.' And what would she say?"

"Yeah."

[long pause]

"I think she'd say, 'Love played a trick on me I'm afraid I didn't get."

"Love played...?"

"Love played a trick on me--"

"'Love played a trick on me I'm afraid I didn't get.'?"

"Yeah."

"That's a good one."

"Thanks."

"Did you write that?"

"No." [mp3]º

"Oh."

"What was your final question?"

"Oh! It was, 'If you're really writing these in real time, what are you going to do about the gap when we've had you on the phone, on hold and talking?"

"I'll think of something."

home | the bands | next

Thanks to Jason for allowing me to temporarily steal his css.