Jack Dirt
Gambling is not as destructive as war or as boring as pornography. It is not as immoral as business or as suicidal as watching television. And the percentages are better than religion. ~ Mario Puzo
Jack Dirt (probably not his real name) loved to play cards. His work was motorcycle painter and outlaw, his hobbies were cards and poetry. He was one of those people who were always ‘just passing through’.
“We’re born, we gamble, we die. In the end, Death is the only one that wins the hand.” He would say. “Some people gamble when they leave the house to get to the job that they hate. They gamble that they won’t blow up or break down before the end of the day, that they will make it home, that their lover will come home, and that they won’t have a fight.”
Or
“People love their politics, their celebrities, their ‘safe’ worlds, and their families, no matter the hypocrisy and lies they have to tell themselves to stay there.”
Jack had a deep belief in uncertainty. He enjoyed sowing a little chaos. And if you were out in public with him, you were glad he was on your side.
I didn’t hang out with him for long. He got on his chopper one day with his bedroll and pack, wearing his red cowboy boots, and headed East.
“To live outside the law, you must be honest.” ~ Bob Dylan
I’ve always enjoyed hanging with the outsiders, the artists, poets, and rebels who have nothing to sell you but are generous with their ideas.
Dana Sanford
3/29/2019
