The Birth of Merlin

On our trip to the Southwest a few weeks ago, we went to Jazz Night at a local club in Bisbee, Arizona. We didn’t expect much because it was a little town in the boonies. How good could the jazz be?
The club was called the “Old Tymers Club”. We were surprised to find that every possible space of the walls was covered with framed photos of bikers. I mean literally hundreds of photos. It was definitely a theme. And indeed there were quite a few bikes out front and quite a few bikers inside.
When the band began to play we were shocked at how good they were. This band would have fit right in within the depths of Manhattan or Chicago. As it turns out, they did do much time in big cities but they now made their home nearby.
Over a beer I told Paula of my idea to rewrite the King Arthur legend, only I would tweak all of the characters in a rather twisted way; maybe the king would be a space-case, the prince would be gay, etc., etc. You get the idea.
I began to notice a graying biker sitting at the next table. His hair was cut short. He wore a black, leather sort-of Greek cap turned around. He wore a vest over a Stugis, South Dakota T-shirt. He showed his experience in his face but in a healthy way. He looked tough but mellow, wirey yet relaxed.
We started toying with the idea that he would be the model for Merlin the Magician; brilliant, grumpy and just a little crazy. We thought it was a fabulous idea and we were pleased with ourselves.
Later, as I’m taking a leak in the men’s room, this very guy comes in to use the other urinal. Being behind some beers and not having much sense anyway, I struck up a conversation with him. I had the nerve to tell him of our plan to write this story and that we were going to use him as a model for Merlin. I had no idea how he would react.
He smiled and told me he liked the idea. Then he added that in his whole life he had only gotten one tattoo. He rolled up his sleeve to show me a fantastic, multi-colored rendition of Merlin the Magician and added that that was his tag, his nickname. We both broke out laughing and as we left the john, we shook hands and went our separate ways.
The story is now in progress and I already know just what Merlin is going to be like.