On the back-seat of a taxi

On the back-seat of a taxi is where I want to be. Speeding through the night in an unknown town into a night that could bring anything; heading to friends I've just met and friends that I still don't know. The windows are open and I smoke my cigarette while loud Latin music gets me in the mood to dance, to flirt and to end up wherever. A while ago I told Jeroen when I feel really happy and this is what I told him.

Yesterday Felix picked us up at our house to face the Madrilenian night. In the back of his car I got to think about this specific snapshot that brings me so much joy. Manu Chao's newest disc was on the radio and its sunny tunes were only interrupted by the TomTom telling us we were speeding. 160 on the motorway to the centre of town, all dressed in dark shirts and tight jeans. As usual with Hispanics I didn't have a clue of what we were about to do, so I felt happy.

I got to think about what this happiness says about me, about where I have to go in this life. More and more I realise that my passion is in writing. As long as there are stories to tell, writing never bores me. So I look for stories. And there the taxi ride comes along. On this back-seat I know a story is in the making; no matter what will happen, the day after I'll have something to write about in my thoughtbook. New friends and their stories, a drunken thought that just came up while dancing in some backstreet club, maybe some dark experience when my world crosses the narrow line of safety for a while... something to write about.

And it has proven true. Only yesterday I was on such a back-seat and here is a story given to me by the night we were about to enter. And although I could tell about the 20s gay club or the filthy bar filled with tattooed beauty, about gin tonics the size of a football or dirty shots, about how much I like the gay guys I'm living and partying with or how dark girls' eyes are here, I think the understanding of the why is the best story there is. And I know there'll be more, if I just get in the back-seat of a taxi once in a while, to kill the night in yet another unknown city.