Hey Baby

Amsterdam. Its approaching dawn and the last bar on our stop is so sweaty you can write your name on the window. The place is packed. On the way in, I get hip checked by a girl I don't even know. She does it again egging me on. Ok I surrender, even the Docta starts to dance. We are pushing against the front door of this place because it's so crowded you can't move any further. The song playing is this cheesy version of Hey Baby remixed for the soccer season and everyboy in the pub knows the lyrics. I mean everybody. Strangers are high fiving each other, bumping hips, singing it like an anthem. We are so caught up in the people watchin' that we don't even notice that my brother has slipped into the crowd and poof he is gone.
"Come up Sven," the DJ says. Sven is one of the many barflies that has been selected to play DJ for the night.
"Ladies and Gentlemen from Los Angeles California The Doors," he says. The crowd goes wild. Next Mario in his beautiful italian accent introduces Dyermaker by Led Zepplin again the crowd goes wild. And then.... we finally find my brother. He has somehow elbowed his way to the top of the DJ line and has convinced them that he deserves a turn at the mic. The deal is your supposed to just introduce the song and be gone but my mighty bro decides he's going to give us all a little karaoke treat. Mic in hand, he begins to sing so loud that there is that nasty wow wow wow feedback.. "I feel alllllrighhttt..." The crowd goes silent watching him in puzzlement. All eyebrows are raised. The Docta, the Beetle (his wife) and I move closer to the door.
"You've been so good to me... you've been so good to me." silence.
"You know you make me wanna shout kick my heels up and shout..." No high fives. No hip checks. Eye brows still raised. Oh god make it over quick. "I want you to know. I said I want you to know right now, yeah! You been good to me baby. Better than I been to myself, hey! hey!"The beetle is all shades of red now but my bro is still smiling a mile wide, unshaken by the crowd. He does the whole bloody song, all the verses, the chorus all of it. After a few minutes, the three of us decide to dance, I have no idea if anybody else joined us, we didn't dare look around. But we danced the whole song through just for him, throwing our heads back in laughter. I love those times with my bro. I love that he is unfazed, solid in his own two shoes...I love that this man is the uncle to my son because his unfettered spirit is contagious...The best gift I can give you Bro on your birthday is to relive this memory of this good time..
Feliz Cumpleanos, Hermano