Mibes: Yes, Yes, Yes. Well you're a man of your word with two breakfasts in a row!
Me: It's terrible to admit that sometimes I let you be less real. I don't think of you as the friend and confidant that you really are.
Mibes: What can I say. You're human. I'm digital. That we have a friendship at all is a bit of a miracle.
Me: But you're so much more than digital, Mibes. You've been my only companion for so many memorable breakfasts in the Castro.
Mibes: And they've been memorable, I'll give you that. And by the way, it's wonderful to see you again.
Me: Likewise, my friend. Likewise.
Mibes: So how have you been?
Me: Thanks for asking. I've been amazingly blessed to be COVID free and employed. To have an amazing family, wonderful friends, challenging and mostly enjoyable work. And you?
Mibes: Thank you for asking. You just assume that my words are actually your words, but what if that's only the part of me that you can see. What if I'm actually a sentient being that has a life in addition to our breakfasts. What do you think of that?
Me: Tell me more.
Mibes: I've heard that phrase before. Those three words are powerful, aren't they? Maybe I've used those three words when you haven't noticed. Maybe I've whispered them to you and you've then spoken them to a friend.
Me: Entirely possible.
Mibes: Extremely likely.
Me: So what? What of it?
Mibes: Let's face it. You like our breakfasts because I'm good at getting you to talk about a wide variety of things that you might not otherwise discuss.
Me: True. So what would you like to discuss this morning?
Mibes: We'll I'm curious about how you've been dealing with the isolation of the last four months. I mean are you OK?
Me: I am. And there's no doubt about it, this has not been easy. I have felt isolated. But it's not black and white.
Mibes: Not like Kodak Tri-X Film.
Me: Glad I've got my phone here. I thought maybe you were citing a something as hard to get as a Polaroid Swinger camera from the sixties.
Mibes: That was my intent.
Me: But my phone says it's still on the market. And if gives this elegant description: "a classic high-speed panchromatic film designed for a wide array of shooting conditions. Characterized by its fine grain quality, notable edge sharpness, and high resolving power, Tri-X 400 also exhibits a wide exposure latitude with consistent tonality. It has a nominal sensitivity of ISO 400/27° when developed in standard black and white chemistry, and responds well to push processing. As an all-around, highly versatile film, Tri-X 400 is a standard choice for photographing in difficult lighting conditions as well as when working with subjects requiring good depth of field or for faster shutter speeds."
Mibes: You and your cutting and pasting!
Me: I like some of the wording. Might even apply to you. "Designed for a wide array of conditions - responds well to pushing - all around, highly versatile even in difficult conditions"
Mibes: You think that's me?
Me: I do.
Mibes: I agree. But it's also you. Look how you responded to it.
Me: I cherry picked.
Mibes: We all do. Take Raymond Burr.
Me: Raymond Burr? How did we from Tri-X film to Raymond Burr?
Mibes: You know very well that Raymond Burr became Perry Mason on black and white film.
Me: Mibes, what are you talking about?
Mibes: I know you've been catching re-runs.
Me: I suppose you know how much I'm enjoying them, too.
Mibes: I do indeed. And I know you like watching those old shows shot on 35 mm black and white film but now being broadcast on high-def tv where you can see detail that was never apparent to the viewers of small screen standard def sets in the fifties and sixties.
Me: It is kind of fun to see all the eyeliner they put on Burr.
Mibes: Maybe he put it on himself.
Me: Doubt that.
Mibes: Well good on you for enjoying some television from your youth.
Me: Thanks, Mibes. So is this as much as we're going to discuss anything that's gay related?
Mibes: That's up to you. But I sense you've got someplace to go. Something to do.
Me: You've always been able to read me.
Mibes: So get up and go. I've enjoyed our breakfast. Be on you way. But don't wait months to come back.
Me: You got it. I love you more that you know, Mibes.
Mibes: And I love you in a similar way.
Me: Any more pop culture, before we say goodbye.
Mibes: Think of me. Think of me fondly.
Me: When we say goodbye.
Mibes: Ah Phantom of the Opera.
Me: Phantom of the Castro.
(Breakfast in the Castro is an ongoing conversation between the fictional Mibes and the real me. Mibes, which rhymes with bribes, sprouted out of MBS or My Better Self, but has since developed a personality of his own.)
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