It was 1986, the Wet Paint Cafe on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach and Henry Rollins is doing his spoken word thing. At only 16, my junior year in high school I was the only punk rocker in my entire school... I have to go alone - on crutches. I get dropped off. Pay my admission. The bar brings in a few kegs of beer and no one asks my age, so I'm getting my buzz on. There's so much going on tonight, poetry readings, a memorial for D. Boon of the Minutemen, a screening of a few underground films, and free beer! A poet goes on, female, I enjoy myself. Then they played Richard Kern's 'You Killed Me First' which just won me over. Then another poet. A memorial film for D. Boon (of the Minutemen) who died not long before this event. Another poet... but I was getting tired of poets so I went to the back for some beer, and there is Henry Rollins talking to a group of people. I stroll up like I've been there the whole time - I realized Rollins was shorter than me, I was about 5' 9", and found this funny (I lost my "larger than life" image of my idols at an early age) and he still had hair past his shoulders at this time. He was going on about filming something and some chick telling him to "get into it more..." She then proceedes to bite him hard, so he punches her in the nose. I asked him to repeat who the girl was and was soon told it was Lydia Lunch. Then they screened the same film he was just talking about, which was either Fingered or Right Side of My Brain, I don't remeber. After the flick Rollins came on. It was his best spoken word show I've seen to date. Afterwards a group of people, myself included, hung out to the wee hours talking to Rollins that night, but he bummed me out because he kept asking me why I was so young and drinking alcohol - and later explained D. Boon's (of the Minutemen) death was alcohol and driving related.

Punk memories.