When Shifty Met Snickers
A Transmedia Love Story
Anyone who is out and about on MUNI before 7am on a Sunday is either really healthy or really sick.
I board the 28 bus at 6:50am and roll down Park Presidio towards the Sandcastle Center for a long Sunday shift.
Shifty is already on the bus. He seems to be very itchy and uncomfortable in his skin. He has a Walgreens' shopping basket which is filled with old magazines, mismatched flip-flops, and a clock radio.
Snickers boards the bus a few stops later and tests out a few different seats-- uncomfortably wiggling in and out of each-- before settling on a seat at the back of the bus, directly behind Shifty. Shifty is starting to doze off. I grab 90 seconds of footage on my iPhone as discreetly as possible. I realize later that Snickers was staring directly into the lens on my phone for most of it. My bad, Snicks.
After I stop rolling, Shifty wakes up.
He turns around and makes brief and bleary eye contact with Snickers.
Shiffy Shif closes his eyes to go back to sleep, but Snickerdoodles is electrified by the fleeting spark of company, and the following exchange takes place:
SNICKERS
Hey brother... whachu doing?
SHIFTY
(barely opens one eye) Sleepin'.
SNICKERS
It's not time to sleep man.
SHIFTY
...
SNICKERS
Get up, son. We're gonna set the whole world on fire.
SHIFTY
What?
SNICKERS
Today is the day that everything changes for me. And for you too. It all starts now.
SHIFTY
What are you talking about?
SNICKERS
You like Ribs? I got some ribs here. (Snickers pulls a greasy brown paper bag from his pocket and stats to unfold it) Have some ribs.
SHIFTY
Nah.
SNICKERS
It all starts today my brother.
SHIFTY
What does?
SNICKERS
You want to come to my crib? I got some cheeseburgers. They're frozen, all you gotta do is put them in the oven.
SHIFTY
...
SNICKERS
Today's the day. You gotta eat. Them cheeseburgers hecka good.
SHIFTY
OK. (Shifty and Snickers exit the bus.)
END SCENE
Later that night, I'm listening to Fog City Mavericks while filtering through the small collection of sketches, notes, photos, and videos that I accumulated in the course of the day. Times R Strange comes on and I start wondering how things turned out for Shifty and Snickers. I wonder if everything changed for them today. I wonder if today was the day.
I wonder how those cheeseburgers were.
Huge thanks to Fog City Mavericks for letting us use Times R Strange off of their latest album, Savage Sessions.
