Greg Allman was on that stage with his dog. I petted the dog because my band hadn’t assembled yet and I was worried half of them wouldn’t get there ‘cause of the horrible rainstorm. The stage lights flickering off and on more than a few times. All the grips were spinning—someone would shout an order then change it and the grips seemed unable to get their bearings. Greg Allman looked stoned so he probably didn’t notice or much care about the grips. When I made a joke saying, “I think the grips have lost their grip,” he didn’t even smile back.
He also didn’t flirt. He was in his own orbit and I was not going to get even a peek. Fine.
“What’s your dog’s name?” I asked him.
“This dog?” He slouched further down in the director chair.
I looked around the huge stage area expecting another dog. “Where’s the other dog?”
It didn’t seem to register with his brain. Finally he said, “What other dog?”
I said, “Never mind.”
Then he said, “C’mere, Otis.”
“Oh so his name is Otis.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s a good dog name.”
“I s’pose.”
The sky was darkening by the minute, it seemed.
“My band isn’t here,” I said. “I can’t work without a band.”
“Use my band,” he said.
“Seriously?”
This was big. This was very big.
“Why not?” Greg Allman said.
Otis barked then.
Susan Isla Tepper is a twenty year writer and the author of 12 published books of fiction and poetry. Her most recent novel “Hair of a Fallen Angel” was released by Spuyten Duyil, NYC in early October. Check out the Official Video for this book on YouTube link:https://youtu.be/W2HVIc4NrqY
Tepper has also written 5 Stage Plays. www.susantepper.com
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