Wherein further explanations are provided
So, among the many things that John Running said to our little group at Joshua Tree that year, the thing that people remember most was, 'Everyone but six'. Because of the syntactic and semantic mysteriousness surrounding this phrase, it warrants an explanation.
Quite simply, it means you can piss off anyone in this world, bar six people - you're going to need those ones as pallbearers someday.
It's a 'do as you like, fuck the lot of them' type of saying, but not to the point where you're going to end up bitter and alone, which is sage advice.
Find those six people who are willing to tolerate most of your shit, and treat them well. As for the rest of them...
Ron and Judy and I used the saying a lot over that week in the desert. When I wasn't willing to get up at 5am so I could go pose by a bunch of sandpapery rocks and wait for six amatuers to gape over each other's shoulders and take variations on the same shot, Judy told me, 'Everyone but six, girl...just tell them you don't give group discounts.'
When Ron and I walked down to Circle K for candy because the only bar in the town was already closed and he told me about how he was married once, but that it didn't work out and he wasn't sure if he was brave enough to get back into it all again, I told him, 'You're the kind of person who needs someone to sing jazz standards to when you're feeling happy...if you're alone, it looks kind of creepy. Go to cafes, hang around bookstores, and if you can't find her, well everyone but six, Judy and I will come live with you."
And then on the last night, when we all drank too much blue margarita mix and other forms of bastardized alcohol, Ron made up a song, which I'm pretty sure had 'every-one but sssiiiixxxx!!" in it, plus some of the words from 'Cows With Guns'.
I'm still in the process of deciding who my six will be. I guess it will be the strongest ones, who can shoulder a coffin whilst looking appropriately respectful. For this reason, I doubt I'll be in anyone's six, as no-one really wants their pallbearer to look sulky and stop every 10 seconds for a position readjustment. No doubt I'd try and palm the job off to someone else anyway...
Quite simply, it means you can piss off anyone in this world, bar six people - you're going to need those ones as pallbearers someday.
It's a 'do as you like, fuck the lot of them' type of saying, but not to the point where you're going to end up bitter and alone, which is sage advice.
Find those six people who are willing to tolerate most of your shit, and treat them well. As for the rest of them...
Ron and Judy and I used the saying a lot over that week in the desert. When I wasn't willing to get up at 5am so I could go pose by a bunch of sandpapery rocks and wait for six amatuers to gape over each other's shoulders and take variations on the same shot, Judy told me, 'Everyone but six, girl...just tell them you don't give group discounts.'
When Ron and I walked down to Circle K for candy because the only bar in the town was already closed and he told me about how he was married once, but that it didn't work out and he wasn't sure if he was brave enough to get back into it all again, I told him, 'You're the kind of person who needs someone to sing jazz standards to when you're feeling happy...if you're alone, it looks kind of creepy. Go to cafes, hang around bookstores, and if you can't find her, well everyone but six, Judy and I will come live with you."
And then on the last night, when we all drank too much blue margarita mix and other forms of bastardized alcohol, Ron made up a song, which I'm pretty sure had 'every-one but sssiiiixxxx!!" in it, plus some of the words from 'Cows With Guns'.
I'm still in the process of deciding who my six will be. I guess it will be the strongest ones, who can shoulder a coffin whilst looking appropriately respectful. For this reason, I doubt I'll be in anyone's six, as no-one really wants their pallbearer to look sulky and stop every 10 seconds for a position readjustment. No doubt I'd try and palm the job off to someone else anyway...