I leaned back in my chair at my usual cafe this morning and gazed at the soaked streets. Everyone outside seemed to scurry in unison. Suddenly, the scampering took on the aspect of pendulum, bringing to mind the idea of time.

I thought of the passage of time â€" time’s role in the measurement of our personal achievements, time as an ever-diminishing quantity in our lives.

I thought of an old Pink Floyd song.

Tater Tot bound into the cafe jauntily, like a leprechaun. She sat opposite me and asked, “What’s up, B?”

“Oh, just thinking about my life, you know, failures, successes, that sort of thing,” I replied.

“Well, speaking of success, I have some big news: Tomorrow at the Swiss is the Tacoma debut of Billy Roy Danger & the Rectifiers.”

Who?” I replied.

“Darin Watkins on drums, Ron Weinstein on Hammond B3, Scott Simmons on bass, and Billy Stoops on vocals. Roots rockin’ mayhem I assure you,” she explained.

“Sounds like a good time,” I quipped. â€" Brad Allen

[The Swiss, Monday, Sept. 17, 8 p.m., 1904 S. Jefferson, Tacoma]