Lyd writes 11 Mar 2007 04:39 pm
‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’
I apologize for quoting from the King James Bible, rumor has it Shakespeare may have helped translate that version. Plus ‘thy’ sounds way cooler than ‘your.’
I was hesitant to go to the sports bar alone tonight (where else to watch Selection Sunday?). I wasn’t sure if it would look like I was a drunk, a loser, or there to pick up guys. Dudes can pull off drinking alone at a bar, but I didn’t think I could. But I went anyway, and I sat next to some friendly looking people, hoping they wouldn’t give me any trouble.
I asked the bartender for ‘something local on tap,’ a la Curtis. He suggested a Brooklyn lager, which I know Curtis would disapprove of, and just as I was about to ask ‘what else?,’ the lady next to me said ‘give her the Chelsea.’
Before the mug even hit the bar, I had been introduced to the helpful patron, Julie, and her two friends, Mel and Mark. The bartender was Jason, whom Mark described as ‘the kind of guy who’d bail you out of jail.’ They were a lively bunch and made me feel very welcome.
I endured some shame as a Pac-10 alum among Big East and Big Ten fans, but felt vindicated when the Pac-10 got six tourney berths. Not important. Anyway…
It wasn’t long before I met the weekend manager of the bar, Lewis. When I told him I was from California, most recently Los Angeles, he asked if my parents were porn stars. That’s a new one. I expected ‘surfers’ or ‘movie producers,’ but not that. Caught me off-guard but was quite hilarious. He then proceeded to tell us about the time he hit his head on a pole on the subway and walked to the hospital holding his bloody face. Bizarre encounter, yes, but I swear this was the friendliest group of people I’ve ever met. I lived in California for 24 years and never had an experience that has made me so grateful for the kindness of strangers.
They encouraged me to come back and hang out soon, and are all very excited to meet Curtis. Can’t wait to take him there. I’ll certainly be back.