(read the title as the Easter-themed M&M commercial sounded)
Sunday, April 4th, 2010
Alternate title: Let's Have A Baby Shot! (To Baby Jesus)
Wasn't Tall Nicole supposed to be working? Or did I just mix up the days in my head the last time she talked to me about her schedule?
Which is to say Tanisha was not who I expected to see behind the bar, nor the comparatively not as pretty mug of Travis sitting at the bar, when I walked in on rainy Easter Sunday. (Travis does have kind eyes and a warm smile though, so we can't hate on him too much.)
Do you know Larry Love? I do, sort of. Larry Love had an idea, and it was this: Go tailgating, but to the places people normally would not (or could not) tailgate.
For example: Tailgate the Quilt Museum. Or a church on Easter. To this list I suggested the Rosicrucian Museum or the Exotic Erotic Ball.
Admit it: it sounds fun to you, doesn't it Dear Reader? Christian, myself and Travis are all in on the Exotic Erotic tailgating. Are you coming too?
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Thus, it should be noted that Larry Love was not on hand to share this idea. Rather, it was relayed to me by the one person in the world most likely to actually do it: Travis teh Bartender.
It was a bit like February outside. The wind was up, it was cold, the rain was steady and sound of car tires washing through the streets could be heard clearly through the open front door of the bar.
From just inside that entrance I caught sight of Ras Dank as he walked (and not rode) to work so he could take over for Travis behind the bar. There is not enough of Ras Dank behind the bar in my opinion. Only person at Jack's I can think of who could run the turntables and the bar near-simultaneously.
Soon after Dank got going I overheard a man (a man whom I'd later meet, named Marchel [sounds like "mar shell"] and who'd end up staying most of the night after just stoping by to have a beer and check things out...and it turns out he already knows like everyone from back in the day!) say to everyone and no one that the Roy Jones vs. Bernard Hopkins fight from the other night was like watching two San Francisco winos battle for a bottle of booz. Awesome Ed agreed.
Speaking of Ed: he and I were trading rounds of beers at the bar today. Ed, in case you don't know, is AWESOME (yep, I'm aware that's the internet equivalent of shouting, so I hope you'll take my full meaning when I write about Ed that way.) and is teaching me about women's college hoops.
For example, he pointed out Baylor's center Brittney Griner, who is 6' 8" tall and will only get better on the court with experience.
Just as Gold Guns Girls by Metric* started playing in the bar (via backroom stereo), Shannon and Lisa walked in and I thought to myself now it's a party!
Travis stuck around for a bit and busied himself with talking to the lovely Caitlin and the not as lovely ('cause he's, you know, a dude) but otherwise just as nice Dean, and next to him Sean.
For my part I spent a few moments taking in the sight of Caitlin, because she's so damn pretty. She also reminds me of Catwoman, as depicted by Adam Hughes for the cover to issue #52 of that comic book series.
Sometime after Caitlin left, those three men mastered the art of spinning plastic Easter eggs like you'd spin a top. But unlike spinning tops, I've never seen anyone crush a spinning plastic egg with the same flat-palm-with-fingers-spread-wide technique one uses to either destroy an annoying insect or to strike one's forehead when one realizes something that should have been blidingly obvious from the first.
The plastic eggs, as you may have already guessed, did not stand a chance. Who's killed more bugs between those three, I wonder? (Or done the most self-inflicted brain damage to their own heads, when you think about it.)
Maybe the sight of seeing all those eggs so mercilessly dispatched caused me some brain trauma?
You see when I walked into the bar the sun was still well up in the sky (behind the clouds where I couldn't see it, but I'm pretty sure it was still there), yet somehow or another time flew by like I was at light speed for one minute while two hours went by back on Earth, such that before I knew it the sun was down and Chris Burkhardt and Debora had arrived with a couple of friends to set up for his twice-monthly show.
I was a little perturbed over the lost time, but that feeling gave way to much pleasure at seeing CB and Deborah. It's been awhile since I've enjoyed the sound of Chris playing and let me tell you he didn't disappoint tonight. Greasy and dirty steel guitar sound --just the way I've come to like it-- with some new music thrown in for good measure.
It's my hope that on New Year's night he'll be playing somewhere local with The Board of Directors. It'd be awesome to end this journey just as I started it.
Chris started by warming us all up to the sounds of John Lee Hooker (he played House Rent Boogie on the jukebox). Under the cover of the music he got his gear all set up while Deborah took the corner seat closest to Chris.
Big Jerry walked in and proceeded to catch up on bar events by reading my blog on his phone (the irony that he could do that, while I can't with my Crapberry, was not lost on me) and I was tickled to see someone read my blog while standing in the very same bar I write about. Thank you Jerry! :D
Chris got underway and a new fellow I met tonight named Tom (a good handshake and a willingness to dance with the pretty ladies are the two things about Tom I remember most) danced with one of Chris' friends.
While Chris played I texted back and forth with poor Wendee aka Rosicrucian who, along with her good buddy Tink, got in a car crash on the way back down from Reno. Fortunately they got out of the bad weather and were towed to Colfax. I'm glad she and Tink made out OK, all things considered.
The time was coming for me to get the hell out of the bar, but before I could make my escape Christian and Jenny stepped in with Patty and boy I'm glad they did. Not only had they just enjoyed a kick ass meal made by Patty the Chef in training, but hit on the idea of hosting a similar shindig for my birthday next Tuesday!
Dear Reader, I am well and truly blessed with good friend and good people.
I said goodbye to many such people at the bar tonight, then made my way home.
See you Monday at Jack's!
*I'm downloading this song from iTunes as I write the old blog.
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