Remembrance of things Pabst

When I was talking about one of my favorite books "When the Sacred Ginmill Closes" I was reminded of something that kinda troubled me. You see the book is about drinking and hanging around in bars and the types of people you meet there. There is an after hours joint which is just like one I used to hang around in Sunnyside run by some hard men from the North. And there are a couple of really recognizable characters that anybody that hangs out in a bar will know. The disturbing part was I recognized the guy that was just like me. He was the murderer!

Tommy Tillary was this salesman guy who always had a joke and knew everyone in the bar and was a hail fellow well met. He was hitting on this one woman at the bar and was always around every night drinking up a storm and being a big mouth and a generally all around obnoxious guy. That was me in my drinking days. (Shut up)

I was even more of a big mouth blowhard than I am now if you can believe it. Most people loved it because I know a lot of jokes and I used to do everybody's taxes so I had a built in appreciative audience. Plus being a Hall of Fame tipper led to the place where I could do pretty much whatever I wanted and never hear a word from the staff or the owners. But I bet it could seem overbearing to some people after awhile. Not that I give or gave a shit.

It is kinda weird when you see a character in fiction that kind of reminds you of yourself. And not your better self. The part that in the deep dark hours of the night you are not so proud of. The person you are but not the one you want to be. Or to be perceived as by the people you are hanging around with. I guess it is the same when ricpic watches "The Pawnbroker" or Titus turns on "The Bob Wright Story" or the Crack Emcee catches "The Rise of the Planet of the Apes." I guess we all wish our better side is the side that everyone sees.

This book really opened my eyes when I read it back in the day when it first came out. The bar archetypes it described were people I knew and saw every day at the Ginmill. It lead me to some bouts of introspection and self-awareness. Which is what a good book can do for you.