When I first started dating my wife she was working as a bartender at a joint on Avenue J. I went there a few times but I didn't want to hang around. She quit about a month after we started dating but I didn't hang out there.
It was the kind of place I would normally be very comfortable. Lots of regular guys who were into sports and gambling and rock music and all of the stuff that was standard in all of the joints I hung out at. Most bars are more the same than they are different. The few nights I hung out waiting for the wife I could sense all of the undercurrents that were shifting under your feet. Who didn't like who. Who dated someone back in the day and now hated them. Arguments that had gone on for years and led to people choosing up sides. The sames as any other joint I ever hung out in back when I was bouncing around.
I decided I didn't need a new place to hang out in. You know a new place the same as the old place. Some people were very enthusiastic and wanted us to hang out all the time but we took a pass. I might stay for a drink until the shift ended but that was as far as it would go.
Sometimes you don't want to be a regular at a new joint. Better to be on the outside looking in. Just sayn'.
39 comments:
It is almost like you are trying to tell us something!
BTW, it is probably not the same place, but it looks a lot like the tavern that Frank Pentangelli almost got wacked in in Godfather II.
Think of it as an Allie-gory.
So to speak.
Hay there, Evi! This one was for you, over on the River's thread at Lem's, where evil was being ID'd.
MamaM said...Speaking of Evi.L's with a loud moo, and the OPs of Other Places, there's a reddish blonde haired cow who's been knocking them out of the park in the comment section over at Glenn's Glen lately!
Congratulations on getting the thumb Evi.L! It beats the heck out of the boot! Or the hammer!
September 7, 2014 at 5:07 AM
The crowd at the electric fence appears to like your style. How's that for going full circle?
Thank you MamaM!
I have to just ignore Lawnboy. It drives him crazy!
Another good reason not to pits at Turley.
A drive by now and then. But no politics.
It would be like a red cape to a bull.
That's post at Turley!
Damn IPad!
Exactly. Why leave assholes you know for new set of assholes?
I'm experiencing blog boredom these days. The same stuff appears on different blogs, with the same political sided voicing the same opinions. The cast of characters may be different, buy the roles they play are usually the same.
So I'm looking for new things to read. So far, TTAC (The Truth About Guns) is pretty interesting. As is Father Fox's place, and Father Z's Blog. And a few others.
Haz, When virtually everyone is either a Dem or Rep what would you expect?
I get that. I'm looking for non-political things to inform and amuse me.
Is Speech Prohibition over? I still like the easy speech at this speakeasy.
We had a 4 hour power outage today. This forced me to work on useful things in the garage. I have perfected the plastic ice cube.
Chick, now you need to make some brady old fashions with that ice. Add brady. And muddled fruit and stuff.
Nick....I need you to email me (since your email is not in your profile...while mine is there) so I can explain, privately, why I am about to tell a certain blog to kiss my ass, twice. The mendaciousness of said site is clear, with protection for favored wenches. I'm called a liar and when I object I an chastised...as if I really care one whit. It really is beneath me to continue there, except that you've recommended it. So, now please defend that recommendation. I'd prefer privately. This isn't Lem's or Trooper's problem.
Thanks in advance.
You can discuss anything you want here Ari. It is a closed forum and we are all friends here.
Of course I respect your discretion as well.
Aridog, I tried to email others via blogger but I always get a default notice. My email is ndspinelli@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
Trooper...okay, if you say so. Just now I have no use for Turley's POS blog. However, I'll limit my indiscretion to updating those who give a shit about my oncologist's report this morning. In summary:
Had my routine follow up PET/CT scan a couple weeks ago and today I got a call from my radiation oncologist....in lieu of my scheduled appointment today at 0930....no need, and he discussed the results over the phone. Another spot is growing in my right lung, above where the first one was that was essentially eradicated. It is a new speck, but now growing. Therefore my case again goes before the Tumor Board Wednesday and my doctor will call me with the recommendations after the board meeting in the morning. Decision will be either to proceed now with treatment, or wait a couple months to see if there is further growth. He has said he’d prefer not wait for further growth and to go ahead and zap it with the focused radiation beam (PET scans are quite diagnostic)...e.g., 4 treatments over 8 days while strapped down in to a plaster mold to hold your body position precisely during the “zap” which lasts about 2 minutes....entire procedure lasts about 45 minutes while they line everything up with pre-placed tattoos on the body to triangulate the target. It is painless.
The good news is that there is no evidence of any metastasis outside of the right lung, no intrusion in to lymph system, etc.....and the scan covered everything from eye brows to knees. That is something to be very grateful for I assure you all.
In short, I am going to glow in the dark once again:-) The above is what I sent my best friend in Montana and my daughter in Detroit. Judi was with me when I spoke to the radiation oncologist today. We'll see what Wednesday brings.
Ari, My prayers for you and the doctors treating you. I believe you have a positive attitude. That is key. God Bless.
Thanks Nick, I posted it here because I figured those who read me now and then should know why I'm such an asshole at times. Stuff interferes with my immortality pisses me off. :-)
Aridog, here's hoping and praying for the best for you.
Good luck Ari and God bless you! Makes all my problems look insignificant.
Looks like you're lucky, I don't think this was around 20 years ago, when I uncle got cancer. He had to go through some heavy duty Chemo and he wasn't a happy camper.
Oh man, what happened to Eli tonight? He looked pretty bad.
That Detroit 2 point conversion at the end?... in your face.
Looks like it's going to be a long season at the Trooper household.
You obviously don't know Trooper. He'll go on the offensive about the Packers, Jets, etc. He has not mentioned the Yankees since the beginning of the season until Jeter yesterday. He's a bullshitting shanty, Irishman. Just like Rex Ryan.
Nothing happened to Eli. He's been washed up for over a year now. He has big brother envy.
Dude it is one game.
Let's have the season play out a little before you bury us.
Ari my prayers are with you.
Airdog, I will keep you in heart and mind and prayer as you move through this. Will you let us know what the board decides on Wed?
Like the focused beam used to Zap, there is focused care coming your way.
Ari, I hope they can zap that thing and nip it in the bud. A speedy recovery!
And don't assholes get you down. They are not worthy the energy.
Ari, you are a mensch. Don't let blog shit get you down.
I join everyone else here in hoping for the best possible news tomorrow.
Thank you all for the kind and supportive words. I am going to be fine, one way or another. If the board says procedure now, they will and I get to be zapped a few more times. If they say wait and see if it grows more, we will do that over 90 days or so. Either way the news tomorrow will be manageable I think. I was spitting up blood for a half dozen or more years before the first lesion was identified...and that symptom has not returned. It ceased immediately with the first go round of the ray-gun treatments. In short, mainly...I still cannot smoke, damnit!
Aridog, hope everything goes ok.
Be well, Ari.
Hey, maybe you'll develop super-powers. (Always works in the comics!)
Just received the call from Oncology folks...the Tumor Board wants another Bronchoscopy with biopsy of the lesion if they can reach it (that is iffy based on location), before additional focused ("zap") radiation treatment. I'm fine with that, but the reality is even if the lesion, at this time, is pre-cancerous, it is of the type that 90% of the time becomes squamous cell cancer. A thin-walled-squamous-cell cavity has not yet formed, for now is is solid lesion. Once the bronchoscopy-biopsy is done the next decision will very likely be to proceed with "zapping" it anyway. In short, if they can't prove it is or isn't cancer per se...the oncologists want to zap it to be on the safe side. I agree.
All said and done this is good news. Really. The Interventional Radiologists, the Radiation Oncologists, Pulmonary Surgeons, and the Tumor Board are taking it seriously and want the same tests as before. Fine by me.
I trust this crew in general. The same outfit, including the neurosurgeons, got me through potentially paralyzing sports injury caused vertebrae issues C3-C6...eventually to T3, without any crippling what-so-ever.
It just messes up any travel plans I had for fall (like back to the Lamar Valley before the park closes around 01 November)...plus I STILL cannot smoke, damn it!! Cognac will just have to do!
I want to thank everyone for their good wishes and prayers. I do think they made a difference. Really. It is nice to have a place to say what it is without slobbering like an idiot. Thanks again.
I'm happy for you and your bride. She worries about you, and you about her. Hopefully the worries are low now.
Good to hear. Thanks for the update. Still hoping and praying for you.
Hoping you beat this the second time, Aridog.
Can you have smoked salmon?
Glad you're in good hands, Ari. The Lord's and your doctors'.
Prayers up for you.
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