What is it about nice people that attract total idiots?Nice people are martyrs. Idiots are evangelists.

SOCK IT TO ME BABY!!!

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Another RIP

Well, now that you all have digested your turkeys, thanked God for all the good things he is giving you, and enjoyed your four days off, let me do my whining.

As you know, Laurie worked all weekend.  Because she works at Wal-Mart, and a strong majority of the population think that cashiers and others have nothing better to do with their lives than providing them with the opportunity to fight each other in the aisles of retailers over panties.  Why should they want to have a sit-down holiday meal with THEIR families, after all?  And I, in an effort to not infringe personally on anyone's holiday, did my shopping on Wednesday- and did not have the foresight to pick up a Marie Callender's dinner for me, breaking the streak that, even in my most destitute days, I had some form of turkey on Thanksgiving.

Then comes Friday, when we learn my favorite Oakland Athletics have traded my favorite Josh Donaldson to Toronto.  I have been an A's fan for 42 years, and have watched damn fools get rid of favorite players all that time.  Doesn't kill the sting, especially after they traded another big favorite last summer to get a pitcher "with World Series experience", who proceeded to get plastered in the first (and last) game of the playoffs.

Then, in an effort to cheer me up, KC, Laurie, and a friend of his decided to get me out of the house Saturday, which I responded to by leaving a trail of consumed Long Island Ice Teas and duck fart shots across northern Fort Wayne.  And learned that, in addition to the stupidity that naturally comes out with alcohol, hangovers take a lot longer to get rid of these days.  And leave you susceptible to stomach bugs, one of which laid me out today.


And today, today, Bobby G.  clued me in on a news story that occurred last night, via the Journal-Gazette:

A shooting at an after-hours club early Saturday left one person in serious condition at a hospital, according to Fort Wayne police reports.

Officers were initially called to the 2600 block of Coliseum Boulevard South about 4:20 a.m. but found two businesses that were closed and no other activity.

Within minutes, though, officers were called to a hospital where a man had come in suffering from a gunshot wound, the police reports said.

According to witnesses, about 75 to 100 people were in Tycoon's Cabaret and Grill when the shots rang out, scattering the crowd. A woman at the hospital told officers she saw a man lying on the ground. She took him to the hospital.

His name and his condition were not available.


I had to look up Tycoon's to make sure, but I knew the place.  Up until March 2013, it had been The Coach Room.



The Coach Room was a bar right across from the old Harvester Tower, which is where my old job started out at.  It was a short walk on Friday night from work to the friendly bar, where many cashed their checks and knocked back some brews.  They cooked the best bar hamburgers in the world back then- nothing special, just the taste of food made at YOUR bar.  They had the requisite poker machines, and one night, my ex won $200.  The next week, she lost her entire paycheck.  Me, I rarely played, recognizing a) I had no luck at the things, and b) what was the challenge of playing something that regulars just put a 20 in, jammed a toothpick in the button you bet with, and watched it spin their cash away.

As I recall, a supervisor also pissed away a paycheck one night.

There was the pinball machine which was a portion of the legend of me and my best friend at the time.  We were playing one night and she left out a belch that rattled the glass and made the ball hop.  Several nearby Mexican co-workers tried to blame it on me.    But they learned, and a few months later I let out a belch at a company meeting they blamed on her.

There was the short-term first production manager of our company, who I believe did a lot of speed, result of which was one night he had me sniff a new-opened beer against his belief that someone "put something in it".  Or the lady who he got the hots for (and was far too smart for that).  She, her BF at the time, my ex, and I had some adventures there, including the night where each sex guarded their restroom door so the opposite gender could check the facilities out.  We boys were far more impressed than the girls were.

Many times, it was the jumping off point for further debaucheries, notably a pair of trips to La Hacienda for karaoke that I remember far less than I should of (and more than I really want to), as well as an expedition to the strip bar down the street best left to the fevered imaginations of bad dreams.

At Christmas break, the plant manager would buy a case of bottles and set them at our tables.  At least, until the night the Mexicans started buying him tequila shots and he somehow deduced they were going to mug him later.

One particular night was one with me and my best friend right before the ex and me were going on a little weekender.  As that weekender pretty much wrote finis to our marriage, that night was the last happy one I had for a while.




And now, it's another ghetto shoot-em-up bar.  I don't mean to be prejudiced about this, but everyplace in Fort Wayne where black clientele are served specifically- or anyplace that becomes the latest hang-out- becomes a shoot-em-up, because Fort Wayne's black community must, it seems, bring weapons and grudges to anyplace they party.  And so you have last night.

Can anyone explain to me why people have to measure their self-confidence/self-worth with a gun?  I went to bars through my wild youth and the closest to a fight I ever saw was a meeting between a fresh customer at a strip bar and the bouncer's fist.  But now, it's the thing in Fort Wayne- bring a piece, make it a night to remember.  I know we did some stupid, stupid things drinking- Saturday night sure reminded me of that.  But we never needed a gun to have a good time.  And if anyone got out of line, you didn't need to end their life to get them back in line.

I don't think I was ever back to the CR after that night- the plant had moved away by then- so it's been probably 20 years.  Not exactly the death of a relative.  But, I wish you could have been there when...

13 comments:

  1. Chris:
    I really enjoyed your "trip down memory lane", and that got me thinking to some of MY old haunts...such as they were.
    Again, no one ever got shot, nor was a gun EVER presented (but a few of the tavern OWNERS had one under the bar...just in case).

    I think today it's more about feigned "respect" (demanded, not earned) and too much "blacktitude" fueled by the cheapest liquor that (stolen) money can buy for these thugs.
    No one wants to "just" go out, have a good time, act a little dumb and then go the hell home.
    It's more about showing who's got the MOST testosterone, and that's pretty damn sad.
    Many of these "so-called" men are already p-whipped by women, who have proven to be a stronger force in the minority community than in times past (when the men actually WORKED while the women RAN the house).

    Sad to see a once nice place go down the crapper...no matter what city it was located.
    Very good call on that.
    And yes, hangovers take LONGER when you get older...that's why I don't even get into that.
    I hate driving the "porcelain bus" and practicing that technicolor yawn, as well.

    These days...purely a SOCIAL drink now & then, and usually ALWAYS at home.

    And there's nothing wrong w/ Marie Callender's dinners...love the turkey AND her pot roast!
    ()ust thought you should know...lol)

    Excellent post.

    Stay safe up there, brother.

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  2. Chris:
    I did a look-up on the,location myself, and guess what?

    I was there ONCE...after work (Wholesale Windows aka Windows, Doors and More - when they used to be located out on Reynolds St). Went there to have some brews and could not get my car started...had to have it flat-bedded to the service center.
    Never went back since - I'm superstitious where the "Batmobile" is concerned...lol)

    Wow, that place HAS changed since the late 1990s!

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    1. I honestly thought it would become a Mexican joint once we moved out... I was surprised to see it become a "soul" hangout.

      Oh, and on the first comment: I didn't get to the "Technicolor yawn" stage... just the long term grogginess that ended up being a three day stomach bug that finally relented at work today.

      And the MC turkey is great- I break the broccoli out and toss it before cooking, though!

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  3. Well, I, for one, refuse to do any shopping on Thanksgiving. I hated the fact that even more stores jumped on the "screw the family tradition" bandwagon this year. Our country is loosing the importance of family. Probably why guns equal manhood. My weapon is kept safe and sound in a hidey hole in my house. Where it belongs. Unless someone is stupid enough to break into my house….

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    1. I hadn't thought about it- and likely neither did anyone else- but you're right. These kind of things are all connected. Try to tell someone and you're "bigoted", or "intolerant."

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  4. Luckily, one of my old hangouts is still around (the Windmill in Stratford, CT. You can Google it). Not only is it there, it's been classed up (the neighborhood has inexorably slid towards "POShood", though. This means the Windmill is like cologne on a pig). And, by "classing it up," I mean they've removed the troughs from the rest rooms (Mens and Ladies).
    BTW, this is the same Windmill mentioned in 'Shag Carpet Toilet.' One of its corner streets is 'Thompson Street,' the same street where Mickey Donovan (and yours truly) lived. You can Google Maps THAT, if you're terrifically bored.

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    1. Actually, I did look it up. The Windmill (at least by the parking lot on google earth) looks much like the CR.

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  5. While that event is still tragic, there is an old saying that nothing good happens after midnight.

    While after hours clubs may have originated for bar workers to go unwind after their shifts, my experience in them (back in Philly while my 20's mind you-not much keeps me awake and, mobile that late these days) was that the clientele were mostly the drunken idiots who were unable to hook up with someone by 2pm and were giving companionship one last desperate and drunken attempt.

    Throw a gun into that mix and you have a recipe for disaster.

    The best way to avoid the disaster? Don't go.

    I don't now how you fix our society. It used to be, you could get in a fight, say you had enough and things broke up.

    That progressed to the loser getting stomped while he was down, and now it all gets capped off with a nice lead slug.

    Over what?

    The drunk girl across the bar passed out in his booth, not mine?

    He looked at me disrespectfully?

    He made fun of my football team losing (I have seen fights over that one)?

    Or, the horrible secret from CW's past that he does not post about.....

    "He said Target was better than WalMart"

    It's a gloomy day in Phoenix, so this post fit the mood God set for the day.

    Larry

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    1. First off, I think the bar was actually shut down- the vermin, er, clientele were still milling about the parking lot, though.

      Second, the excuse du jour around our neck of the woods is, "You stepped on my shoe with your ugly-ass (fill in rival gang name) foot."

      Third- I DESPISE Target. DESPISEDESPISEDESPISE!!!
      I cannot stand all that red. I feel like I've stepped into a jar of Strawberry preserves- and not even good ones.

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    2. Well, I for one, stopped going to Target when they evicted The Salvation Army Bell Ringers from the front of their stores a couple Christmasses ago.

      They tried to justify it by saying the Bell Ringers caused congestion at the front of the stores, or some such B.S. Funny though that it doesn't seem to be a major issue at other Big Box stores.

      The truth is, the Big Wig Management of Target Incorporated does not like Christianity, and that's the real reason the Salvation Army got the boot.

      And when the Salvation Army got the boot from Target, Target got the boot from me. That's how it works: they make their decisions and then I make mine.

      I haven't flown since the TSA started taking pictures of your genitals. I won't fly again until the TSA is gone. Others may forget and just move on, but... I'm like an elephant: I never forget. Act like an Un-Constitutional tyrant and you can expect me to discontinue feeding you any of my hard-earned money.

      If everyone felt as strongly about tyranny as I do, the TSA would have been gone from all American airports within 3-months of them having appeared.

      Oh well, one man against the world doesn't have much effect. You have to choose your fights because fighting all the tyranny alone is impossible. So, I select my fights and fight 'em. But... I'm looking forward to that "Terrible Day Of The Lord".

      ~ D-FensDogg
      'Loyal American Underground'

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    3. Amen. Thanks for reminding me there was a good purpose in avoiding Target (other than, as Laurie said a couple of days ago, "It sucks".

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  6. Another wonderful trip down memory lane, if only I hadn't tripped over and fell flat on my face ok that didn't happen but I did go to sit down and miss the seat and fell onto the floor it was not funny it was painful

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    1. Gotta be careful with those barstools at our age, my friend...

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