Wednesday, Novermber 2, 2005

"SON, DRUNK AND STUPID IS NO WAY TO GO THROUGH LIFE..."

I spent half of the afternoon working with MEAN GENE in getting our air tank situation resolved; it seems that we had a leak in one of our air lines, which caused us to lose air for our beer lines; this is pretty significant because without the air, we can't get any pressure to pump beer from our taps- and on DOLLAR DRAFT night, that could be disasterous. However, we were able to have someone come in, locate the source of the problem and fix it in time for the evening rush; disaster averted.

Last night we had our typical DOLLAR DRAFT Tuesday crowd: young singles, mostly white-collar, pretty respectful and laid back, hanging out and enjoying the drafts. Within the groups of people we had a couple of "going-away" parties; people transferring to other jobs, relocating to other cities, etc. So there were quite a few folks in a festive mood.

We had one guy, however, who seem to be having his own celebration of something- what it was, who knows? In any case, at around 6:30pm, I could see that he was already swaying and feeling no pain. By 7pm, I instructed my doorman AQUA LAD not to let him back into the bar because he was too drunk. Now this guy happens to work in the neighborhood at a fast-food establishment known for late-night hoagies. I've seen him around quite a few times and most of the time he's harmless. The last few times he's been in the bar, however, he's become more belligerant and sloppy in his drinking. So when he realized that we wouldn't let him back in, naturally he protested, causing a bit of a scene outside. He said some not-so-nice things about me and AQUA LAD, but nothing that was going to make me lose any sleep. He eventually left and staggered down the block.

An hour or so later, he comes back again to try and resume drinking. Again we turn him away and this time he gets even more agitated, pushing AQUA LAD and babbling about. I grab him from behind and pull him away and tell him to beat it. "WHO ARE YOU?? WHAT ARE YOU, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD???" he yells at me. "YEAH, I'M FRANK SINATRA. NOW BEAT IT BEFORE I SEND IN THE CLOWNS" I snapped back. He eventually staggers back down the block to his place of employment. This time I call his place of employment and speak to the manager of the place, of whom I happen to know. I gave him a heads up on what his buddy was doing and suggested that he put him in a cab or something before he gets into trouble. He thanked me for the heads up and said he would deal with it. Cool, problem solved...or so I thought.

About a half hour later, our friend staggers back AGAIN, this time yelling and screaming about us calling his job. He tried to lunge after AQUA LAD, who did a good job of keeping him at bay and out of the bar; I stepped in between and basically told him to f*** off or else I was calling the cops. He kept going ballistic and I eventually dialed 9-1-1 and told the operator what was happening; she said that she would send the cops over immediately.

By then, our friend staggers off again and this time, starts harassing folks up and down 3rd Avenue. I stayed outside to wait for the cops and to keep an eye on our friend. Five minutes go by. Ten minutes go by. Fifteen minutes go by and still no police. Meanwhile, our drunken little friend is going in and out of establisments, harassing pedestrians and patrons alike. About 45 minutes later, he comes back yet again, this time to ask for a cigarette, apparently forgetting that he tried to attack us just minutes earlier....AND still no cops! Finally he staggered off for good and everything worked out fine. I'm still waiting for the cops to arrive, by the way. (*FOOTNOTE: Apparently our friend also broke a window at the UNDERGROUND bar on 2nd Avenue and has since been given his walking papers by his employer)

IPOD NIGHT is here: Bring your IPOD and sign up for a time slot and play the tunes you want to hear! $3 HEINEKEN/ AMSTEL LIGHT drafts and $5 MIXED WELL DRINKS for the ladies all night long!

NUFF SAID