Sunday, August 20, 2006

A BRIGHT SPOT TO MAKE MY NIGHT.....

Saturday night started out as a typical summer weekend night. Very slow start to the evening, no doubt due to the mass exodus out of the city the day before. The streets were very quiet, almost too quiet, with a bare minimum of foot traffic to be found.

We were entertained (annoyingly so) by a couple of females visiting from Florida. They had been in the day before, stumbling onto our place by accident and immediately becoming smitten with the place. I don't know if it was because our bar made them feel at home; Or if it was because their affection for MEAN GENE, the kindhearted soul. In any case, they liked the place so much that they spent yet another whole day there with him, and even stayed L-O-N-G after he left. As the night went on, they because more louder and irritating, though i'm pretty sure they meant well. I guess we're that kind of place where everyone can let their hair down.

I found myself standing outside the bar for much of the earlier part of the evening, mostly because I wanted to escape the annoying screeching voices of our new-found friends from Florida. While I was sizing up the foot traffic outside, guess who I see emerging from a crowd of people and walking towards me? Yes, MATT LONG. I couldn't believe my eyes! I've seen him a few times since he's been out of the hospital, but I've yet to actually take steps, until now. He was walking gingerly, yet confidently, with the help of crutches. He actually had a pretty smooth flow to his movement, which was remarkable, considering all that he's been through. I was so happy to see him, and you could tell that the rest of the merchants on the block felt the same way as they all came out to greet him as he walked by. Simply remarkable. MATT stopped by the bar for a few minutes to say hello and to get a good look at the place and to plan on some renovations (always thinking about work). After a few minutes of catching up with the staff, he bid everyone farewell and I helped get him into a cab for his ride home. Those few minutes made my night.

Eventually the bar filled up with primarily Bridge and Tunnel and Frat Boy types, typical for a summer Saturday night. Lucky for us, while the bar got busy for a nice stretch of time, we avoided any headaches or problems and got through the evening without a hitch. We even handled the post-AMSTERJAM concert flow without much fanfare. I made it a point to weed out the zombie-like drunks who stumbled off the ferry from the concert.

We even got a break from Mother Nature as she held back the rain until last call. The perfect end to a perfect night.


NUFF SAID