The Cellar - View Single Post

SteveDallas · 08-10-2009, 09:25 AM

I'm walking through a... well... it's not a slum. But not the nicest neighborhood ever. But it's OK, doesn't bother me. I reach my goal, a bar. I go in, take a seat at the bar, and order a margarita. (The resulting drink would win some kind of award for smallest margarita on the planet, but whatever.) I randomly talk with a couple women sitting nearby, then I realize I have to get something I left at home and so I go.

I'm now at home, and it's about 1AM. I have whatever I came for, and Mrs. Dallas is asking me what I want to do for the following night. We come to some agreement, then I leave to go back to the bar. At this point the neighborhood I'm going through is really quite rundown and definitely full of a criminal element. I'm a bit worried, but I try to get through quickly. There's only one way over to the bar, through an old construction site. I get there at the same time as another guy. He immediately realizes I'm "not from around here" and kind of shakes his head as if to say, "damned tourists." He says, "don't worry man, I'll get you through." Before I can ask what he means, we're at a customs/toll crossing kind of thing, and a very beefy, itching-for-a-fight-looking guy glares at my companion as he walks through and says, "It's ok, he's cool." When it's my turn to go through, the bouncer demands payment of $3.88. I stifle my indignation (not to mention my desire to ask "88 cents? WTF man?") and pay up, since that's obviously the lesser of several evils.

Back in the bar, everybody is completely different, except for one waitress, who, when I order a martini, reminds the bartender that he needs to charge me for the margarita I had earlier and didn't pay for. While I'm sipping the drink, I look around and see that my son and daughter are on the other side of the room playing a board game. I'm not amused, but I decided since they haven't noticed me, to just let it go and deal with it after I get home.

Fast forward a couple days, and I'm having lunch on the campus of a local university. I am with Mrs. Dallas and the management of the bar. Mrs. Dallas and I are quizzing them as to why the hell they would let in underage kids, especially that late at night. The management is very placating, and the assure us that it's against their policy and they'll make sure it doesn't happen again. (The scene where we ask our kids why the hell they left the house at 1AM is absent.)

After this breaks up, I look around. It appears to be new student orientation and there is a campus map. There is one area, the bad neighborhood I walked through to get to the bar, marked off. It's listed as forbidden for all students. An alternate route around the edge is listed. This is new information, and I'm pleased to find a different route to get to the bar.

As we're getting ready to leave, a big snowstorm hits. The roads become nasty but passable, and we decide to hang at the campus long enough to let the streets get driven on a bit before we head home.

08-10-2009, 09:25 AM	#24
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	I'm walking through a... well... it's not a slum. But not the nicest neighborhood ever. But it's OK, doesn't bother me. I reach my goal, a bar. I go in, take a seat at the bar, and order a margarita. (The resulting drink would win some kind of award for smallest margarita on the planet, but whatever.) I randomly talk with a couple women sitting nearby, then I realize I have to get something I left at home and so I go. I'm now at home, and it's about 1AM. I have whatever I came for, and Mrs. Dallas is asking me what I want to do for the following night. We come to some agreement, then I leave to go back to the bar. At this point the neighborhood I'm going through is really quite rundown and definitely full of a criminal element. I'm a bit worried, but I try to get through quickly. There's only one way over to the bar, through an old construction site. I get there at the same time as another guy. He immediately realizes I'm "not from around here" and kind of shakes his head as if to say, "damned tourists." He says, "don't worry man, I'll get you through." Before I can ask what he means, we're at a customs/toll crossing kind of thing, and a very beefy, itching-for-a-fight-looking guy glares at my companion as he walks through and says, "It's ok, he's cool." When it's my turn to go through, the bouncer demands payment of $3.88. I stifle my indignation (not to mention my desire to ask "88 cents? WTF man?") and pay up, since that's obviously the lesser of several evils. Back in the bar, everybody is completely different, except for one waitress, who, when I order a martini, reminds the bartender that he needs to charge me for the margarita I had earlier and didn't pay for. While I'm sipping the drink, I look around and see that my son and daughter are on the other side of the room playing a board game. I'm not amused, but I decided since they haven't noticed me, to just let it go and deal with it after I get home. Fast forward a couple days, and I'm having lunch on the campus of a local university. I am with Mrs. Dallas and the management of the bar. Mrs. Dallas and I are quizzing them as to why the hell they would let in underage kids, especially that late at night. The management is very placating, and the assure us that it's against their policy and they'll make sure it doesn't happen again. (The scene where we ask our kids why the hell they left the house at 1AM is absent.) After this breaks up, I look around. It appears to be new student orientation and there is a campus map. There is one area, the bad neighborhood I walked through to get to the bar, marked off. It's listed as forbidden for all students. An alternate route around the edge is listed. This is new information, and I'm pleased to find a different route to get to the bar. As we're getting ready to leave, a big snowstorm hits. The roads become nasty but passable, and we decide to hang at the campus long enough to let the streets get driven on a bit before we head home.