So, I went to my former fave watering hole this eve. Damn...the old place sure has changed.
Without naming names, I'll tell ya this much: my granddad, who passed on in 1957, used to drink there. It was pretty much always a small time, neighborhood, old man bar. When I used to drink there, they still refused to have a juke box. Instead, the old TV was usually on A&E or Court TV. Drinks were unbelievably CHEAP! For Pete's sake...the place had a pachinko machine! I remember when my friend Jimmy and his then girfriend were in for a visit. We stopped at my little neighborhood bar to prime the pumps. I bought the first round...smirking all the while. When Jimmy went for the next round, he came back suggesting that they had "undercharged him". I told him, with some personal glee, that no they hadn't; the prices where just that cheap!
I stopped going there after I was filmed there for an interview for a documentary on rockabilly music. It took me 5 hours to get out of there that night. Folks mistook me for someone of some importance. I stopped back a few times but each time people treated me like 'someone special'. So, I stopped going.
Luckily, Pittsburgh has a lot of bars. Even luckier (for me), I quit drinking for a while. I still enjoy a nice cold beer though, and as the mercury has been on the rise lately, a cold one fit the bill. I walked on down the street and around the corner and headed to my former fave watering hole.
I've known for some time that there had been some changes...but damn, I didn't think they ruined the joint! Gone was Rosie, the grumpiest old bitch of all time bartender (who I, to this day, love dearly). She was a classic. She knew everything going on within a 25 mile radius. She didn't take any guff from anyone, let alone a pack of drunks sitting at the bar! Gone were the regulars; good old boys who just wanted a cold one (or two, or three) after a long day of working. Gone was Tommy; who worked in the MH/MR field like me. Gone were the aging bikers and their old ladies in for a coldie.
This new crowd was surprisingly "low rent". Not 10 minutes after I sat down at the bar for a beer, a guy a few stools down vomited on himself. He blamed "hot weather" and "warm beer". I blame a drunken ass. My beer was ice cold. Like I've always said, if you can't hold your booze; don't drink.
My fave old watering hole has, in the past 2-3 years become a hangout for white trash. And not the fun "Larry The Cable Guy" kind! The barmaid, who couldn't have been more than 25, looked more at home in a dyke bar. (no offense to dykes...just saying!) The aging Italian guy and the "other barmaid" (who also looked more at home in a dyke bar) were playing backgammon and rambling on; as folks should in a small neighborhood bar. But the rest of the drunks...white trash all...where just bitching and posing.
This joint, not much bigger than the average "rumpus room", is now having karaoke (the devil's own torment to anyone with any taste) an occasionally "live entertainment". Well, hat's off to them for that...but where are they putting the band? In the bathroom?????
SHIT...I was recognized. "How's the Rock & Roll biz?" I was asked. "Fine thanks" was my only answer. I went back to ignoring them and looking around at what used to be a classic hole-in-the-wall joint. I felt grief for what has gone. My grandfather's old watering hole, and mine, no longer exists. It's become a victim of over taxation, changing trends, and a generally crappy world view. I finished my beer and hit the bricks, probably never to darken the doors of my fave old watering hole ever again.
At least a pint of Yuengling is still only $2.00 there. If that's any kind of saving grace...
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