True Story©… Drinkin’ Buddies
My life is largely
not what it has been for the most of my adult life. Most people I know know me well enough to
text me instead of calling. I prefer things
that way, as it forces people to the point and elicits a better response from
me, what with knowing that a text is committing to a repeatable (or screen-shottable, to make up a word)
medium.
Sometimes, however, things cannot be left to the chance of a text. What if my phone is powered off? What if Wife
Person™ has murdered me and buried my body under a single-wide
trailer? What if I dropped my phone when
Marcus and I were saving those kids from the burning orphanage Sunday before
last? Sometimes the only way to be sure
contact has been made is to have heard my voice and I know this.
I say all that to
say that Thursday before last, I got a phone call…
Me: “Yo”
Homie: “What’s good?”
[Phlip note: I won’t
be using any names because I don’t know that his wife is up for me and my
shenanigans]
Me: “Ain’t shit, sitting here with the Wife
Person™ and the puppies.”
Homie: “’puppy’?
You got another one?”
Me: “They’re ALL puppies, even the 14 year-old.”
Homie: “Haha, okay.”
Me: “What’s up?”
Homie: “Ain’t nothing much. [name]’s birthday is Saturday and we hitting
up the biker bar to have a few drinks and shoot the shit.”
Me: “The wings any good there?”
Homie: “I think they are personally, why?”
Me: “Because I’ve lost my taste for alcohol over
the last year and a half, but I am more than willing to come.”
Homie: “Ahh…”
Me: “Matter fact, I will pick y’all up and DD
for the evening.”
Homie: “Word!”
Me: “Just don’t throw up in my fuckin’ Subaru.”
Homie: “Aight, bet.”
Me: “What time should I come and scoop?”
Homie: “Seven sounds good.”
Me: “Say less, see y’all Saturday”
Part of me wanted
to be worried about being at a bar where bikers would be drinking at the end of
the “biking” season, but that was overridden by the part of me whose Wife Person™ has been on him to spend
more time with his friends. We can call
my desire to get out the house a net positive, so with her being informed we
rolled out.
When we – the homie,
his old roommate and the roommate’s cousin – arrived to the bar, there were
already like 20 motorcycles out front.
This could either be an AMAZING time or quite awkward when we get
inside. Once in, we stood out like four
Cocoa Puffs in a bowl of Kix cereal.
Luckily, there was no record scratch/music stop moment when we walked
in, but there were plenty of eyes on us as we parked ourselves at one of the
high top tables and the waitress came over to take our orders.
Service was good, the guys had their drinks and I had my wings for the table
and water in a not-unreasonable amount of time.
She came back frequently enough to earn her proper tip without being
annoying as fuck. We had some chuckles
on tales of events past and spent roughly two hours when--…
… shit…
Parked at the
table to our left, there were five tattooed skinhead-looking guys just kind of
sitting and staring at us. We continued
in an earnest attempt to ignore the fact that they were mocking us at
everything we said or laughed at, clearly trying to get a rise out of us to
start some shit to either justify violence or Karen this situation calling the
cops.
As if that ain’t enough, ANOTHER group of skinhead parks themselves at the
table to our right and is just kinda staring, like they were trying to look
through us or something.
Fuck my life… I could
have stayed home and cooked some chicken wings for this shit.
Whatever…
“CHECK PLEASE”
We’ve been here long enough, all of us are in our 40s and have shit to
lose. We’ll get the fuck outta here and
link up at someone’s house or something if we decide on the way that the night
doesn’t yet need to be over.
… except skinhead group #1 apparently wasn’t
done in their attempt to make problems on this evening.
Me: “Aww fuck…”
Homie: “Nah, ain’t no ‘aww fuck’, I got the bitch
in my backpack on your back seat.”
Me: “As much as I appreciate the sentiment in THIS
particular moment, could you please inform me that you left the house prepared
to play ‘Glock/Paper/Scissors’ next time?”
Homie: “Glock/Paper/Scissors? HA!”
Me: “Thank you. But I'll explain it later.”
Homie: “Man, you are insane.”
Me: “Fuck that, let’s deal with this situation
we’re now in for no apparent good reason other than--… well… ‘Merica.”
We paid the check
and headed to the door with skinhead group #1 not far behind. Opening the door to exit, I noticed that
group #2 had decided that they wanted to come and play in the parking lot too.
[Phlip Note:
FUCK!!!]
As four black men who have all been in at least one
fistfight each before, we didn’t try to run or flee, or even try to get to the
pistol that has apparently been in my backseat for the last three and a half
hours. We just casually strolled out the
door and to the white Subaru Outback in the corner of the lot.
There were two of group #1 standing there next to my wagon…
Skinhead: “Leaving already? We hadn’t even had a chance to share a
pitcher.”
Me: “I don’t drink, buddy… I’m DD’ing.”
Skinhead: “Too bad, really. Now I am hurt that your buddies here are less
than accepting of our hospitality, seeing as how this is our normal watering
hole.”
Me: “Sorry”
Skinhead: “Actually, you’re about to be--…”
The interruption
came in from who I can only assume is the leader – or at least spokesperson of
group #2…
Group 2 Skinhead: “S’cuse me, gentlefolk… What seems to be the issue here?”
Group 1 Skinhead: “Well, it seems that these fellas here are
resistant to acceptance of the hospitality of folks like us.”
Me: “But, umm…
No one offered us anything.”
Group 1 Skinhead: “You wouldn’t even acknowledge our presence.”
Me: “You mean when the part where you were
mocking us for no apparent reason? Wasn’t
worth the conflict, we chose to leave the establishment instead.”
Group 1 Skinhead: “Well now our feelings are hurt and we--…”
Before he could
finish whatever he was GOING to say, the whole of the second group had quietly
come from behind him and one of them punched him SQUARELY in the forehead. He went to the ground almost faster than
immediately. When his now-off-guard gang
mates realized what had happened, it was too late and they were outnumbered.
Bear in mind, that my friends and I want NO part of this white-on-white crime
happening in this here parking lot, but the homie made a point of getting his
gun out of my car and on his person where he was legally licensed for it to be
in case the police DO so happen to get involved. I don't think he even considered the ramifications of the three drinks in his system, he was just keeping ME out of trouble.
In the maelstrom, I forgot that I walk the world with a 4K video recording device clipped to my belt.
With the first
group of skinhead thoroughly trounced before jumping on their bikes and getting
the fuck out of dodge, group 2 comes back over to us.
Me: “Umm… Thanks, I think?”
Skinhead: “No problem…
I fuckin HATE those Nazi motherfuckers.
Name’s Derrick…”
Me: “Phillip”
Derrick: “The worst part is when people see us and
think we’re just like those cocksuckers.”
Me: “I bet”
Derrick: “Yeah, so we clocked how they were being
dicks inside the bar and came out to clear up any problems they might cause.”
Me: “And again, we thank y’all for that.”
Derrick: “Any time, bro. You fellas coming back in? Next round on us.”
Me: “Nah…
we’re old and washed, we’re gonna get on home to the families.”
Derrick: “Well look, you guys seemed to be having a good
ol’ time. Take my info and we can catch
up and have a couple sometime. Maybe me
and the boys will get to beat the fuck out of some skinheads again.”
Me: “Y’know what? That sounds like an absolutely GREAT idea.”
… so yeah… Now me and the boys have some anti-racist
skinheads as drinking buddies.
Damn, I had them read COMPLETELY wrong.
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