Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Empty Bar....

"At 9:00 the bus pulls out"...she winks over her shoulder. It's a ritual. At 8:45 I hide my keys in an obvious place, open a new pack of cigarettes, tuck a twenty in my pocket and turn the lights out. We're goin' out!

We tuck the car into the first tight squeeze and scan the parking lot. Whose here and whose not registering like ten potatoes-for-a-dollar at the Winn Dixie check out. I skip ahead, first one to the graffiti lit dungeon door, stand on my tippie toes, peek through the smoke smeared window and then......
we go in.....
I never tell what I see or don't....

We curtsy and shake hands, kiss cheeks and tossle hair, hug, make the rounds, and then lean our barstools back on all four legs, and claim them. Our drinks hit the black bartop before our cigarettes do....and Friday night begins....

Ten o'clock, eleven, twelve, and save the last one for me. We make the rounds, clink 'em, spin 'em, twirl and dip 'em. The occassional new face wanders in and we scoop them up into the circle, twine them around our little fingers and into our Friday night stories. Sometimes, they come back again, and then we call them "Friend"......

I love this bar.

It's only when they belt out Bob Segar, that I slump a little, chug my beer a little harder, and realize how empty it is...

Turn the page....

17 comments:

skinnylittleblonde said...

Awwww SisterLove...keep on turning those pages, twisting those tales & drawing those strangers into the circle of friends...for right now & forever ... ILY!

singleton said...

Ahhhh, sweetie, you caught me ramblin'.....I started off goin' in one direction and ended up at 1:00.....
And so the story goes......
Peace~love my sweet sib....

justacoolcat said...

Turn the page, turn away, turn the day to days. And it sure would be better if we all were together, and getting through to through is easier to do, and it sure seems much better than trying to change the weather, when getting there with you seems the only thing that's true , Turn the page.

~Babs said...

Yeah, claimed stools,spins and dips,,,,last call and roadies.
I've been to this bar,,,,,,,that was probably me, plinkin quarters at the Whurlitzer.Thanks for drawing me into the circle.
Turn the page,,,,

skinnylittleblonde said...

And in the world of 'what is & what should never be' we always sit & spin on the reality that it is what it is... and in the end peace always wins. ILYSVM @ 11, 12, 22

Maithri said...

Maybe
life
is all about
findin
the courage
to turn
the page.

Maybe on that new page...

is peace,

Sending you love forever
on the winds, in the little lights on the sidewalk,

Maithri

singleton said...

Suchacoolcat....Do you hear me singing over here, doing backgrounds? "And it sure would be much better"....Na na na na, hey,hey,hey.....And can you see me? Scribblin' on today, so when it's gone, the page is marked, and even if we can't go back....it's captured there.....Turn the page....

Babs....I have a feelin' I have seen you there! If I get there first, I'll tip your barstool in and save your seat! Clink! To every song that makes us move and every moment that makes a song....

SweetSLb....you got it girlfiend! And that song, sweet child, is in the car right now...qued for the ride!ILYSVVM

Oh Maithri,
not just maybe,
definately....
And in this painted book
of fairytales,
meant to be's,
and whoa be me's,
it's the uncolored pages,
the still empty yet blankness,
that
is the canvas
for tomorrow.....
that holds the promise....

And because you sent them
on the winds,
those little lights on the sidewalk
are now
butterflies in the night
line dancing
to
Turn the Page.....

Peace~love friends
It's in the wind....

i beati said...

maybe next time....

Scott from Oregon said...

There was a bar in California, The UNion Hotel, that was like that for me for years. We even went there at lunch to eat a mini pizza at the bar and sip coke and chat with those who were drinking in the afternoons while we avoided heading back to work...

It was the type of bar that saw naked people walk in off the street, famous people sitting next to the town drunk...

I miss the atmosphere, and the fact that the bartender was a girl I knew well...

Gill said...

...there I go, playin Star again, here I go, Turn the page!
On the road again!

YOu've got me singin, Singy!!!
Oh the Friday night vibe hasn't lost any of it's edge.
Have you seen Across The Universe yet?
When I watched it, I thought Hey, Singleton would LOVE this!!!
xoxo
Gillian

singleton said...

Ibeati....LOL! We used to have a boat named "Next time"....and ohhhhhh, the stories she could tell!

Scott....Same bar! Different town, different name....I love it! And funny, but everyone who has ever known one has the same stories...And they're good ones! Cheers! To you my friend!

Blue...I haven't! But I'll put it on my must see list, and actually I've just watched two movies (the first in forever) that pretty much so left me changed forever.....Maithri's gift to my world.....And yeah, great music, huh, girlfriend?

Peace~love my friends....
pull up a barstool and pass it around......

Ultra Toast Mosha God said...

There is a certain mysterious vagueness here that is appealing - the imagery of leaving home, then arriving.

But what of those listed hours?

I guess I'll use my imagination.

kj said...

communities....nothing like them when you could be lost and instead let yourself be found...

:)

Chris Benjamin said...

bob seger, what a dark and unexpected twist! was it kereoke? if so, at least it wasn't mack the knife.

'if i was there i'd pick you up and take you out and head down to the crown. we'd trip the light fandango, tie a yellow ribbon 'round this town. and i'd sing for you keraoke, so go on girl, pick your favourite song. the Japanese Jimmy Deans and rock-a-billy boyfrinds sing along.'
--Danny Michel

singleton said...

Ultra....A girl never tells all....and those hours, well, they tell a story of their own ;)

kj....Circles....everywhere when we open our eyes and hearts....(And it helps if you're allowed to drink beer!) :)

Benji....the real thing. They belt out an awesome Bob Segar...and just lately, a new old one just as good....Steamroller Blues.....
And trippin' the light fandango, how cool is that?

Peace~love my friends....
It's Friday,
and Fridays are for dancin'.....

SHE said...

singtome: another great read.. and your surrender to the higher narrator.. not dictating where the story should go, but letting the words lead the way..

the most beautiful form of creativity..

page after page after page. i think the blank page smiles when it sees you comin'

much love, ~s.

singleton said...

She....I don't know where my words went here, in this Leave your Comment Box, my hug to you, but I hope they travel safe, and are welcome whereever they land! It's funny, but this post, this night, happened, felt exactly as it reads, and yet when I started typing, started to tell the story, this isnt where it was going at all.....But the keyboard tattletales on me......and becomes a confessional box.....over and over again!
Peace~love my friend