Tuesday, December 13, 2005

I didn't know what I would do but then I never do, even right before it's about to happen. I don't seek out confrontations but I don't shy away from then either.

A friend and I were just hanging out for lunch when another patron came in, he sat at a table. He looked odd, and acted odd, nothing too extreme but it made you wonder about the labels that corresponded to his problems. Drink, mental illness, drugs?

My friend was positioned to watch the guy better than I could and noticed he had a bottle and casually made mention of it to the barkeep. A female regular passed by to casually check the guy out and noticed that his pants were unbuttoned and unzipped. The bartender went over and told the guy that drinks from outside weren't allowed. The guy claimed that his bottled beverage was just water, but his bottle carried more than just water so she asked him to leave. He asked for his dollar fifty tip back. She gave him two bucks back.

He took quite awhile to gather his things and then he took his duffle bag, shopping bag and a couple other carried things to the bathroom. My friend and I were already late to return but neither of us was willing to leave the bartender with the strange man in bar, we already settled up so we were just sitting there pretending to watch the sports highlights displayed on the T.V.'s.

My friend decided he would go back which left me to stay. I was talking on my cell phone when another regular, a bartender from a different bar, came in, I knew he could be trusted to prevent any problems so I focused on the problem on my phone, wondering if the person on the other end could her the rock music playing in the background. The background music wasn't bothering me too much because I had a finger in one ear and my phone at the other. A few minutes later the problem customer ascended the stairs and left with all his bundles. I watched the guy leave, and watched his progress past the plate glass windows until he was out of site. I finished my call and then said goodbye.

She quietly said 'Thank you"

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