Swish's Big Aventure in NYC with J.

[Swish]

So I finally backed up all the talk & firmed up the plans to meet with J this past week whilst in the city on business. I haven't been there much in the past, so it was really great for J to play the host and make this rube from the sticks drive from his hotel in Queens and all the way into the belly of the beast that is New York City. After and easy 40 minute drive and retrieving him from his posh apartment near Wall Street, we headed to the West Village for a bite to eat and some beer. It was only about a mile from his flat and took us just 45 minutes to get there, so we were making good time. I made sure to tell him that "I have a 2 pint limit tonight". We went to a famous saloon named Chauncey's and we each got a burger, fries and a pint, and it was a mere $35 before tip. What a bargain!

Then we drove to the East Village and found a convenient parking spot in less than 30 minutes, so again, we were making good time. First we headed to the Beauty Shop, a former beauty shop transformed into a bar, but still containing many of the barber/salon chairs and other items found in a beauty shop. I made sure to tell J "Remember, I have a 3 pint limit tonight". His good friend Brian, a freelance writer in the music industry, met up with us there and bought another round before we headed out to the next pub. I notice a strong odor and found out it was nail polish and saw that a woman had a table set up to do women's nails. I mentioned that the Wall Street types often got their nails manicured and clear-polished. I offered to pay for J to have his done, but we were short on time so he passed.

As we crossed the street I made sure to remind Brian and J that "I have a four pint limit tonight". We ventured into J's favorite place called "Nowhere" and I plunked down the $50 or so for three pints and we found an empty couch to plant our butts on and chatted for a minute before noticing that there was an unusual absense of the female of our species. J also commented that something seemed to be jabbing him in the hind-quarters when he sat down. Could this be a gay bar? Of course it was. After being the objects of numerous amorous advances form several of the customers because we're so darned cute, we begrudgingly headed out into the night.

The next stop was Detours, and upon entering, I reminded them that "I have a 5 pint limit tonight". There was a jazz quartet playing some very mellow, Bobby Darin, Harry Connick, Jr. type stuff. They were later joined by a fifth guy whom J has known for years and with whom he's played some gigs. He took his place on piano with the band to complete the typical drums, stand-up bass, vibes, and lead singer who also played a muted slide trombone and ukulele. If you've see one, you've seen 'em all.

We hung out there for a fairly long time before hitting our last stop, although I can't remember the name. I reminded them again that "I have a 6 pint limit tonight". This pub was pretty cool and the ladiies there like to show off their thong underwear, at least the part that you can see above the back of their jeans when they lean forward. Interesting. They also have a juke box connected to the web and you can play something like 50,000 different songs...unless J was exaggerating as he's prone to do. That was pretty much the end of it and it was after midnight, so I said "so long" to J thru misty eyes and with a friendly hug, then headed back to my hotel after dropping Brian off at his apartment along the way. It was only about 5 miles from my hotel and made it in under an hour thanks to the wonderful construction on the Queensboro Bridge.

So, if any of you are thinking of heading to NYC to meet up with J, just remember all the cheap prices, carefree driving, and wonderful gay bars he can show you.

Swish

[Jim Clark]

Sounds like a lot of fun and I'm sure you just touched the tip of the iceberg with the story telling. Nice to know you're smart enough not to print the nitty gritty on the internet.

jc

[Swish]

Sounds like a lot of fun and I'm sure you just touched the tip of the iceberg with the story telling. Nice to know you're smart enough not to print the nitty gritty on the internet.

jc

Well, there's actually not much more to tell. I was obviously messing with him in my original post, because we had a blast. His friend Brian was the one who led us to the Nowhere bar, and we didn't let him forget about it the rest of the night. We laughed our tails off most of the time, at least when we weren't talking music and skewering some of you guys on the board.

Bottom line? I'll be sure to visit J again when I'm back in NYC is a few months. It was one of the best times I've had in a long while, and that's saying a lot. And that jazz band? They were really freaking good and all very talented musicians. The uke was neat as was the muted slide trombone.

Swish