After an unexpectedly good visit last...

After an unexpectedly good visit last time, there was going to be a return visit to the Ballpark Tavern for me. Yes I know it's grungy and dark and sticky and smoky, but who the hell cares. I go for the extras, and there are those times when you want a sure thing.

Such was NOT the case on a recent Friday afternoon visit. When I came in at 2:30 pm, the bar was filling up and the best seat available was next to the alpha-male regular. I'm sure we've all seen this fellow in some reincarnation at most neighborhood clubs. The alpha-male regular is the guy who: (1) knows all the girls and hoots and hollers at them the loudest, (2) carries conversation with all of the other patrons from the comfort of his bar stool, (3) has two drinks at a time in front of him, usually a beer and something hard, and (4) all the girls know, but for some reason avoid spending too much time with him; probably because he never takes them for a dance.

By 3:00 pm, the bar had filled up with so many patrons off of work early, perhaps hoping for a good start before catering to the wife and kids for the weekend, that the bar was two-deep in seated and standing males. On top of that, alpha-male spills his drink and splashes some on my arm. However, he’s lucid enough to understand that you can’t treat alcohol that way and buys me a drink, which I take as a drink token and leave shortly thereafter. The girls seemed really cute that afternoon, but it’s the equivalent of a bad round of poker or craps. If the karma’s not there, leave the table.