A Swim with the Fishes

“Oceanic, that’s it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My wife asked me about the full name of the seafood place over in East Hartford – it’s Mickey’s Oceanic.”

“I don’t like it when you guys come in here talking about other restaurants.”

“Don’t mind my young friend, Cheryl, he’s having a senior moment. Besides, Mickey’s doesn’t have a liquor license.”

“Well we do, but you guys aren’t taking advantage of it.”

“I’ll have a glass of red wine, Cheryl.”

“Yo, Dan. Yuengling? Brooklyn, Corona?”

“Just a sec’ Cheryl, I have to text my wife.”

“OooKay – Brooklyn, it is.”

“So, how come you didn’t mention the Woodworking Show last week?”

“I hadn’t gone yet, we actually didn’t go until Sunday.”

“Oh, so that’s why I had to find out about it by reading your blog.”

“Here’s your beer, and here’s your wine.”

“What about…”

“…your seltzer and a glass of ice? I’m still counting only two hands here.”

“I’m Sorry, Cheryl. Anyway, I was expecting to see more about your woodworking projects in that post.”

“Yeah, I rushed that post a bit. We had a busy day and I was heading up to Boston on Monday.”

“Ah, Boston, so that’s why your mind is on seafood.”

“I did have some remarkable seafood at the bar in the hotel.”

“What? I told you, I don’t like it when you guys talk about other restaurants and especially other bars.”

“Not to worry Cheryl. The food was good, but the bartenders were awful.”

“Tell me more.”

“Well, there are a couple bartenders on duty, but they spend a lot of time talking to each other.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Now hold on you two. It’s a hotel, it’s not like they have regulars.”

“I’ve been there at least a dozen times in the past three years.”

“That’s regular enough to remember. I have customers that visit here a few times a year, I remember them.”

“You’re different, Cheryl. You’re the best.”

“Well thank you. And here all this time I thought you were the grumpy one.”

“I am, but I recognize quality. Still, I’m not so sure you should be picking on those guys.”

“How about this? This happened twice.”

“What’s that? You’re drinking Corona? You had two Coronas. What am I looking at?”

“An empty glass. Twice, they left me staring at an empty glass.”

“That’s unacceptable, I never do that. Are you ready for another?”

“You are the best, Cheryl. I am ready for another.”

“OK, bad bartenders, I’ll give you that. What’s this great seafood?”

“I had the best fish tacos I’ve ever had.”

“Oooh, I’ve been trying to get them to put those on the menu here. What were they like?”

“I’m not sure what kind of fish, but they were sitting on a bed of crunchy Cole slaw, with Pico on the side.”

“That does sound good.”

“That sounds yummy. And we make a pretty nice Cole Slaw here. I have to mention that.”

“It gets better. The next day, I had a Lobster P.L.T. for lunch.”

“P.L.T. Gracie?”

“Pancetta, Lobster and Tomato, on a grilled hard roll.”

“OK, OK, enough talk about the good food, tell me again how bad those bartenders were.”

“Ha, ha. Don’t worry Cheryl. The place is over a hundred miles away.”

“Cheryl, all this babbling about food by my young friend is making me hungry. How about an order of twenty wings.”

“Consider it done!”

“Now, tell me about what’s going on in your shop.”

“Well, I am trying to finish a candy dish.”

“Another bowl, turned on your lathe?”

“No, this one is carved.”

“I didn’t know you liked carving.”

“I don’t. That’s why it’s been in-progress for over a year.”

“Anything else?”

“I’m getting ready to start on a new coffee table for my office.”

“What happened to the old one?”

“I gave it away.”

“You gave it away? I loved that table.”

“I know. A lot of people did, but a friend who was retiring seemed to like it more than all of you, so I gave it to him.”

“Rats. I mean, I guess that’s fair. So, what does the new one look like?”

“It’s a Mulberry slab, and it will have heavy steel legs.”

“Mulberry? I don’t even know what that looks like.”

“It has a golden hue when finished.”

“Sounds interesting. I guess I’ll have to wait to see the finished product.”

“I have to wait for it to get warmer.”

“OK, but I’m calling dibs if you give it away…I mean, if I like it.”

“OK.”

“Wings are in, here’s your beer. Are you going to want another glass of wine?”

“I am. And when you bring out the wings, can I have Ranch dressing instead of the Blue Cheese.”

“Sure. Dan, you still want Parm Pep, right?”

“Yes. No surprises here.”

“It’s not a surprise. You order the same thing all the time. I explore new things on occasion.”

---

This bar visit has been inspired by recent events and Linda G. Hill’s Saturday Stream of Consciousness prompt” If you want to see Cheryl’s entry, click here.

“Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “oc.” Find a word that starts with “oc” and use it in your post. Bonus points if you start and end with your post with an “oc” word. Have fun!”