Dan Antion

Where Similarities End – #SoCS

You have to look closely , but the bottle of Willet Reserve is to the right of the neck of the bottle.

It’s Saturday, so we’re at the bar with Brad, a.k.a. Skippy, trying to wrestle Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt to the ground:

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘for/fore/four.’ Use one, use ’em all, use ’em any way you want. Bonus points for using all three. Enjoy!”

If we were having a beer, there’d be a ruckus.

“Would you like your usual, Dan?”

“Yes please.”

“Excuse me, Dave…It’s Dave, right?”

“Hello, Skippy. It’s David if you please.”

“Yes, I remember now. One of the four quirky things about you, David. Anyway, what is your usual. I know you call it John Howell’s Bourbon, but that’s not actually a brand.”

“What I’d really like is our usual bartender, but since…”

“Brad, it’s Willet Reserve.”

“Gotcha, Dan. No problem. “

“I swear, I’m going to slap him.”

“Relax David. He’s just our bartender for today.”

“Here you go, guys. I’ll check back in a few minutes.”

“Whoa, hold on Brad.”

“What? Oh, the ice and stuff. I’ll get that when I come back, Dan.”

“No, Brad. David probably wants that ‘stuff‘ sooner than later, but that’s not the problem.”

“What, then? Did you want a glass, you don’t normally ask for a glass.”

“True, but then again, I don’t normally drink Coors.”

“I thought…”

“Wrong. You thought wrong. I drink Corona.”

“I was close.”

“True, they both come in a bottle, and they both start with ‘Co’ but that’s as far as it goes.”

“Ok. I’ll get it right on the next round.”

“What? What’s wrong with you?”

“Huh?”

“I’m not drinking this”

“What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Does anyone in this bar want a bottle of Coors on the house?”

“I’ll take that!”

“Here ya go, pal. There, Skippy, now get Dan a Corona and bring me a glass of ice and a snifter of seltzer.”

“Who’s paying for the Coors?”

“You are. Now, finish here so we can pretend we just got here and none of this ever happened. And don’t forget the lime.”

“I would say you’re being too hard on him, but that was well-played, David.”

“My father would have said, ‘someone needs to learn him some manners’ – I’m just the guy.”

“As much as I try to tolerate him, I think he’s a lost cause.”

“Speaking of lost causes, how did you manage to find your way back to Penn Station last week?”

“While we were walking to Katz’s Deli, Brad pointed out a subway stop where I could get a train back uptown.”

“One train, from Chinatown to Penn Station?”

“Two. The F-train to fourth street and then the C-train to thirty-fourth.”

“Thirty-fourth, that’s Penn Station, right?”

“It is.”

“So close to the Molly Wee but you didn’t stop. Is that a first?”

“Who says I didn’t stop?”

“I thought you ate and drank downtown.”

“We did. But, the F-train was rolling in as I got down the stairs, and the C-train was boarding when I got to the platform at fourth street. I got to thirty-fourth street at two-fifteen for a three-thirty train.”

“Plenty of time. You could have gone to Tracks, I read where they’re closing that.”

“I’ve been there once or twice, but it’s a bit too hectic for me.”

“What do you expect, Dan? That’s the Long Island crowd.?”

“I guess.”

“Personally. I think it’s about time they do something. Penn Station is a dump.”

“It is. I’d rather have the old station than Madison Square Garden, but that was ‘progress’ in the sixties.”

“Ah, MSG. With UConn back in the Big East, they will be playing there again. That’s the only time I take AMTRAK, for the Big East Tournament.”

“I’ll tell you what, David. When they play, I’ll ride down with you.”

“You? You’ll go to a UConn game with me?”

“No, don’t be silly.”

“You just said…”

“I said I’ll ride down with you. I’ll wait at the Molly Wee while you’re at the game.”

“Are you going to drink all day?”

“Maybe. Maybe I’ll snag Brad…”

“Did you guys call? Do you need another round?”

“No, I was speaking about Brad Lewis.”

“The author? You’re always talking about authors.”

“Is that a crime?”

“No, it just seems weird. It’s not like this is a hangout for writers.”

“Seriously? John Howell, Teagan Geneviene have both been here. Cheryl and Sharukh are also writers. This place is crawling with writers.”

“Oh, I guess I forgot.”

“But we could use another round.”

“No problem.”

“Uuuuugh.”

“Easy David. Count to ten or something.”

“Sigh, OK, Dan. What were you going to say about Brad Lewis before Skippy interrupted?”

“Sorry, interrupting again. Here’s your drinks. You’ll notice that I got them right.”

“Thanks Skippy. You’re doing an adequate job today.”

“Whatever.”

“So, again, Dan, you were saying.”

“I was saying maybe I’ll meet Brad for mini-golf. He wants a rematch.”

“Cheers.”

“Better make that, ‘Fore’ – I put my second shot into the shrubs.”

These have been popping up as a result of the rain.
I always forget what these are, but I like them.
“That’s a 2-stroke penalty, Dan.”
I took this picture for Mary – I know it’s a trike, but it is a Harley.
I left the carnival, hoping not to see this in my driveway around midnight (as happened 2 years ago).
There’s just something about a firetruck.
I can’t resist.
This is one of the few remaining fireman’s carnivals left in our area. Seems to be going well.
Simple fair-food – but very good.
Don’t yell at me! It had been very hot. We were NOT planning to sit, but Maddie insisted. We sat for about 10 minutes.
Moncton loves to step out and graze.
Preston blends in with almost everything.
The honeysuckle smells so sweet right now.
Some of these things are weeds, but we like seeing them in the yard.
The Korean Dogwood is fading. The recent storms are spreading the petals all around the yard.
Still no shortage of water drops.
This is a nice sight to walk into.

69 comments

  1. Hey, it’s spooky how close your David is to me (David). Perhaps Dan knows something! When employing staff, I used to have what we call a sackable offence if anyone called me Dave! And your Dave has the same limited patience with bartenders that I have. Mind you, I bet you left Skippy a tip!

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    • Ha ha – you have always been part of the composite character next to me at the bar. I just have to make sure not to order chicken wings when you’re “present” 😏

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  5. Yes, I guess there is someone somewhere who orders Coors. We actually have a good friend who orders Bud Light every time we visit a brewery. :-) Yesterday, I enjoyed some blueberry and apricot beers. Now, they were good! Plants are looking pretty. I planted a Kousa last year and it didn’t make it. :-( Maddie is still enjoying her deck I see. :-)

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  7. Poor Skippy, he just doesn’t get it. Or doesn’t care. I had a waitress this past week who might have put Skippy to shame in not getting things right. Maybe it was her first day, maybe the group of 10 threw her off…not sure. Anyhow, she needs practice and a better memory, same as Skippy.

    The rain here stopped yesterday morning, but now its hot, hot, hot, with high dewpoints. Guess I’ll be enjoying the A/C today because it will be too oppressive to ride the bike or be outside for too long. I suspected this would happen – from cool rain to hot and humid in 90 seconds. ;-)

    Have an awesome weekend, Dan!

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    • Some bartenders/waitresses aren’t good with groups. We’ve had one mess up with a group of five.

      We will have rain today. Right now, the humidity is oppressive. I “agreed” to sit with Maddie for a while, but it’s gross.

      Enjoy the A/C and a couple days off.

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  8. Fun read as always, Dan. Not sure I could manage a life in the city traveling the subways. I have only been once but that is a story for another day. It’s hot here. We could use a few raindrops, too. Hard to believe after all the rain we had a few weeks ago. Have a great weekend.

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  9. Skippy needs to find some type of work that doesn’t require too much memory!! David certainly put him in his place today.

    The flowers are still so pretty. What a treat to see Moncton and Preston again. I think Maddie needs a second cushion that can be stored in the shed for “emergency” use in those spur-of-the-moment deck outings. After all, the Royal Redhead should never have to lay down on raw plywood!! Lol.

    Hot, humid, thunderstorms in the forecast….ain’t it grand! No snow!
    🐾Ginger 🐾

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    • Thanks Ginger. Some people aren’t cut out for customer service. I am slow to get angry with these folks but some of my real buddies would handle this like David.

      You’ll see more of the boys on Monday’s post. I was cat sitting off and on this week. Those two knuckleheads are fun to visit with.

      When we went out “to pee” there was no way we were sitting. If she’s going to make me sit on the plywood, she can deal with it too. I’m not giving up any more space – this is supposed to be the outside space of my workshop – I know, that dream is toast 🙁

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  10. You scored well on the prompt again. Very playful. I love your flower photos – those small wild daisies are a favorite of mine too. The yellow day lily at night was pretty as well. Fair food photo made me hungry…why do your food photos always do that to me?! Happy Saturday, Dan, hope you have a great weekend!

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  11. Another fun excursion, Dan. When I go to the City, I typically use Grand Central, which is magnificent. But, if I’m heading into MA, I go to Penn. Your journey made me rethink the subway routes, which was an interesting exercise. Have a great day! :)

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    • Thanks Gwen. Up until last summer, if I wanted to get a train from our town, it had to be AMTRAK, unless I wanted to drive to New Haven. Now, I can take CT Rail from here to New Haven and then take Metro North to Grand Central. Metro North has plans to begin service to Penn, as well as GCT.

      Grand Central is beautiful. I think the destruction of Penn Station galvanised the effort to preserve Grand Central.

      Have a great weekend!

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    • Thanks Roberta, and thanks for the tweet. Coors is brewed in Colorado and, for the longest time, we couldn’t purchase it in the eastern US. The movie, Smokey and the Bandit was based on a plot to deliver 400 cases of Coors from Texas to Georgia.

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  13. “… they both come in a bottle and they both start with Co” lol

    Nice gallery but of course I zone in on the simple street fair food. Today calls for a burger or a hot dog or both. It wouldn’t be almost 4th of July without them.

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  14. The barbs flying back and forth on this one were so much fun!!! Darn that Skippy–he just doesn’t get it. Faith’s cats are BEAUTIFUL!! OK, holding my fire on Maddie sitting on….no mat! Happy weekend, Dan.

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    • Thanks Lois – Maddie without the mat – 100% not my fault. She cried at the door like “I reeeeealllly have to peeeeeee” and then when we got outside, she dragged me to the “deck” and jumped up before I could say “NO!!!!”

      Whenever there’s a mistake at the bar, you’re going to find Skippy serving up the (wrong) drinks.

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    • Thanks Kate. Sometimes, there’s no rhyme or reason to the pictures. I’ve been running around this week for work, cats and errands, so all I had were pictures on my phone. I can’t resist a fire truck.

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  16. Great story, Dan. I loved it when Skippy wondered who was going to pay for the mistake. Very typical these days. The photos were terrific and I loved the shout out. Thank you so much. Have a restful weekend.

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  17. I know how this is: everything’s perfect, then there’s a change (no matter how small) and everything goes kaflooey.

    I actually got a chance to see Madison Square Garden and some of the Big East Tournament many years ago. I have a cousin who lives in Jersey, and he and his son are big Seton Hall fans. Why, I don’t know; neither of them went there, but I guess it was close.

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    • Thanks John. I am NOT a UConn fan, but a lot of my friends are, as would be expected. The two schools I went to (Pitt & WVU) also used to be in the old Big East, so I still consider UConn a rival. One of my friends goes down to MSG during the tournament, and buys tickets after the first or second round, if there’s an upset. People buy the thicket package, and if their team goes out early, they just want to unload them.

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  20. Oooohhhh….Katz’s Deli. There’s a nice link of that chain in Austin, Texas and we actually took the kids on a Sunday outing once upon a time in our Texas life and waited in line to eat there. So yummy! I’m sorry but Skippy seems rather like a tool. ‘Who’s gonna pay for this?’ Seriously? What has become of customer service in this country? Wait….do I hear the soft call of taps…? Nice kitties. You know you live for Maddie’s world. Lol

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  21. I hope Skippy is working his way through school to be something less… people-y.
    So those daisy-lookin things you like are called fleabane. I have them too, they’re some of my ‘wanted weeds’ — they’re every bit as pretty as daisies.
    It got hot here too. It got so hot, SASSY complained of the heat! Whoa!

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    • Thanks. Of course, I’ll forget and call the fleabags, but we do like looking st them. I’ll have to see if the Mrs knew that (she’s not usually around when I choose pictures).

      Very hot here the past few days. Yucky humid hot but no rain, so I’m not going to complain…yet.

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  26. Fourth for the end of your photos stream, the little white flowers that may be weeds…
    By any chance, do you know what they are? We have them here too and the hummingbirds love them.

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