A nice evening at Bar #71.

At bar #70, which I went to after a day of Latin translation for pay with a guy I know from my summer Latin program, we stumbled into a 60th birthday where there was way too much food for everyone - and the guy I know from my summer program happened to know the (white) bartender, who he had taken Logic with their freshman year of college, though they hadn't been in touch!

As it turned out, the bartender got us our 1st round of drinks, and then later we asked if it was okay to get food and it was, so we did - fried chicken, mostaccioili (sp.?), pasta salad, veggies and dip, etc. - and we had that with our 2nd round of drinks.

The bar didn't have a name posted outside, though a (white) woman who worked there said that what looked like an old faded laundromat name on the side of the building was actually the name of the bar.

The bar down the street (=#71) was a Scottish-themed inn with a huge beer selection, tables with very nice chairs, and a live jazz trio + (black) (female) vocalist setting up in the corner... I was meeting my one friend who used to deliver singing telegrams there, and it was the singer's birthday...

The lowpoint of the night:

When me and my one friend from summer Latin went to sit down with my one friend who used to deliver singing telegrams and her friends, it would have been 6 people at a 4-top, and the manager was odd about letting us touch the nice chairs, though they eventually let us scoot tables together.

The highpoints of the night:

1) My one friend who used to deliver singing telegrams *did* deliver a singing telegram, right at the end of the 1st intermission. The (black) (female) vocalist was surprised and just stared, while everyone really got into it, and the pianist and drummer started backing my friend up... The best part is that my friend did a jazz rendition of "Happy Birthday", and at one part she was scatting and like, "A happ- happ- happ- happ-y birthday, a slap slap slap SLAP" (and at that point she slapped her own butt) "-happy birthday... TO YOU....!"

2) The (black) (female) vocalist did this slow croony cover of "Every Breath You Take" that was incredibly, incredibly beautiful. The room was silent. Like I had told a (black) woman sitting at the birthday table after I asked her if the vocalist was a friend or a relative ("A relative," she said), "It must be such a blessing to have such talent in your family, I just wanted to tell you that, I've enjoyed her singing so much."