Bar Story (2 of 2): An Intense Bar Story.

A few weekends ago I was barhopping in the mixed Polish-Mexican-white townie neighborhood around the city's minor airport.

One bar I walked in I had heard about forever, it seemed like a white townie sportsbar, but I get in there, and it's full of Mexican biker guys in leather jackets with the word 'LOBOS' on them, as well as a mixed white and Mexican clientele.

Then, karaoke starts up, and the host does Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Knock Three Times", and all the people start singing along and motioning three knocks on the floor and two knocks on the pipe, and I realize that the crowd (except maybe not the bikers, who weren't singing), look Mexican, but they're actually Mexican-American, having grown up all their lives near the airport.

The guy next to me, this shorter long stringy-haired Mexican guy who sings several times (including "Spill the Wine"; the repertoire was oldies, and I joined in and sang "Tears on my Pillow") was Mexican-American too and had grown up in the neighborhood, and we chatted a bit.

 I asked him about his favorite bars, and he said his favorite one was just up the road, but it wasn't open right then, since it had been firebombed.

As he told the story, the daybartender had been drinking a ton and his girlfriend was at the bar and cuts him off, so he leaves in a huff, "And the next thing you know, he comes back with a Molotov cocktail, and he chucks it on the back porch and the whole place goes up in flames."

 He said he thought they were rebuilding. He also was wearing an Alice Cooper t-shirt, and said his little nieces call him "Uncle Joey Alice Cooper-head". Just that weekend, he had taken them and their parents to a show and then a restaurant afterwards, and he said the entire concert their eyes were just as wide as could be, so you know they liked it.

 Later that night as I was going home, I ended up passing the firebombed bar, and you could def. tell it was burnt out some. Painted on the outside wall was an advertisement for the place, too - LUNCH SERVED TILL 4 A.M. . . .