The Band Box Tavern

Recently, my sister and I have been reminiscing about our wild get together days when we were being younger- when we might keep out right up until 5 in the early morning and disguise out in my automobile close to the corner from the home, waiting for our mother to depart for get the job done so that we would not stroll in even though she was ingesting breakfast in her nightgown. Inevitably, our dialogue turned to drunken evenings at a bar in Bellmore that we utilized to repeated termed The Band Box Tavern.

Now, The Band Box was a exclusive put for my sister and I… we would been Sunday afternoon regulars there given that we were toddlers (actually, not figuratively). My father, like so a lot of other individuals, performed Sunday early morning softball, and the experience wasn’t complete devoid of a vacation to the bar afterward- beer for the gentlemen, Shirley Temples with added cherries for the children. I know situations have adjusted dramatically and at present bringing a youngster to a bar will provoke a pay a visit to from Boy or girl Protective Solutions, but in the 1970’s and early 80’s, it was commonplace and we ended up undoubtedly not the only youngsters functioning about like ragamuffins.

One particular Sunday, when I was about 9 many years outdated and my dad was feeling no discomfort, he gave me a couple of pounds to place in the Jukebox (the sort that spun 45’s- eek! I’m outdated!). I was- and nevertheless am- a huge Blondie admirer, and my preferred song at the time was Rapture (you know, Fab Five Freddie and the guy from Mars, ingesting vehicles, bars, and guitars…) Effectively, anyway, I was old ample to like songs and outdated sufficient to put the dollars in the machine and discover the music I wished to participate in, but I was not expert adequate to recognize that at the time I punched in the code to enjoy Rapture, there would be a sizable delay in advance of the song truly played. When the tunes didn’t begin instantly, I believed I experienced completed a thing erroneous, so I punched in the number all over again. It still didn’t engage in, so now I assumed the jukebox was broken and punched in the number for Rapture a 3rd time,…and a fourth. By the time Rapture performed for the seventh time in a row, I was getting filthy appears from the full bar (bear in mind this was right before distant command, and you couldn’t “skip” by way of music), and the bartender lastly unplugged the jukebox.

It was a homecoming of types when we returned to The Band Box as patrons ourselves, and we speedily reestablished our status as regulars. For the duration of a single of these blurry nights, another regular, whose name escapes me totally, so I am likely to contact him Bear, invited me to accompany him the following working day to Atlantic Town. Bear seemed like an chubby and getting old Magnum PI, comprehensive with semi-unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, showcasing a thick gold chain and tangles of coarse upper body hair. I would guess he was in his mid to late 30’s, with thick, curly salt & pepper hair, and a Hell’s Angels mustache. I identified him bodily repulsive, so, of system, I agreed to go (insert taking pictures- myself- in- the- eye emoticon here).

He picked me up the next early morning at 7 am, and in my bleary-eyed, hung-above, slumber-deprived state, I preferred nothing more than to terminate the excursion and continue to be in bed. But, he was outside the house, honking and he had by now paid out for my mentor bus fare the night time in advance of. I had informed Bear that I would go with him to AC, but I experienced also instructed him that I was broke… in point, I consider I had much less than $10 in my wallet. Bear had agreed to pay back my way, so I felt obligated to get up and go. I failed to shower, or even modify my garments from the evening in advance of, so I can only envision how I appeared as I stumbled to his auto. We drove to The Band Box, in which the bus we had been taking was leaving from.

When I stepped onto the bus, it was as if I would walked on to the set of the motion picture, Cocoon. If you do not recall, that was the film with all of the outdated individuals who swim in the pool with extraterrestrial eggs and regain their youth by sapping the existence pressure from the alien embryos. In other words and phrases, I could have been the excellent-granddaughter of 75% of the team that we have been touring with. Bear appeared to know anyone on the bus I’m assuming from his affiliation with the local K of C, rotary club, or VFW. I tried to escape at this issue, and named my sister to occur get me, but she just laughed and advised me to slumber in the messy bed I experienced built.

I took her tips. I dozed in the course of the 4 ½ hour journey to Jersey, and, even when I wasn’t sleeping, I pretended to. Like a fly on the wall, I overheard the discussions of all those all-around me as they complimented Bear on his pretty, youthful girlfriend and requested how prolonged he and I experienced been dating. His boastful reply of how this was our initial day practically produced my ears bleed and my belly convulse. I was groaning silently in my head and devising a prepare to sabotage any idea that Bear experienced that he was going to kiss me in the future 8 hrs.

It turns out that staying a bored, whining, foul-smelling woman was all I desired to do.

I stood upcoming to Bear when he performed Black Jack, yawning obnoxiously and producing certain that no section of my body touched any component of his. I could smell the stale cigarette smoke in my hair from the night time in advance of and the bitter smell of alcoholic beverages seeping as a result of my skin, and I gave many thanks and praise for my disgustingness… I was hoping it would act as garlic to a vampire. Bear experienced offered me $20 so that I could try to eat whilst we were there, and we went to some cafe in the on line casino. He purchased steak, baked potato, salad… the works. I had by now spent some of my $20 on drinks, due to the fact, considering that I was not gambling, I was not entitled to drink for cost-free in the on line casino. So, I did not have sufficient dollars to get a good food, and settled for a sandwich and chips. I complained about my meals loudly (and sincerely, actually- it was horrible), although I viewed with envy as Bear ate his shrimp cocktail. I was worn out, hungry, in business that I did not want to be in, and I did not hesitate to enable Bear know how miserable I was. By the time we returned to the bus to go away, he not only was not talking to me, he wouldn’t even sit following to me on the experience household.

Ethical of the story: The most painless way to get out of a bad day is to be a worse one.