If this Aint both ends of the Olde Hank Spectrum I dont know what is...
Spent Saturday with a couple lovely Ladies riding bikes on the bike paths around my old home in Walnut Creek. Crazy visit this year spending time with Dave and his Ladies in my old house, the one I lived in when I was married to his sister. Those of you who know how much I hate to even turn around on a bike ride might see how a visit to the old house might be complicated for an overthinker like me who imparts meaning onto everything...but it was awesome. Dave's got his hands full for sure as a single dad, but bright, funny twins tell me hes doing a RAD job at it. The Girls, Natalie and Caitlyn did really well, walking bikes at the busy streets, stopping at all the trail crossings and settling for a small sized jamba juice and a snack compromise. Kids tax your every democratic instinct but deals were made to the satisfaction of all, with the only lay-down kicking and yelling fit in the grocery store being me, much to the laughter of other shoppers, and embarrassment of the girls. 13 miles total, with some rad getting at what was deemed "duck poop park."
Caitlyn
Natalie demonstrates what they called "The Thinker" stunt riding at almost 9, nice!
I had a BLAST with those two and cant wait to see them next time I come through town.
Saturday Night I spent the evening with a couple other Ladies, not nearly as cute, and probably not as bright, but Funny as all hell in their own right!
ADULT CONTENT BELOW (just in case the Girls are still reading...)
The idea was simple...a couple overpriced beers in Berkeley at a pub down the street, maybe some cheap Indian take away after...but the pub had a cover charge, a crappy band, was full of college kids and we were spitting distance from another spot Aaron and I knew too well in our college days.
Acme Bar used to be the kind of shit hole bar where a handful of anthropology students, collectively known as the U.A.U.A. would meet on thursday evenings and over consume cheap drinks until the thought of microwave burritos at the convenience store up the road seemed like a good idea, and olde Scotty-Boy would take BART going the WRONG direction trying to get home without barfing. Aaron and I have a lot of funny stories from those nights out so many years ago and remembered a few others once we were sat down at our old table. But the bar, like everything in the Bay Area, is NOT what it used to be. No more skinheads fighting, and black walls, no more dim lights, the smell of stale beer, and crappy stolen tv monitors. We entered to blaringly loud emo music, bright lights, urban lumberjacks sitting at the bar, and DRAFT FRENET! My offense did not stop us though and it turned out to be a lovely evening shouting at the kids who kept playing shitty music (seriously a god damned Kenny Loggins marathon was happening!) and harassing chicks with offensive language.
Aaron on his folding bike, Jesse on Loni (what are friends for) and Aaron let me ride the Hero Bike, his tank-boat bike from Nepal, the thing ways easily 60 pounds!
Nothing beats cheap beer and gourmet pork skins...
that guy in the back with the white shirt suffered a ton of abuse by the end of the night as I blamed him for his shitty music picks. he was a good sport though. Way less offended than the two ladies with the best seats in the house if you ask me...
tough guys dont eat pork skins, they shoot em. We made a mess of that table, but it was revealed early on that it was the same table Aaron pissed under back in the dirtier days of Acme Bar....aaahh the U.A.U.A. A finer group of scholars has never drank so much.
At the end of it all, as per the usual, Aaron tried to pull an Irish Exit, and when I stopped him he tossed my keys in the street, which required that I reenact a scene from our glory days involving laying in the center divider and yelling that I broke my hand. I think we got separated when I stopped to oblige some ladies of their request for a ride on the Hero Bike's assortment of baskets. Full, opened beers next to the sofa and a pounding headache this am...not a bad send off. Another successful trip to the Yeah Area. Gonna miss these Dudes.
S.
