Summers … vacations … college … college football season … employment … relationships … my relationship … and 2008. As well as NASCAR season and Grand Central Deli & Spirits — both of which were celebrated last Thursday at Whisky River’s end of NASCAR season shindig and GC’s last throw down before they shut down.
Down by the river — Whisky River, that is — they had the Dave Matthews Tribute Band. If you closed your eyes, it was kinda like being at a real DMB show. Hearing the tribute tunes in a vacant bar reminded me of my first DMB concert that I can hardly remember. Not because I was doing what a lot of people do at DMB shows, but because I was too young. My older sister was baby-sitting me and took me over the mountain to a hole in the wall to see them when they were merely a popular band in Virginia. That was the end of her driving privileges.
As for the end of the NASCAR season, I used to celebrate it like Christmas, considering NASCAR ends right before Christmas and starts again shortly thereafter, but this year I was more concerned with the closing of Grand Central.
I have many fond memories of that place, such as the night I accidentally danced my ass into a trash can. And at their last bash, I danced until my calves hurt because they had Dixie’s Tavern’s resident DJ, Jazzy Jimmy. I want him to make me a mix tape; when he’s on the wheels he’ll drive from T.I. to O.A.R. to a lil’ bit of Chicken Fried.
He gave me a severe case of dancing ADD — meaning I couldn’t carry a conversation longer than the duration of a song because, as soon as a new song came on, I started dancing. It’s so bad, in fact, my friend told me I have the attention span of a ferret on crystal meth.
Meanwhile, I know some people that had so many good times at GC they wanted to jack some decorations to keep them as memorabilia. Although their heart was in the right place, I had to remind them that would be stealing.
But when one bar’s door closes, like 10 other bars open.
Random Brittney Revelation … Why in fairy tales do they say “Happy Ending?”
Typically, endings aren’t happy. They pretty much suck actually … especially when they manifest over MySpace. If I had a dollar for every time I heard “that’s worse than a post-it note,” I might be able to buy back some dignity.
But with every ending comes a new beginning … so, shouldn’t they say “Happy Beginning?”
And is it just me, or does it seem as though life changes along with the seasons? And the only thing consistent in life is its inconsistencies. We may not always choose change, but I guess that regardless of the season, we all just have to keep the thermostat in our mind set at 80 degrees (and sunny).
This article appears in Dec 2-8, 2008.
