Ode to a Friend
03-20-2005 | 08:43 AM
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From: Union County New Jersey
Ode to a Friend
Ode to a Friend
When I first moved to Chicago, I knew no one. I was transferred there for work from Texas. At first I missed the southern hospitality and the incredibly polite people. What I hadn't realized is that it was right there under my nose... I just needed to know where to look for it.
After about three months of living in Chicago, I decided to actually venture out on the quest for my new local pub. And low and behold, right across the street from my apartment was a little tiny dive bar called Joe's On Broadway. Joe's hasn't changed much in the over 50 years of being in business. The floors are uneven, the polyurethane on the bar is mostly worn off and the staff has remained the same for 22 years. It was long and narrow and I would sit at the end of the bar and watch all the goings on.
On my first visit in there, I met John the bartender. John was a slim man with a handle-bar mustache, in his 60's and rode a Harley Davidson. John was a recovering alcoholic with more stories and sayings than anyone I had ever met. He befriended me right away.
John was a straight up, no shit kind of guy... For the years that I spent in Chicago, he was my surrogate dad. Much like my own father... gruff, a real hard-ass but an unbelievably kind man to those he liked. He would hang out at the end of the bar with me, smoking cigarettes and talking about current events, the patrons of the bar, the upcoming chili competitions and my dating life.
Anytime I went out on a date with someone, I would take them into Joe's on Broadway for John to size them up for me. He would get to talking to them. He would ask certain questions that would let him know right away whether or not I should continue dating them. Just like my own father, John never thought any of them were good enough for "his little girl".
I spent most evenings in Joe's on Broadway. Sitting at the end of the bar with John. Met some of my greatest friends there and John was one of them. Sadly, John passed away.... He will be greatly missed by so many.....
Love ya John... I will miss you terribly!
When I first moved to Chicago, I knew no one. I was transferred there for work from Texas. At first I missed the southern hospitality and the incredibly polite people. What I hadn't realized is that it was right there under my nose... I just needed to know where to look for it.
After about three months of living in Chicago, I decided to actually venture out on the quest for my new local pub. And low and behold, right across the street from my apartment was a little tiny dive bar called Joe's On Broadway. Joe's hasn't changed much in the over 50 years of being in business. The floors are uneven, the polyurethane on the bar is mostly worn off and the staff has remained the same for 22 years. It was long and narrow and I would sit at the end of the bar and watch all the goings on.
On my first visit in there, I met John the bartender. John was a slim man with a handle-bar mustache, in his 60's and rode a Harley Davidson. John was a recovering alcoholic with more stories and sayings than anyone I had ever met. He befriended me right away.
John was a straight up, no shit kind of guy... For the years that I spent in Chicago, he was my surrogate dad. Much like my own father... gruff, a real hard-ass but an unbelievably kind man to those he liked. He would hang out at the end of the bar with me, smoking cigarettes and talking about current events, the patrons of the bar, the upcoming chili competitions and my dating life.
Anytime I went out on a date with someone, I would take them into Joe's on Broadway for John to size them up for me. He would get to talking to them. He would ask certain questions that would let him know right away whether or not I should continue dating them. Just like my own father, John never thought any of them were good enough for "his little girl".
I spent most evenings in Joe's on Broadway. Sitting at the end of the bar with John. Met some of my greatest friends there and John was one of them. Sadly, John passed away.... He will be greatly missed by so many.....
Love ya John... I will miss you terribly!
