There are certain indispensable things that are vital to the "eh, I guess I won't quit just yet" game that is living life. Food, water, and a bar within walking distance of one's housing. Let's talk about the last one.
I lived in Peoria Heights for about three years up until a few months ago, and not being able to chug a beer while stumbling through the alley from my house to this place to play pool on legitimately decent tables with legitimately decent shots is the thing I miss the most about the area. It is a quintessential dive bar in every respect, and I'm deeply sorry for those that don't have a place like this in their general vicinity.
I've written before about the essential nature of having a home bar in a truly primordial sense, and this is no exception. Some people combat the general meaninglessness of life by doing stupid shit like joining social groups and taking up pointless hobbies. That shit is for the birds. I don't know of a single person I don't find reprehensible that considers life something truly worth living, but most of us stagger through it regardless.
The busy hours of this place serve as a microcosm for the chaotic, random nature of the universe itself. I've seen this place fucking packed on a Tuesday night, and the same week, it's fucking dead on a Friday night. That in itself is the allure of a place like this. Any given night, after I've appropriately pre-gamed with a 12-pack and a few shots of Jameson, I could stagger over here and either spend the night socializing with a slew of random motherfuckers, or spend a few hours as the only person in there, bullshitting with the bartenders. They, as do most of the regulars, all fucking rule.
A couple of years ago, when I had just started working my now standard 80-hour work weeks, I fell asleep at a table and knocked it, and the drink I was working on, over. My 5' 11", 135 lb. frame had everyone in the packed bar thinking I nodded out after a large dose of smack. Instead of reprimanding me or cutting me off, the bartender told everybody that I was just tired and promptly bought my next few drinks.
Without bars like this, the already dismal world would surely be something I could do without. read more
