dudes and drunks

Wow, the last 2 nights, with the 2 huge concerts in town, has allowed me
to meet folks from all over the U.S. Most have been very nice, perhaps
because they have also been on the intoxicated side of things! This one
couple from Alabama came in Friday night after the concert, completely
wasted. They came in again yesterday before the concert (see, apparently
alot of people bought tickets to both shows and stayed the whole weekend)
in somewhat better shape. I asked them if they were feeling better than
the night before, and they both looked at me in disbelief - they had NO
idea they had been in the night before, or at least no memory of it! Then
this guy from Jersey came and got pizzas both nights. A jovial
wise-cracking dude (hey, he's from Jersey!), he wrote the number of the
restaurant on a napkin and asked for my name (gave him my nickname),
and said he was going to tell everyone he met at the concert and his hotel
to call, ask for me, and order pizza. Yeah yeah I thought....and yet, I ended
up getting 4 or 5 calls with folks asking for me by name, telling me about
Jersey guy, letting me know where they were from, and then ordering a
pizza or 2! Hence I met another Jersey dude, a couple from Baltimore, a
gal from Illinois, and last but not least, a sweetie from West Virginia! In
case you are not familiar with the Virginia/West Virginia situation, here
in Va. we consider folks from W.Va. hicks and bumpkins. Well, the guy
I met from West Virginia had the classic accent from there, but with just
the nicest smile! He proceeded to inform me that he still had ALL his
teeth (you see, alot of W.Va. folks don't!) and that he had NOT married
his cousin (another W.Va. legend - he did say he had nothing against
her though!)! I also had a limo driver from one of the Carolinas have
dinner in the restaurant during both concerts, then order food to go
for his clients once the concerts were close to the end, and wrap
everything in newspaper to keep it warmer. Newspapers? Guess he
thought all the hot air quoted in the papers would serve a purpose!
Last but not least, after we were already closed and the doors were
locked, these 2 guys, extremely drunk, came up, pulled on the doors,
and then pressed their faces and hands desperately against the glass,
begging for ANYTHING, even crackers or bread. It was their lucky
day, or night should I say. We had a pizza back in the kitchen, over an
hour old, that had been a mistake and the cooks were about to toss
before they cleaned the kitchen. I grabbed the pizza, asked one of the
larger cooks to escort me to the front door (better safe than sorry),
and gave it to the begging drunks. The one guy asked if I was for
real, then when he realized I was, said he loved me and gave me a
bear hug and peck on the cheek! The other guy was not as dramatic,
he just said "thank you" about 10 times. Hey, I remember a few nights
like that, during my college days, when you just needed something,
anything, to eat to absorb the booze in your system. Felt good to help
them out, even if they end up having no recollection of it today!