I was going to title this one "Instant asshole, just add alcohol!" Then I realized I already used this title a couple years ago.
Some of you who have me on Facebook may have seen a status message similar to the title of this thread. If you were wondering what that was all about, I'm about to tell you...
A lot of people know I like to go out to bars and do karaoke. And people tell me I "kick ass", and I "should be in a band." Maybe someday...
I've also dealt with quite a few drunks (and sometimes I've been one of them, but that's a different story.) Most of the drunks aren't too difficult to deal with. Most of them are happy, friendly drunks, even if some are a bit annoying or even weird. But I was not prepared for what happened last Friday night.
I went out to one of my regular hangouts with my one friend. Sometimes her husband comes with us, but he was sick that night, and told us to go on without him. We had both put in some song requests and were sitting at our table waiting to sing. I had just finished my first beer and gone back to the bar for another, when some guy approached me. Before he even spoke, I just got some weird vibe from him.
"You better not do to me tonight what you did last week!", he told me.
I had no idea what he was talking about, and I told him that.
"You just think you're the shit because you sing Ozzy! I'm tired of you sitting there looking all pissed off when I'm up there singing!"
At that point I remembered him. I'm terrible with names and faces, but as soon as he said that, I remembered that another time or two, he'd go up and sing, and then he'd come back and ask me, "Are you mad at me?"
I told him no, I didn't even know him. He told me, "Well, you looked pissed off when I was up there singing!" I told him no, that's just the way I look. He kind of rambled for a bit after that, but eventually walked away, leaving me feeling all weirded out. But I never felt threatened by him before this time. I later found out he had confronted my friend the other week, telling her, "I always clap for you when you're singing, but you never clap for me!" If she didn't, she was probably deep in a conversation. I know I normally clap for people, but if I'm talking to someone it might slip my mind.
Then he told me, "When I'm up singing, don't even look at me! In fact, don't even be in here, just go outside!"
I started to walk away, and he told me, "I mean it! If you look at me like that again when I'm up singing, you and me are going outside!"
I just told him, "No thanks", and started to walk away again. He rambled some more, and I just said, "Whatever" and walked back to my table with my friend.
He followed me and told me, "No, not 'whatever', you listen to me!" I kind of tuned him out at that point, so I'm not sure what he said next, but he caught my friend's attention, and as soon as she knew something was up, she stood up and stared right at him. He just looked at her and asked, "Who the hell are you?"
She looked back at him and told him, "You don't want to know who I am!" She wasn't just making idle threats. She's a big girl, who's worked as a truck driver, and also worked concert security. I also saw her physically throw a guy out of another bar after he groped her and then insulted her over her weight. And while I didn't actually see this one, I know she beat the shit out of another guy who made threatening remarks about me. She has her faults, but she's very protective of her friends.
The idiot and my friend went back and forth a few times, and then some other lady went up to him and told him to "knock it off", and tried to get him to come back to the bar. I'm guessing that was his wife. She has my deepest sympathy if she was.
Shortly after that, he went over and started spouting off to the DJ. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I know the DJ wasn't going to take his side. He's also a good friend of mine, and I've been going to his karaoke shows for almost 15 years now. He even DJ'ed for me and my wife at our wedding. Then he walked away from the DJ looking even more pissed off, and as he walked past me, he told me, "...and fuck you too!" I watched home go back to the bar, thankfully, the opposite end of it, while the DJ went behind the bar and started talking to one of the bartenders. Then the bartender came back with him and they talked some more. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they must have been talking about what just happened, because I saw him point in my direction. Then the bartender went back to the bar.
Naturally, I was freaked out at this point, and my friend was as well. She went outside and called her husband, told him what had happened, and told him to "get down here now!" He was willing to come if he had to, but he told her to wait five minutes, and if he was still causing problems, to call him back. Her husband is a big guy, and a former marine and sharpshooter. Not someone you'd ever want to piss off. And like his wife, he has my back.
I was growing more and more uncomfortable, and really didn't want to be there if he was. I looked around again, and couldn't see him anymore. That made me even more uncomfortable. I didn't know if he was gone, or if he was still in there somewhere getting ready to confront me again, or even worse. My friend noticed this, and got up and told me she'd be right back.
At this point, I was about to tell them what happened and tell them, "Either he leaves or I do." I'm one of their regulars who tips well and never causes any trouble, and like most people, the like my singing. Turned out, I didn't have to. My friend came back and told me, "They kicked him out." I guess my friend the DJ brought it to their attention as soon as he found out what was going on. It's nice to know so many people have my back. Apparently they were afraid I was going to leave, because they were really nice to me the rest of the night. They happened to be at a part of the bar that was by my table when I finished one of my beers, and when I started to get up, they said, "You need another one, Mike? You don't have to get up, I'll bring it over."
At the end of the night, somewhere between "Last call" and "Everybody out", my friend and I were talking to the DJ and the bartenders. The DJ said the guy was "like a fucking child", and the bartenders said that wasn't the first time he had acted that way. My friend told the one bartender she wanted to punch the guy, and she just chuckled and told her, "I wish you would have!"
I'm a little worried about going back there next week. If he's there again, he's probably going to be pissed at me for "getting him kicked out."
Some of you who have me on Facebook may have seen a status message similar to the title of this thread. If you were wondering what that was all about, I'm about to tell you...
A lot of people know I like to go out to bars and do karaoke. And people tell me I "kick ass", and I "should be in a band." Maybe someday...
I've also dealt with quite a few drunks (and sometimes I've been one of them, but that's a different story.) Most of the drunks aren't too difficult to deal with. Most of them are happy, friendly drunks, even if some are a bit annoying or even weird. But I was not prepared for what happened last Friday night.
I went out to one of my regular hangouts with my one friend. Sometimes her husband comes with us, but he was sick that night, and told us to go on without him. We had both put in some song requests and were sitting at our table waiting to sing. I had just finished my first beer and gone back to the bar for another, when some guy approached me. Before he even spoke, I just got some weird vibe from him.
"You better not do to me tonight what you did last week!", he told me.
I had no idea what he was talking about, and I told him that.
"You just think you're the shit because you sing Ozzy! I'm tired of you sitting there looking all pissed off when I'm up there singing!"
At that point I remembered him. I'm terrible with names and faces, but as soon as he said that, I remembered that another time or two, he'd go up and sing, and then he'd come back and ask me, "Are you mad at me?"
I told him no, I didn't even know him. He told me, "Well, you looked pissed off when I was up there singing!" I told him no, that's just the way I look. He kind of rambled for a bit after that, but eventually walked away, leaving me feeling all weirded out. But I never felt threatened by him before this time. I later found out he had confronted my friend the other week, telling her, "I always clap for you when you're singing, but you never clap for me!" If she didn't, she was probably deep in a conversation. I know I normally clap for people, but if I'm talking to someone it might slip my mind.
Then he told me, "When I'm up singing, don't even look at me! In fact, don't even be in here, just go outside!"
I started to walk away, and he told me, "I mean it! If you look at me like that again when I'm up singing, you and me are going outside!"
I just told him, "No thanks", and started to walk away again. He rambled some more, and I just said, "Whatever" and walked back to my table with my friend.
He followed me and told me, "No, not 'whatever', you listen to me!" I kind of tuned him out at that point, so I'm not sure what he said next, but he caught my friend's attention, and as soon as she knew something was up, she stood up and stared right at him. He just looked at her and asked, "Who the hell are you?"
She looked back at him and told him, "You don't want to know who I am!" She wasn't just making idle threats. She's a big girl, who's worked as a truck driver, and also worked concert security. I also saw her physically throw a guy out of another bar after he groped her and then insulted her over her weight. And while I didn't actually see this one, I know she beat the shit out of another guy who made threatening remarks about me. She has her faults, but she's very protective of her friends.
The idiot and my friend went back and forth a few times, and then some other lady went up to him and told him to "knock it off", and tried to get him to come back to the bar. I'm guessing that was his wife. She has my deepest sympathy if she was.
Shortly after that, he went over and started spouting off to the DJ. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I know the DJ wasn't going to take his side. He's also a good friend of mine, and I've been going to his karaoke shows for almost 15 years now. He even DJ'ed for me and my wife at our wedding. Then he walked away from the DJ looking even more pissed off, and as he walked past me, he told me, "...and fuck you too!" I watched home go back to the bar, thankfully, the opposite end of it, while the DJ went behind the bar and started talking to one of the bartenders. Then the bartender came back with him and they talked some more. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they must have been talking about what just happened, because I saw him point in my direction. Then the bartender went back to the bar.
Naturally, I was freaked out at this point, and my friend was as well. She went outside and called her husband, told him what had happened, and told him to "get down here now!" He was willing to come if he had to, but he told her to wait five minutes, and if he was still causing problems, to call him back. Her husband is a big guy, and a former marine and sharpshooter. Not someone you'd ever want to piss off. And like his wife, he has my back.
I was growing more and more uncomfortable, and really didn't want to be there if he was. I looked around again, and couldn't see him anymore. That made me even more uncomfortable. I didn't know if he was gone, or if he was still in there somewhere getting ready to confront me again, or even worse. My friend noticed this, and got up and told me she'd be right back.
At this point, I was about to tell them what happened and tell them, "Either he leaves or I do." I'm one of their regulars who tips well and never causes any trouble, and like most people, the like my singing. Turned out, I didn't have to. My friend came back and told me, "They kicked him out." I guess my friend the DJ brought it to their attention as soon as he found out what was going on. It's nice to know so many people have my back. Apparently they were afraid I was going to leave, because they were really nice to me the rest of the night. They happened to be at a part of the bar that was by my table when I finished one of my beers, and when I started to get up, they said, "You need another one, Mike? You don't have to get up, I'll bring it over."
At the end of the night, somewhere between "Last call" and "Everybody out", my friend and I were talking to the DJ and the bartenders. The DJ said the guy was "like a fucking child", and the bartenders said that wasn't the first time he had acted that way. My friend told the one bartender she wanted to punch the guy, and she just chuckled and told her, "I wish you would have!"
I'm a little worried about going back there next week. If he's there again, he's probably going to be pissed at me for "getting him kicked out."
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