Minneapolis Story

It's a perfectly lovely day in Streeterville, 58 degrees under sunny skies at the Mini. It has been so perfect in fact that I elected to go outside for a run along the lakefront. What I discovered was that even though the ice is attempting, doing its level best to melt, there is a lot of it to melt. There are lots of chunks of ice floating around in Lake Michigan yet and piles of ice at points on the running path. Nevertheless 58 degrees is an exceedingly pleasant temperature to run in.

Today is a very special day in Rex and Babs lore. It is the last Wednesday in February and exactly 24 years ago today Rex and Babs met at an establishment, known as Williams Peanut Bar in Minneapolis. It was 2 for 1 Old Style Beer night. That being said, I'd like to tell you all a litte story, a Minneapolis Story.

Minneapolis Story

It was the day before payday and Rex was PDB (pretty damned broke). There were bills that he had just paid and he was looking at the prospect of paying for the repairs on his car. The Pontiac Aster station wagon was in the shop, getting tuned up, getting the oil changed, getting that door fixed that wouldn't stay shut and tended to swing open every time he turned a corner. Rex had been home reading books for what seemed like the entire last decade and frankly he was a little bit tired of the whole thing. He had a cheap stereo that was one of those all in one, radio, turntable, casette tape things with really cheap speakers, and about 5 or 6 albums to his name. His roommate had a TV that picked up exactly 4 channels (on a good night).

It was time to venture out of the house, so Rex checked his wallet and what he saw there was pretty slim. He wondered for a moment how he could parlay this small stash of money into a night out and then he remembered, "Two for one Old Styles at Williams Peanut Bar on Wednesday nights." He also remembered that he knew a female bartender who worked there who would sometimes cash a check for him. What the hell. Tomorrow was payday and by the time the check ran through, the money would be in the bank. The car being in the shop, he walked the two and a half blocks to Lake Street and caught the bus to Uptown.

Rex got off the bus at Hennepin and walked a half block to Williams Pub, went around the side of the building and went downstairs to the Peanut Bar. It was one of those places that give away really salty peanuts to encourage patrons to drink more beer and the patrons throw the peanut shells on the floor. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Rex usually didn't like going into The Peanut Bar because lots of U of Minnesota students tended to hang out there and he, being in his early 30's felt like someone's father or uncle or something. This was extenuating circumstance.

The bar was pretty busy so Rex took a stool at the end of the bar, next to the door, and ordered an Old Style, a 2 for 1 Old Style, a 2 for 1 for a grand total of $1.00 Old Style. Two beers for a buck. Now that's a deal. Of course it was 1985 and there has been a bit of inflation, but it was still a deal.

Rex sat, minding his own business with his Old Styles and peanuts and soaking up the atmosphere when he noticed two young guys in their early 20's walking in. They walked past him, around the corner of the bar and continued on down the length of the bar, circled back and came to rest at the end of the bar on his left. They ordered, you guessed it, Old Styles.

After a moment one of the lads looked at Rex and began talking. What he said was, "Women in this bar are just stuck up man. Nobody will talk to you.....blah, blah, blah." It was not more than 2 minutes after this exchange that a young woman in her early 20's came walking over, sat down on the stool to Rex's right and immediately announced, "You look interesting. I think I'll talk to you." Rex and Babs had met. The lad on Rex's left, well his jaw dropped open noticeably and incredulity filled the air in that little corner of the bar.

As it turns out Babs and her friend Penny had been at Happy Hour at a Mexican restaurant consuming margaritas galore when Penny remembered that a bartender she thought was cute was on this particular Wednesday at The Peanut Bar. Penny seemed to be spending all of her time with said bartender, so Babs was a little bored and went looking for some conversation of her own.

Let me tell you about Babs at this point in time. Babs had had a bad run of luck with men and had come to a decision about them. For one thing she definitely was not going to sleep with any guy the first time she met him. Standards you know. Secondly, any guy she got involved with had to meet 3 criteria. 1. He had to have a job. 2. He could not live with his mother. 3. He had to have a car. Standards you know.

Rex and Babs seemed to hit it off admirably. They talked all night long and consumed copious amounts of Old Style. They talked and talked about this that and the other and Babs began to check off her list. He has a job. Check. His family lives hundreds of miles away in another state, so he definitely does not live with his mother. Check. Then came last call. The lights came up and Rex realized he had missed the last Lake Street bus. He also realized that maybe he should be following up with this girl. He asked her if he could get a ride home. He added that his car was in the shop.

Babs did not wonder aloud, but she wondered to herself, "Oh shit, does he really have a car? Can I fudge that one little criterium?" She gave Rex a ride home. When they arrived at Rex's house, Rex asked if Babs wanted to come in. Babs gave him a good night kiss, but she did not go in. She had standards. She gave Rex her telephone number and drove off into the night thinking to herself that she would definitely never hear from this guy again.

The very next day was payday. Rex called. That weekend Rex got his car out of the shop. Rex and Babs began spending every spare moment together. That June they got an apartment together. That December they moved to Chicago together. The rest is 24 years of history, together. Perhaps one day I'll tell the story of how Babs came to Rex's apartment to pick him up shortly after meeting to discover that his roommate was a woman. Hey she was a friend, a non-sleeping together friend. Well, another time.