A Trash Can Grows In Durham

I was walking down Main St in Durham Friday afternoon about 4:15 (I was meeting a few folks for a couple drinks at a joint called The Federalist {I'm assuming old Jimmy Madison or Alex Hamilton is a part owner}). Well, I had some trash that I wanted to get rid of (an old cigarette pack) and I was looking for a garbage can to toss the thing in. I walked 2 blocks along where BrightLeaf Square is and there wasn't a garbage can anywhere (for those of you who've never had the great pleasure of visiting Durham, the area I'm describing is a heavily walked stretch). And then I remembered - this is downtown Durham, the whole area is one big garbage can.

I hadn't been in Durham for about 4 years, and I can report that it's the same as ever. The same freaks, the same stench, and the same pretentious Duke grad students. While killing about 45 minutes at the Federalist (waiting for the folks I was meeting to show up), I had the great misfortune to overhear several conversations around the bar. And I was pretty good, I didn't say anything too rude to any of the phonies sitting around discussing obscure German philosophers. But then I stepped outside to smoke and there were 2 dudes out there talking about petty theft in the Duke Library or something. At one point one of these guys misused the term Social Darwinism (I won't bore anyone with the exact context this guy was throwing around the term Social Darwinism, it hurts my head to remember it myself). So, I casually said to 2 these guys, just as I was putting out my smoke, heading back into the Federalist, "Wouldn't a more accurate term for what y'all (I'll throw in the occasional y'all from time to time -it rolls right off my tongue at this point) are talking about be Anti-Social Darwinism?" Neither one of them laughed.

I ran into a guy over in Durham that I hadn't seen in quite a long stretch. He said, "What the hell happened to you? Where you been?" I said "State Pen."

I have been able to peek in on a few of the ACC Tourney games here the last few days. And the quality of hoops has been pretty shitty, but whatever. What's fascinating is that the ACC has been reduced to drawing less folks to their tournament than the MAC - that's right, the MAC. If you watched last night's OU/Akron game (and I did, obviously), the Sicken Loans Arena (or something close to that) was packed and rocking. The Coliseum here in the Gate City - dead. It's obvious that when Carolina stinks, interest in the ACC plummets. The big title game is coming up here in a few hours, and I don't think anyone in town here cares, except the fake Duke fans. They'll be going ape shit.

Speaking of fake Duke fans, I was in Scam's Lakeside last night (and boy did the place clear out fast after the Pimp Coat loss - ACC fans in NC are provincial) and the bartender, a homely girl named Jen, was wearing a Duke T-shirt. And I was nice for awhile, but eventually I asked her what her major was at Duke. And she had a sense of humor, she said "Honey, I was lucky to graduate high school." So, seeing as the place wasn't super busy, we had a brief discussion about why in the world she's chosen to pull for Duke. And her reasoning was nonsense, but whatever. I did tell her the truth at one point though (as I said, she had a sense of humor and didn't seem stupid). I told her that actual Duke graduates look down on the folks who pull for Duke and didn't go to Duke. And that's the truth. I've met and spoken to dozens of Dukies over the years. And those folks tend to hold regular non-alumni Duke fans with utter contempt. The bartender didn't seem to mind that so much. Her irrational hatred of Carolina was too deeply ingrained in her subconscious. The whole thing is pretty sad. It really is.

Well, it looks like the Faceshit is getting totally out of hand. Geilfuss sent me a text wondering why I keep inviting him to join some group. And I texted back and told him that I'd never sent an invitation to anyone on Faceshit inviting them to join any group. I figure it's some sleazy marketing angle they employ - send an invitation to join this or that group to a person saying that a buddy desperately wants them to join it. Geilfuss was saying he's on the verge of deleting his whole account. And I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.

Oh, speaking of Faceshit, a few weeks ago I noted that I'd accepted a "friend" invite from someone I don't remember. And the mystery has been solved. The girl I was talking about used to work with me in Durham of all places. She sent me a note on the Faceshit yesterday and it was very nice. So, I do remember Danielle. I'm gonna send her a link to this blog as a matter of fact. She had a pretty good sense of humor if I recall correctly.

I've been getting into a few music discussions at the wing joint on Battleground the past week or 2. One night I was sitting next to this chubby broad who went to Va Tech (a real live Gobbler!). And she started to annoy me from the get-go, as we were playing The Knowledge and she didn't know anything. I kept telling her the answers and she'd say, "I don't think so." Of course, I was right every time. And that always irritates me -if I'm nice enough to give you the right answers, at least you could just shut up and not argue with me. After awhile a Kansas song came on the sound system in there (I think they were piping in 98.7 Simon). And of course I said, "God this sucks. Why would they play this crap?" And this chubby Gobbler woman went on and on about how good this Kansas song is (if anyone cares, it was Carry On Wayward Son). I told her she was a moron. And she didn't like that. And I wasn't too surprised. That's the problem with morons -they hate it when someone points out to them that they're morons. Another patron of the same wing joint (the one on Battleground) is this guy originally from Hilliard (it's just outside Columbus for the uninformed), or as I, and others, referred to it, Hickiard. Anyway, this guy found out that I am an only slightly embarrassed alumnus of TOSU and he didn't go to school there (they rarely do), but he's a typical poorly informed, irrational fan of TOSU. One night he started in with the O-H chant. And he was expecting me to say I-O. But, as Andy, Beck, Ross, Vaeth, and Geilfuss can all attest to, I don't do that. He was a little miffed at me. Well, he was chatting up this chubby blonde nurse the other night (a nice enough gal). This Hilliard guy is separated and has a couple of teenage kids (I'm guessing he's about 5 years older than me) and you can tell he's lonely for some companionship. Anyway, at one point he invited this chubby blonde nurse to a Nickelback concert (I am NOT making this up). And I couldn't help myself. I started ripping the poor guy. Why? - because Nickelback sucks (Far Away??? - pure crap). And he got a little defensive and eventually comes back with, "Well, who do you like?" Which is an odd question, because no matter what I would say, it wouldn't change the fact that Nickelback sucks. So, I said, "Do you mean as far as Canadian rock?" And he said, "Huh?" I guess he didn't know Nickelback was from Alberta. I said, "Well Todd, I am not a fan of Canadian rock, but I guess that cover of Fight The Power that Barenaked Ladies did for the Coneheads soundtrack is pretty cool." He said, "What are you talking about? Just tell me your favorite band." So, I said, "Okay. I'm a fan of The Replacements." He and the chubby nurse looked baffled. Totally confused. The fake TOSU fan says, "Never heard of them." I replied, "And how is that my fault?" He said, "Name another." I said, "I'm very partial to Liz Phair." He said, in a somewhat flustered voice, "Name someone I've heard of." I left it like this, "If you don't know who Liz Phair is, then I can't help you. There's just no way in hell. I'll just say this though, because I'm just in the mood at the moment - I would give 2 weeks pay just to deliver Liz Phair's mail for a week." And that's the truth. It really is.

Growin' old in a bar

Ya grow old in a bar

I'm out - TBFH