There’s apparently a name for Thanksgiving Eve nowadays. College kids going home for the long weekend and hit up the barrooms on Wednesday night. In my case it was usually the Alpha Bar down on Portage Ave. I would meet up with my cousin the Mean Old Grunchie Old Grinchie and our friends who lived up there and other people who happened to also be home for the weekend. Once, a lot of people were making jungle aminal sounds and our old friend Ozone Jim said, “Sounds like a terrarium in here.”

Getting home to the yooperland for Thanksgiving often involved snow driving on the frickin’ freeway. Once I was ALMOST home after a snow drive and I fishtailed a couple miles outta town and slid the rear end of my car into the ditch. At least I would have been in the ditch if there wasn’t already a few feet of snow in the ditch. There was so much snow that I just kind of stopped on the shoulder. A trucker pulled me out and a state trooper stopped by to check on me. No ticket or anything. I was not a speed demon but I was probably going a little faster than I should have been, given the conditions. I don’t know if the cop recognized me but I’m pretty sure he was my high school geography teacher. Cops must make more money than teachers. In my book they both deserve more money than they probably make but that would be a whole ‘nother topic.

I got home safely that night and almost immediately schlepped down to the Alphaaaaa for what is now called Drinksgiving. I could tell some stories about being at the Alpha over the years but I’m not organized enough to do that tonight not to mention that some of them are not internetable. I have not been in the Alpha in about a bazillion years. One of these days I will have to go there again. If this F*CKING PANDEMIC ever ends. Vax/Boost/Mask/Distance y’all. Please. It may not kill you. It may not kill me. It is killing a lot of people.

The pic is from 2019 and it is the day AFTER Thanksgiving, not Drinksgiving. We were porterized at the Oscar Tango with no idea that we were a couple months away from a pandemic. We once did eat at the Oscar Tango on Drinksgiving. We were there early and it was quiet and we were sitting at the bar. The bartender and I were talking about how it would probably get nutso later on. Just then somebody walked in and trilled like a jungle aminal. The bartender said, “It’s starting early.” In a nod to Ozone Jim I said, “Sounds like a terrarium in here.” I don’t know where Ozone Jim is these days. I hope he still walks this planet… Oh hell, he’s probably a lawyer or something 🐽

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