Bar Fight

I was sort of, kind of, almost involved in a bar fight on Friday night. I went to the Candle Light Lounge with Kathleen, Peter, Mig, and Chris to do some drinking and play some foosball. Shortly after we all squeezed in the tight and crowded bar, a disturbance broke out. I was standing at the front of the long bar right where it curves like a backwards "L" to extend to two or three seats. At the very tip of the short end of the L, something was happening. All of the sudden one of the bartenders leapt across the bar and joined the fray.

At that point the whole shoving started to become a pile and began to roll my way. I turned to the guy on my right and said rather calmly, "Here. Take my beer." The guy just sort of stared at me for a second. Then the pile rolled right up to me. "Take my beer!" I commanded, and someone did.

I jumped on top of the pile and grabbed the arm of some guy who was about to pound some other guy. At this point it seemed to me like there were maybe 5 or 6 people rolling around, and we were immediately surrounded by probably 12 or 15 patrons.

The guy below me was stronger than I initially expected, and it was all I could do to just hold him down and keep him out of the fight.

The next thing I know, a couple of other guys begin to grab at me. I ignored them and just concentrated on keeping my guy under wraps with a decent half-nelson. Then I realized that the guys grabbing me and a couple of others are also yelling at me. "Let go of Mikey! Damn it! Let go of Mikey!"

Suddenly, I'm on my feet. Three guys have grabbed me by the neck and shoulders and lifted me and the other guy up. Behind me a table is yelling, "Hey, hey. You've got the wrong guy! You've got the wrong guy!"

At least I have some fans, I'm thinking. The three guys have me pinned on my tiptoes up against the wall and two of them have their free hands cocked like they're about to try and knock me out. I turned my head to one side and tried to brace myself for the punch while I kept holding the other guy as my mind raced to sort out the good guys from the bad guys. Then my fans at the table behind me yelled, "That's the bartender! Just let go of the bartender!"

Crap! I took out the wrong guy. I let him go, and the other three released me and uncocked their fists. By that time, other folks have taken care of the trouble maker and are leading him past me and out the door. The guy's shirt was shredded and he had a couple of scratches on his face, but he looked to be alright otherwise.

After he was out the door, I grabbed the bartender who was heading back to his duties. I apologized for wrapping up the wrong guy, and he was totally cool. "No problem," he said. I breathed a sigh of relief, and someone from the crowd tapped me on the shoulder. He gave me my Budweiser back, and everything was good again.

Anytime I needed a beer that night, Mikey was quick to help me out. Needless to say, I tipped the guy pretty well.

Jonathan 11/04/2002 02:47:00 PM