I have revised my recount of the earlier memoir I released. This is a little more colorful. and less offensive in some ways. Still the story is true to life. A cold Guinness with who? Wandering down Pennsylvania Ave is a fantastic experience. There are so many shops, taverns, restaurants, hotels, historical landmarks, and even The President’s home. I had spent the day touring the Smithsonian museums with my friend Petty Officer Chavez. Mind you I was an E-2 Navy Seaman with a very small income so going downtown DC for something to do was definitely a great choice because the Smithsonian Foundation museums are all free. After a brief, days ending view of The White House, we decided it was a good time to get ourselves nice cold one. We picked the closest place we could find, The Capital Grill. It had an elegant façade with earth tone colored pillars that glowed as if it were the entrance to a fairytale palace. Opening the heavy oak doors which sat on wrought iron hinges and entering the restaurant, I was in awe. The interior design was unlike anything I had ever seen, there were booths on the left, and tables on the right, all made of the most perfect woodwork I had ever seen. The intense fragrances from the kitchen left my mouth watering beyond any past experience. There were only a few people in the whole place. It was quiet as a tomb, other than the distant sound of occasional clinks and clangs of pans in the back kitchen. We wandered to the back of the room and took a seat at the hardwood bar. The stools were surprisingly comfortable and they had a liquor collection behind that could not have been more complete. I noticed the almost infinite number of beer taps set in two long rows, so we each ordered a pint of Guinness. The bartender delivered. “That will be twelve bucks” he said as he sat it down lightly in front of me. He also made us aware that normally he would not let us in there dressed like that but since they were slow, he made an acception. I was not sure what was wrong with what we were wearing as we were not exactly dressed like beatniks. I thanked him for his generosity as I pulled out my wallet and paid the man for the terribly overpriced drinks. We then sat back and enjoyed the smoky cocoa hinted coffee-like flavor of the German, (retreaded by the Irish) dark refreshing draught with its creamy off-white head. I looked to my right and a very large man in a ridiculously expensive suit, at least 5000 bucks worth of suit. He was plopped on the stool next to me devouring a delectable looking inch and a half thick pork chop. I greeted him by saying “good evening.” He answered “Hello” in a deep, somewhat growling voice. I asked how that dish was. He looked up at me and said; “The pork chop? Eh it’s not bad.” I told him it sure looked good. I then asked the man how much it was, thinking perhaps I might order one for myself. He replied, “32 oz.” I said; “no sir, the cost.” He looked at me and with a halfcocked smirk, let out a sarcastic ”humph” sounding noise as he looked back to his plate and let out a light snicker. He looked back and told me; in an arrogant, overly snobby manner; “I don’t know what it costs. I don’t care what it costs. I see it on the menu, I order it. I don’t look at the price. I want it, I order it, and I eat it!” Rolling his eyes at me while focusing his attention back on that large hunk of pig he had on his plate, making me start to wonder if this arrogant, snobby asshole was a filthy cannibal in disguise. He then gave out another snicker under his breath and said as if he was acting like I couldn’t hear but knew I could. “Heh, how much does it cost.” Then with a snide snorting noise, he then shook his head as if he were ridiculing me. He finished up his overpriced chunk of swine, with no vegetable side dish, paid with one of his multiple credit cards, which he made sure to let us see, and marched out of the restaurant as if he owned the entire world. I felt hopelessly condescended. After thinking to ourselves, we just paid 12 bucks each for two lousy pints of Guinness, Chavez and I decided this place was way too upscale for us. We got back onto the subway and returned our command at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD and entered the cheaper drinking establishment in The Navy Lodge within the compound. A pint of Guinness there was only four bucks and there was no dress code. The first Monday after my little adventure with Chavez, I returned to work and was notified that our uniform inspections were to be the following day. It is a well-practiced military tradition to get a fresh haircut just before any uniform inspection, so I headed down to the command barbershop located right next to Dunkin Donuts in the food court. While waiting in a rather uncomfortable seat in one of my least favorite places in the world, meaning I hate barber shops, I couldn’t help but to notice that CSPAN was on the Television and Congress was in session. I was less than interested. A full bird Navy Captain was sitting next to me that was wearing the MSC, Medical Service Corp insignia, indicating that he was a doctor. Patiently, he was waiting for his hair cut as well. He was an older gentleman, with greying hair. His eyes were glaring at the senators debating and arguing on the television above. All of the sudden, as I was reading the current issue of All Hands Magazine, the captain said as he pointed at the screen, “I took his appendix out last year.” So I looked up, finding it fascinating that I am probably sitting next to one of the head surgeons, and best The United States Navy has to offer, and to my surprise, the US Senator sitting next to this Captain’s former patient, was that same pork chop gorging, arrogant jerk that was sitting next to me just the week before at the elegant Capital Grille. Not even slightly surprised, I couldn’t help but to notice, that disgrace to American politics was a liberal, left wing Democrat. It made perfect sense to me because there was absolutely nothing whatsoever conservative about that individual. Nevertheless, never again did I ever ask a person wearing a 5,000.00 suit, how much his dinner cost. If you all see any grammatical errors, do let me know. I do take pride in my memories. I appreciate any feedback.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 00:16:14 +0000
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