The Jukebox Competition:

After watching the WVU mens Basketball team lose to Villanova at Keglers, I was unable to make a left out of the parking lot because of the hords of traffic leaving the coliseum. So I made a right and decided to take the back way to my new townhouse. When I passed this little sports bar called Mihayle’s I thought what the hell one more beer couldn’t hurt.

When I go to the bar there were about 5 people there, I sat at the bar stool ordered a Miller Lite, and was sizing the place up. The couple girls at the right end of the bar were talking to the bartender about their friend who came down earlier, the bartender said she took like 5 shots of Italian Ice and then had to have some guy walk her home because she was to drunk, the bartender said yeah man she likes to get fucked up, and I thought to myself, god it’s good to be back home.

The guy sitting to my right kept on trying to have a convo with the bartender about somebody shooting off fireworks that weekend, but she didn’t seem to want to care, and this black kid sitting to my left was eating a big bowl of what looked like cereal, which I asked him if it was what it was, and he said it was soup, and went on about how it was supposed to be potatoe soup but tasted like clam chowder. The two bartenders were cute, one a dirty blonde about 5’6 really thin, not a great body from what I could tell, but a really cute face. The other a really short brunette with about the same body makeup, but that fitted her better as she was so small.

Shortly after the girls to the right left, and it was down to me and the 4 guys and the bartenders, and I was debating leaving, when this group of girls walked in and the one went to the jukebox. The one playing the jukebox lead off with Wagon Wheel as by Old Crow Medicine Shoe to which the guy sitting next to me and myself raised up our glasses and told the girl great choice, a few songs later he mentioned damn this girl played some great music you normally don’t get that here. The next song was a newer Eric Church song called a long line of sinners like me. The line in it

Now me and my brother go to see him some times
But he don't have much to say anymore,
So we sit on his headstone with a fifth of Jack D.
Here's to a long line of sinners like me

Made me nostalgic for the whiskey table nights with my father around the holiday’s so I ordered up a shot of Jack. And it came about the time the next line.

On the day I die
I know where I'm gonna go
Me and Jesus got that part worked out
I'll wait at the gates til his face I see
And stand in a long line of sinners like me

And I thought that was a good one to shoot it down to. Another good song came on, the bartender came over and asked if I wanted another shot, and I replied your trying to get me drunk aren’t you. About that time the jukebox selections degraded, as someone else had picked a few after the first girl, and I went and through a dollar in and played the not as well known Zac Brown Jolene. To which my original jukebox friend came up and asked me who sang the song and we chatted for a bit.

I was getting ready to cash out when she through another 20 in the jukebox and started playing some more good songs. She told me to come pick a few, so we went back and forth with great jukebox classics, from Otis Reading, to Bob Dylan, I snuck in some Kid Rock, she came back with some Alabama, I followed up with David Alan Coe if tha ain’t country and everyone in the bar was singing along by now, and somehow the waitress had slipped me another shot in between, and I told her listen here cutie I don’t care how drunk you get me your not taking me home, which brought out a pretty smile (yeah I’m in).

The table full of girls playing the jukebox sent a round of shots up to me and the boys at the bar. So I came back and sat with them, bought them around, and we bullshitted about the beauty of a jukebox, she said she worked at Archies for years, and she definitely learned her way around a Jukebox.

I went over to play a couple more songs and this cute redhead was over there, we started talking about how she just moved back from Costa Rica after breaking up with her bf. Somehow we got onto jobs, and when I told her what I did I followed up with how I hate working for the government, when I found out she was a bigger conspiracy theory nut than me, we sat and talked conspiracy for a while, she gave me her digits, the girl sitting across from me told me she met the love of her life the other day who was a pipe fitter, I laughed, and said sorry it’s an inside joke.

I went over and said my good byes to the table full of girls with my jukebox hero (really should have got her digits, but I am sure I will see her around again). Bought the two guys at the bar a beer, and gave my bartender a hug with my tip as I left.

Walking outside to my Jeep to drive up the snowcovered backroad back to my house, I thought to myself, god it’s good to be home.

Man I love Morgantown.