My Marching Papers

The boys and I have yet another 79^th street march scheduled for tomorrow night. I must say that I am very out of shape for this one. I tried drinking a little in KC, but the bar in the Radisson I was at, was kind of lame and since I was by myself I kind of felt like the weird old guy at a bar drinking by himself.

So, Saturday we head off to brave the temperatures and the bar flies that visit the bars on 79^th street. We will again begin the trek at Papa T’s (the old Angie’s, and man I miss that place as I am jonesing for a ham and cheese sachwich.) We will then head east and end at Durbin’s, home of bad Saturday night karaoke where I can guarantee a bad version of You’re the One That I Want being warbled out by some drunken middle aged women.

Still it is nice to re-live my youth and hit the bars of Burbank. My wife still doesn’t quite get the allure of these pub crawls we go on, and I guess I can understand why. I mean we are getting a little old for this but, it is a tradition and I am a traditional kind of guy. The reason we picked 79^th street to begin with was that most of the bars on the trek were dumps and we would never go to these bars if not for a march.

I have never gone to Frank’s Place other then on a march. I have gone to Tic and Tin one time other then a march and that was when my friend’s band was playing there. I went to the Sayre one other time as well and that was this year to see a Cub Playoff game. I hate Papa T’s and would never go there. Everytime I enter Durbin’s I get depressed as it reminds me of my early 20’s and how much time I used to spend in there. As for Champ’s Rock Room, I am way too old to be hanging out in there.

Yet, I grew up in and around the area. 79^th street, takes me back to my roots in some weird way and that is why I still like this march. Our 95^th street crawl takes you too much better bars. Yet, there is something about the O.G. 79^th street march that brings warmth to the cockles of my heart.

We have long talked about a Ridgeland and Roberts Road march. Ridgeland is do-able as far as I can tell. If you start at Bennigans in the Mall, (which would mark the first time I have entered that establishment in over a decade) we would proceed south. You have the Chili’s (I know, lame) then you would hit Fiddlers Elbow (an Irish pub.) Across the street from there you have Jack Desmond’s (a place that has had at least ten different names in my lifetime.) From Desmond’s you cross 103^rd and hit Jessie’s Tavern and Nick’s. That is six bars already. From there you have two more in The O’Connor Tap and the local VFW. (Which is the saddest bar on earth.)

The Roberts Road march would have to be an all day affair as there is a great distance between bars. We would have to start it at All Stars, which is like 81^st and Roberts and again head south. The next bar would be Szaroka’s (where we would be the only non polish speaking patrons.) After Szaroka’s it would be on to Corleone’s Pizza, which serves beer. I haven not been there in over twenty years. After that you have a pretty decent walk. The next bar would be Roberts Road House which is nearly a mile from Corleone’s.

After the House, you have the Dirty Sock (a bar I’ve been to once and was not impressed with.) Then it is on to one of my least favorite bars on the south side Kowals. (If you like Nascar and toothless women, Kowals is your place.) Already that is six bars and you would have traveled two miles. So, you can see why this would have to be a march that starts early. After stumbling out of Kowals it would be on to Vito and Nick’s in the strip mall that contains the Jewel. Again, a nice walk awaits you after that because the next closest watering hole after that is Henry’s. (Another bar you feel real old in, as it is a 4 AM bar and plays god awful music.) Lastly, we would close the march at Zante’s Lounge and need a fresh shower.

Maybe next year we can finally slay the dragon and complete these walks as well. Till then, we will have to just be happy marching along 79^th street, and enjoying all the adventures, that come along with it.