Hanging With Friends On A Friday Night

Change is constant, but I'd sure like to see a new bar in the area that provided a consistent and reasonable place to go with friends. It seems like yesterday that I was sitting with my pal Randy at Holleman's Restaurant in Miami Springs, but it's been sold.

It seems like every time I find a bar that fits my lifestyle, it either changes or goes under. Oh, there's plenty of places around that are constantly packed, but the majority of them are filled with the younger set, overpriced and noisy.

There have been a lot of good bars around, especially with live music and good prices, but they just seem unable to withstand the financial pressures involved with a successful bar. It takes about a year for a good bar to establish itself and one must have the financial wherewithal to weather the storm.

At Holleman's Restaurant, the crowds were always warm and friendly, especially on Fridays with Karaoke. But I could see the writing on the wall when I happened to have dinner there one Saturday night and the dining room was just about empty.

Back in the day, especially during the horse racing season, there was an hour wait for a table, but it was always worth the wait. Of course, the added bonus was that I knew just about everyone there.

Nevertheless, I'm hoping that the new owners establish the same crowd and the restaurant is successful.

The News As I See It: This week marks the fifth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which sparked the recession. Think about how bad things were back then. We had unemployment over 7 percent. The debt was out of control. There were wars breaking out all over the globe. Thank God that's all behind us now, huh?

Joe Biden has people talking that he'll run for president after he was spotted at a fundraiser in Iowa this week. Unfortunately, he missed giving his speech because he spent four hours trapped in a corn maze. Biden's niece was recently arrested. The hardest part about arresting a Biden is convincing them they have the right to remain silent.

This Date In History: 1759; French Quebec surrendered to the British after the September 13 battle on the Plains of Abraham, the last battle of the French and Indian Wars. French general Montcalm and British general Wolfe died in the fray.

1810; Chile declared its independence from Spain. 1850; Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which required the return of escaped slaves to their owners. 1851; The first edition of The New York Daily Times, which later became The New York Times, was published.

1947; The National Security Act, which unified the Army, Navy, and Air Force, was passed. 1961; Secretary-General of the UN Dag Hammarskjold was killed in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia).

1970; 27-year-old rock star, Jimi Hendrix, died in London. 1999; Sammy Sosa became the first player in major league baseball history to hit 60 homers in two seasons.

Picture Of The Day: I've found my perfect cabin in the woods.....

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) Miley Cyrus and her fiance have split up. I guess it just didn’t twerk out. 2) I had a few scotches last night and I discovered that the USB port on my cat doesn't work. 3) Sometimes I just sit and run my fingers through my girlfriend's hair. Its a nice way to let her know I love her and also that were out of napkins. 4) How to kill a spider: Get a piece of tissue paper, approach it slowly and very carefully, burn the house down. 5) I asked my girlfriend if she could name the four main food groups. she said, "Canned, frozen, drive-thru and fried.".....and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Virgo - September 18th: Your long-term plans will come into fruition this month. Beware of speeding buses. Find some candles, tonight may be filled with darkness.

Birthdays: My ex-wife Caroline and my nephew Billy - Happy Birthday to both of you 19XX, Samuel Johnson, English author 1709,, Joseph Story, jurist 1779, Leon Foucault, physicist 1819, Greta Garbo, actress 1905, Frankie Avalon, singer 1939, Lance Armstrong, cyclist 1971.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: A recent article in the Kentucky Post reported that a man, Tom Maynard, has sued St Luke's Hospital, saying that after his wife had surgery there, she lost all interest in sex.

A hospital spokesman replied,"Mrs. Maynard was admitted in Ophthalmology. All we did was correct her eyesight."

One morning, a woman and her baby were taking a bus. As she entered the bus the driver says, "Wow that is one ugly baby." The woman deeply hurt just continued on the bus and found a seat next to an elderly man. The man asks, "What's wrong you look mad?" She replied, "I am. That bus driver just insulted me."

The man replied, "You shouldn't take that from him. He's a public worker and should give you respect. If I was you I would take down his badge number and report him. The woman said, "You're right sir. I think I will report him." The elderly man says, "You go on up there and get his badge number. I'll hold your monkey for you."

"Enough!"

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: And Adam said, "Lord, when I was in the garden, you walked with me everyday. Now I do not see you anymore. I am lonesome here and it is difficult for me to remember how much you love me."

And God said, "I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will know I love you, even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish and childish and unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourself."

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and he wagged his tail. Adam said, "But Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and all the good names are taken and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."

And God said, "Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG."

And Dog lived with Adam and was a companion to him and loved him. And Adam was comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that Adam's guardian angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam has become filled with pride. He struts and preens like a peacock and he believes he is worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught him that he is loved, but no one has taught him humility."

And the Lord said, "I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever and who will see him as he is. The companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not worthy of adoration."

So God created CAT to be a companion to Adam. And Cat would not obey Adam. And when Adam gazed into Cat's eyes, he was reminded that he was not the supreme being. And Adam learned humility. And God was pleased. And Adam was greatly improved. And Cat did not care one way or the other.

Upon entering a little country store, a stranger noticed a warning sign that read: “Danger! Beware of dog!” posted on the door. Inside, he noticed a harmless little dog asleep on the floor beside the cash register.

The man asked the owner, "Is that the dog folks are supposed to beware of?" The owner replied, "Yep, that’s him." The stranger couldn’t help but be amused. "That certainly doesn’t look like a dangerous dog to me. Why in the world would you post that sign?" The owner explained, "Because, before I posted that sign, people kept tripping over him."

That's it for today, my little doodle bugs. Remember, if bears ruled the world, they wouldn't care whether or not the humans they ate were free-range. It's time for happy hour in AREA 51.

More on Friday.

Stay Tuned !