Friday, May 14, 2010

The Corner Beat Town 4

Charlie the Frenchman was more than the manager of the bar. He was the owner. He was more than the owner, he was our friend and maybe a father figure. Charlie lived in France until he was about 17 or 18, took a plane to the You Es of Ay (U.S.A ((United States of America)) and opened up a bar when he was in his early 20s. He even named the bar himself. I suppose it is time to tell everyone the name of the bar. The bar's name was and is "Marla's Pints" (commonly called Marla's).
For years we assumed Marla was a woman he loved, maybe the bar name was a play on Marla's pants. Assuming is not a good idea. Marla turned out to be his beloved childhood dog. If you know Charlie then you know that makes sense.
In honour of Charlie, and in honor of my courage, I braved the mic one night.




Hey, Charles
Serve me up,
always on time.
We don't play cards but you know my kind.
Cut to the front,
forget the line.
You know me well,
giving me drinks from the well.
Never liked the French,
but man, you're swell!
There was a reason I stayed behind the bar and not behind the mic. We all had a good laugh after that one but the open mic is for the real poets.

No comments:

Post a Comment