Tuesday, November 18, 2008

My encounter with George Lucas (kinda)

After the Terps game on Saturday night I met up with my friend Amy and headed over to Mahaffey's for a couple beers. She had her Praxis II earlier and wanted to hang out and relax and Mahaffey's is really one of the best places around me to go out on a Saturday night and not have to fight through a crowd (even more so now that it appears Tiburzi's has closed down again).

When we got there we immediately went upstairs, it's smaller but has a more relaxed atmosphere and I like the bartender up there. There was a small group, maybe a dozen people including Amy and I and many of them were bowling on the bartender's Wii. Amy and I were content sitting at the bar catching up (I haven't seen her in over a month) when this guy I have to assume was George Lucas' clone started whistling ... and not the normal whistle, he was doing the two fingers in the sides of your mouth, ear piercing, siren whistle. Now GL was literally sitting less than a yard from Amy and every time he whistled she would do a flinching cringe that made it apparent the whistles were not pleasant. Just to note, he was whistling at his wife/gf when it was her turn to bowl on the Wii. Here is the following exchange:

Me - "Excuse me, would you mind not whistling as loud, thanks?"

GL - "Sure, no problem" (GL turns away and pauses for a second and turns back)

GL (perplexed) - "Wait, you're serious, aren't you?"

Me - "Yes, I would appreciate it ... thanks"

(GL turns back, a few minutes go by without a whistle, GL turns to me and puts out his hand)

GL - (shaking hands) "Hi, I'm Jim, I come here a lot"

Me - "Good to meet you Jim. I come here often too, I've seen you around"

Jim (formally GL) - "Yeah, I was the first person to get in the 100 beer club here"

Me - "Congratulations"

(Jim turns back away, several minutes later Amy and I hear him telling his wife/gf about our exchange and how he wasn't allowed [yes, allowed] to whistle anymore)

(more time passes, Jim is packing up to go home and pays tab ... bartender comes over and tells me Jim picked up my tab)

Me - "Thanks Jim, that wasn't necessary ... you really didn't need to do that"

Jim - "It was nothing ... and next time you don't want someone whistling, go to a different bar"

Me - "I'll make a note of that, thanks again for the drinks"

(Jim leaves)

Now, I was pretty impressed with myself throughout this entire time ... first, if anyone knows me and I have a problem with someone, I am typically not the most polite person. Since I had seen Jim around Mahaffey's a lot, I thought it would be appropriate to be nice, plus I didn't think my request was unreasonable. The area upstairs was something like 15' x 30' with the bar and sofas and tables taking up a lot of it. His whistles were pretty damn loud and while I didn't care, Amy did and she wouldn't have said anything. I also didn't ask him to stop, just to lower the volume a little. For someone obviously at least in their 50's and seemingly well into their 60's, I think this guy acted like a child. I just wish I had more than 3 drinks on my tab at the time. Anyways, I like Mahaffey's and there aren't many places with the beer selection they have so I will continue to go there and maybe I'll find a reason to whistle.

7 comments:

Jenny said...

Why do you have to have an entertaining blog? my coworkers and I don't need anymore to check everyday. I'll blame Corey because he has so many awesome blogs saved as his favorites and that's how we find the new ones.
As for Jim...that is funny you met him because when I used to go there he would tell my friends and I stories about reaching the 100 beer mark.
As for going back to school-What were you thinking?? Don't do it!! I thought I missed the days of YCP so much that I signed up for grad school a little over 2years ago. Now whenever I look at my financial aid statement I wonder why I did it because it obliviously will not increase my paycheck with this economy but create another line on my resume. Thank goodness for only having 1 1/2 classes left because I would rather eat lead paint chips in my basement then do school work. Well enough of my negativity...CONGRATS AND GOOD LUCK! Hope the movie is good and have you checked out the movie theater in Harbor East? They’ll let you drink beer during a movie which is the best part!

Patrick said...

I am going to Loyola, that's where I got my MBA too. I think you may be the only one thinking this is entertaining.
I have gone to the Landmark Theater, and that is actually where I am going tonight ... the drinking during the movie is nice, but sometimes it doesn't help if you have to leave throughout it. What are you at school for?

Siana said...

Hey, don't talk about Uncle Jim! That's my buddy.

You kind of have to understand some of the people there. People like Jim have been going to that bar since it opened and they feel that they have more of a right to be there than people who have any been hanging out there for a very little time. To many people, myself included, Mahaffey's is their second home and the regular Mahaffey's crew is their second family. It takes a while for them to warm up to outsiders.

BTW- I'm on that 100 beer club list and I am on one of the plaques on the wall.

Jenny said...

I have yet to experience the drinking while watching a movie.. so maybe I will test that out before I suggest the place to anyone else.
I am in school for my MBA-Marketing at Univ of Minn...yes i am doing it online and only reason I am there is the fact that I got a small discount because my childhood best friend works in financial aid.

Did all of you Bmore fokes see the snow today?

Patrick said...

CCBF -
I don't dislike Jim, he seems like a nice guy and I hope I am having that much fun and have a place like Mahaffey's when I am that age, or even now. It was just the situation and how he reacted to it.

Jenny -
The theater itself is better than just the ability to drink. I enjoy a drink during any situation, but since you don't really want to leave in the middle of a movie to get another round it isn't that much of a benefit. The snow was out on display in Owings Mills but was gone by the time I got downtown.

Corey said...

That was a doucebag thing to do. I also like Mahaffey's, so if you ever see me there say hi.

We should also meet up sometime to commiserate on renovation stories.

Patrick said...

Corey -
I usually go there a couple times a week ... wednesdays are becoming a regular occurance. I live right around the corner so if we do run into each other, you can see the life long project that is my house.
Either way, I would be down for getting together but I think your stories would be better than mine ... I haven't actually fixed anything yet ... just demo