Dear Blog: I'm sorry I left for so long. I'll do my best to never let it happen again.
In effort to get my writing juices flowing, I decided maybe it was time to write some short (or maybe long) blogs. In the vain of my good friend Danny's blog (check out the link on my site), I've decided to tackle one subject and write about it over a serious of blogs. The topic: The bars in Boise, Idaho.
Each blog maybe a little different, to be forewarned. I may tell some stories from the bars mentioned or it may be a simple review. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. The first one is an experiment, but may indeed hold a sentence or two of a memory. The fact is, many of these places hold fond memories of friends lost, friends gone, friends of now, and future friends. Feel free to include any of your favorites in the comment section. Or your dislike/likes of the certain place(s). Or don't.
It has been a great debate between myself and some friends of mine that we have been to nearly every bar in this town. Now, before we are judged as alcoholics (which may be only seven percent true), I would like to point out that part of our journey has been due to boredom. Tired of repeating the same events every Friday, we have searched out bars high and low. While the night generally produces the same results, it can be said it's the journey to two o'clock in the morning that provides the stories and the memories. And of course, what happens past two o'clock stays in Vegas. Or something like that.
Nestled under the Idanha on 10th Street between Main and Idaho in beautiful downtown Boise is, well, the 10th Street Station. It is located downstairs from the sidewalk and has often been called the "Cheers" of Boise. And with good reasons. Nary a night will pass without seeing a familiar face, including the owners of the bar. Both are very personable and are regularly behind the bar making drinks. Sometimes, if you are considerably lucky, they have your pitcher of Bud Light already flowing as you head to your seat. (By lucky, I mean by going there anywhere from 2 to 5 times a week.)
The place is fairly small and has two tv's, usually turned to the latest sports game on ESPN. Drinks are cheap (pitchers of Bud Light are $7.50) and the atmosphere is a great place to just sit back and bullshit with your friends for awhile. (Or the staff. They're game for it.) If you're not a fan of sports, you can sit back and listen to the XM Satellite radio. Some people will try to tell you the place has no ventilation and you will die from secondhand smoke, but that point can be contested. I have heard smokers say that, but on the other hand, non smokers have said they can hardly tell the difference between 10th street and other bars.
I'm not going to go too deep into a review of the place. It's usually a fairly quiet crowd, even on Friday and Saturday nights. The place does fill up on the weekends, but for the most part it's a genuine place to go and just hang out with your friends. Or to sit down, have a drink, and write for a little bit. Or do your homework. (Try to, at least.) You can be a regular Joe, a sweet dude, a gorgeous woman, trailer trash, a skater, a punk, a hipster, an artist, or anyone else and fit right in. Hell, if you and your two friends want to pretend to be travelling salesman who are brothers from Minnesota in the refrigeration business feel free. It's better to keep a complete stranger engrossed in this story for two hours and receive free pitchers from him than to run up a high tab, in my opinion. Just don't try it out on me...
"Real loneliness is not necessarily limited to when you are alone."- Bukowski
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