It really was dressed up like the kind of place I’d like if it were real. There was an Indian Motorcycles neon sign, and the walls were decorated with old saddles, Jack Daniels signs, and cowboy hats which were in turn decorated with abandoned bras.
I had the one beer and then left. The bouncer asked me if I had gotten my hand stamped so I could get back in later. I said I wouldn’t be back. He said he’d remember me if I changed my mind. I’m sure he will, and I’m sure I won’t.
Authentically inauthentic.
ReplyDeleteHumans have used and even enjoyed contrived danger for thousands of years. Counting coup and jousting have a similar relationship to a real no-holds-bar fight as a rollercoaster does to running fire trucks on mountain roads. The problem comes when people forget there are situations where the danger is not merely performative.