By Lisa Morgan
“What a long fricking work week,” he mumbled to himself, realizing it was only Wednesday. As he got in the oven that was his vehicle and began his trek home, it became apparent that people drive a little cranky in triple digit weather himself included. Pulling his hand away from his car horn seemed to use up what was left of his energy and restraint. If he didn’t turn this attitude around, he was going to snap. “Summers are tough on all us desert locals,” he tried to remind himself. What he needed was a little inspiration, and a good laugh. For now he’d settle for an ice cold adult beverage and some good old fashioned comfort food, as long as it didn’t break the bank. Just then, the radio seemed to turn itself up. KPLM, The Big 106, cut to a live country band singing a little jingle: “Whiskey Weekend.” A smoking harmonica solo finished as the singer shouted to the cheering crowd, “You’re looking good tonight!” Too bad it wasn’t “Whiskey Wednesday”. The announcer broke in over the music, speaking of Crater Lake drink specials and a live band. And wouldn’t you know it, they called it, “Wild West Wednesdays at Schmidy’s Tavern in Palm Desert. It started at 6. He looked at his watch. He looked at the road home. He looked at the radio. “Let’s do this,” he said to himself as he aimed his vehicle toward the tavern.
Greeted by soothing misters on the large patio, he entered what to him, was the ideal man-cave: full bar, more beer selections than he had time to count, and the smell of chicken wings coming from the kitchen. Only this man-cave had girls in it, and that wasn’t a bad thing at all. The guy getting smoked by the woman at the pool tables did not appear to agree, but never the less, it looked promising to him. The $3 Crater Lake Vodka/Rye drinks, $3 well shots, $10 pair of burgers with fries and a $6 bucket of wings told him he’d come to the right place. For less than 20 bucks, he could party for two! That alone seemed to loosen him up a bit as he realized, icy cold IPA now in hand that his toe had started tapping to the music streaming from the jukebox. But wait! Wasn’t there supposed to be a band? Sure enough, before too long, the band had him ready to get up and stomp.
A friendly girl handed him some raffle tickets. “What are these for,” he asked? She smiled warmly, looked him in the eye and said, “Just for being here. We’ll be giving away some fun free stuff in a bit, so hold on to them.” With his new found spirit, and half a glass of courage in his belly, he threw her a line: “Is it me, or do you have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen?” She flashed him a smile, gave him a wink and said, “It’s not you.” From the stage, music filled the tavern; everything from some catchy, fun, southern rock songs he’d never heard before, to some well-done Grateful Dead and Crosby Stills and Nash. They slowed it on down a bit when the front man for the band shared a story about a friend who’d inspired him to write the next song, “Sick of Being Stronger.” Man, he sure as hell knew how that felt. “These guys get it,” he thought to himself, as he raised his glass in gratitude. Then wouldn’t you know it, they called the number on his raffle ticket. He won! He now had, in his hand, a gift certificate from Esthetic X Obsession Massage and Wax Bar for a $75 Brazilian Wax. He chuckled to himself and silently pictured handing this to the boss-man in the morning. “Go wax yourself,” he imagined saying. But instead, he was able to trade it for something he could really use… a couple passes to the Wet and Wild Water Park. Suddenly, it occurred to him; he’d walked in there kicking rocks, and now he was getting ready to face the week like a rock star. “Good call, coming here,” he told himself.
Just then, he locked on to those eyes again, accompanied by one of sweetest smiles he’d seen in a long time. “Yep,” he thought, as he smiled back. “Everything’s gonna be just fine.”
To be continued…
(The above story is true. None of the names were changed because there’s no one to protect and, well, we didn’t use any. Within the story line, there are some titles and phrases to original songs by R Buckle Road, the hosting band of Wild West Wednesdays. For each one you can show us on Wednesday at Schmidy’s Tavern between 6pm and 10pm, you will be given 5 raffle tickets toward the plethora of prizes being given away throughout that night. Good luck!)
Schmidy’s Tavern is located on the corner of Fred Waring Drive and Highway 111, next to Men’s Wearhouse.
Schmidy’s Tavern @ facebook.com/pages/Schmidys-Tavern
Follow R Buckle Road @ facebook.com/RBuckleRoad
KPLM Big 106 @ www.thebig106.com
Crater Lake Vodka @ www.bendistillery.com/our-spirits/crater-lake-vodka
Esthetic X Obsession Massage and Wax Bar @ www.estheticxobsession.com
