2003-03-03 - 4:53 p.m.

Over the weekend I was rollin� in my 5.0 with my ragtop down so my hair could blow, and I spotted some old friends of mine traipsing down the street. These friends are a wacky couple from Chicago, and they�re some of the most upbeat people I know. In typical upbeatedness, they invited me to a swell event called Pirate Night at The Pike. The Pike is a dive bar in Long Beach. (Every bar in Long Beach is a dive bar, so that�s not a very helpful description.)

Anyway, Pirate Night was a hoot! Many people were costumed. All the fine young fellows who work at Fingerprints (the record store I live at) were in attendance. A band played accordion-filled drunken singalongs. I am of the opinion that Americans need more singalongs. Europeans seem to have loads of merry ballads that they learn at birth. There�s something therapeutic about swaying back and forth with a pint in hand singing along with a room full of people. Maybe it fills a void I have from not going to church.

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