Red Door Reunion Revisited

It only takes a few days in your life to make you realize, "Hey Pat, your not getting any younger, and never will". Saturday was one such day, and I'm still not fully recovered. After Sam and I had a moved back baseball game in Celina on late Saturday afternoon, I came home and showered, dressed and had to decide to either sit home, drink a couple beers, and watch hated North Carolina lose, or head up town and partake in the Red Door 40th Reunion(written about in several other posts earlier this month).

I had bar tended and managed the Door in it's final productive years, and before my Air Force days I was one of many hundreds(thousands) of young Mercer County folks who called the place our second home. I almost stayed home, but received a few calls making sure I would attend, so about 9:15 I had Sam take me uptown and drop me off....I don't drink and drive, and if I was going to spend an hour or two there, I would have to have a few beers...Sam said to give him a call and he would pick me up, but with only 12 blocks or so to home, I would walk when the time came.

Anyway, 1 or 2 hours turned into 5, and I, along with my old bar tending and life long friends closed the place down. I have to say, nearly 25 former employees showed up, and a group photo was taken, I don't have a copy of those, but hopefully the newspaper will print it or I can get a copy of that motley crew.....The place and the adjoining bar the Club 21 were packed until the old geezers began to slow down and thin out....some of us hung on(so we could be hung over) until the bitter end. At 59, I couldn't do this activity more than once in a Blue Moon, unlike my days of running the joint nearly 35 years ago.

I tried to take 25 or so photos with a Polaroid Disposal....didn't want to take a chance with my digital's...a few came out good, most however are not worth posting, blurred, dark, etc....photography, beer, and shots, don't always mix.....however I have posted a few of the better ones. To those old friends of mine, who I took photos of that aren't posted, trust me....they were not internet quality.

I had a blast through it all, stayed almost sober, walked the 20 minutes home, weaving some of the way no doubt....got home at 3AM, got up Sunday morning at 8:30, crashed hard at 7 last night and back up at 4 this morning. Not sure what this will do to my sleep cycle....but it was worth it.

To those not shown in photos that read these postings, It was good to see you all, and hopefully in another year or two, it can happen again. I gotta believe the owners of the Fuse(former Red Door), had to be pleased with the turn out and behavior of those of us 33 years older and most of us at least 33 pounds heavier. Wink, Knap and his wife Rita, Bobenmeyer, The Boeckmans, Kenny Hole, and the rest...thanks for the memories:

Now for the shots that came out half way decent.....Take note of Rick's classy T-Shirt...heck Ponzie's shirt was of such, even I had to crop that, this being a semi-family site.

PHOTOS-For some strange reason all most all the photos that came out, had Rick Tester's(my old bar tending, 6 AM getting home Red Door cohort) mug in them....so her we go from top to bottom, left to right: Rick and our barmaid and my Class of 67 classmate "Twig" Brown, Rick and the original Iron Horse John Ponzuric, who I swapped coon hunts and hounds with 30 some years ago...still kicking and getting near 70. "Rino" back on the drums after 40 years. Tester and "Big Lou", she was a Red Door mainstay and has lived more lives that your average house cat. Bob and Bonnie Jones, just hours after he got out of the hospital, so he could be there for at least a little while....and finally Me and Tester....I'm older, but Hell, I think I aged better....lol!!