Bar Talk

My new work schedule allows me to take Friday afternoons off. This has been working very well for me so far. So yesterday I decided to sit at the bar of [a famous New Orleans restaurant and bar] and have a couple of cold beers and some greasy fried goodness. Here I was, just got off from work a half hour past noon, sitting at a bar drinking away the stress and stuffing my face with catfish that was probably caught 5 days ago, or longer. Superb choice!

I went to that restaurant because of two things that I absolutely love about it: (1) scrumptious food, and (2) free Wi-Fi. I sat at the bar, ordered by first glass of refreshing light beer and a humongous plate of fried catfish, and turned on my PDA. I was the only person at the bar. I wondered, Are the rest of the city's alcoholics taking the day off? As I was going through my e-mail, a guy who was walking behind me asked, "Is that an iPhone?"

I looked up and turned to him. "No," I answered, "it's not. It's a PDA."

"Oh, for a minute there it looked like an iPhone with that big screen. So you're surfing the web or something?"

At this point I really didn't want to hold a conversation while checking e-mail, but I was already obligated to be engaged in our chat. I said, "Yes, I'm surfing the web and checking e-mail."

"Can I hold it?"

I was in the middle of reading e-mail and wasn't going to hand him my PDA. At least he asked before reaching for it. I politely said, "No. I'm kind of in a middle of something right now." That was supposed to be his cue to leave me alone, but it didn't work.

He then asked, "OK. So how much do you pay for your Internet?"

"My Internet? Oh, you mean, on this?" I pointed to my PDA.

"Yeah."

"Nothing. It's free. This place has free Wi-Fi."

"Wife-what?"

"Wi-Fi."

I could tell he still didn't get it, but he said, "Oh, OK. Well, I'll let you go back to your Internet." He walked off and went around the bar area into the main dining.

The guy must be in his late 30's, early 40's. I'm surprised he didn't know what Wi-Fi is, but it sure helped in stopping the unwanted conversation to a screeching halt.

It's just strange how some people have no common-sense manners anymore. I'm not saying that he was totally disrespectful. He probably just wanted to start a friendly conversation, or maybe read my e-mail or steal my PDA. Anyway, common sense tells me that if you see someone doing some reading (newspaper, book, laptop, PDA, or iPhone) then that person is in his/her own zone and may not want to be disturbed, unless if the person is in a restaurant and the literature in hand is the menu. Like I said, at least he was polite to ask if he could hold my PDA before grabbing it from my hands. What if I was writing a nasty e-mail to the company who wouldn't provide service on the software I purchased online that didn't work well on Vista? I wouldn't want that guy to see the select expletives I jotted down. Or what if I was reading a paperback romance novel that I disguised as a Koontz bestseller?

About a half hour and second beer later, I asked for more napkins from the bartender. She grabbed some but accidentally dropped them. As if by reflex, she immediately said "Sh**". Then she realized that she said that in front of a customer so she profusely apologized.

"Sir, I'm so sorry, so sorry," she said.

I smiled. "Don't worry. I'm sitting at a bar, aren't I? It's just appropriate."

Now that's common sense.