We decided to go to TGIFridays because it was the only place around that would accommodate over/unders. Thank god that place was closed and we opted for "The Blarney Stone" right next store, who couldn't have cared less who was even old enough to drive. You want a bar for Joe Hardhat, here it is.
After a while, when half the group had decided to get home, Vega trots in with a gait that's right out of Barfly. I'm sure that he's "the guy from Suicide", so Neil starts shouting for him. And lo, he's more than happy for the company. He's very free with stories about Debbie Harry, and opinionated about sports though that left some of us behind, except for Neil. Vega gets some Long Island goon involved in the conversation that starts to look less like a free exchange of ideas than some big dude who wants to talk loudly in your face.
Later on, Neil would confess that he had trouble figuring out where the guys loyalties lay and assumes he was just argumentative.
Vega follows us out (wanders out) to smoke a cig that he's smoked halfway through earlier, pinched out and pocked. He says goodnight and has hugs for us. He seems to love and be known in this bar, not for his status in music history so much as he's an old guy who hangs out at this bar an awful lot.
The next FOT meet-up may involve the Blarney Stone to party with Suicide.
