HAPPY OPENING DAY

Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells

– Pink Floyd – Time

Whenever I hear the song Centerfield by Fogerty I’m transported back to 1985 at our college dive bar – The Jailhouse. It was knocked down a few years later to be replaced by a university classroom building. It was located on Market Street between 30th and 31st. It defined what a true college dive bar should look like. It was dark, dirty and the pitchers of beer were cheap and plentiful.

My buddies and I had just won the intramural softball championship at the dilapidated baseball fields at 45th and Market, in the shadow of the low income housing towers where no white person would dare go near. We were all 21 or 22 years old, with our entire lives ahead of us, and not a care in the world. We headed to the Jailhouse to celebrate our epic victory, which would stand the test of time.

Fogerty had just put out Centerfield and it was at the top of the charts. As we consumed pitcher after pitcher of their cheapest beer (probably double digits of pitchers), we kept playing the song over and over on the jukebox. As the beer kicked in we sang along at the top of our lungs, not wanting the night to end.

To prove how much of a dive bar the Jailhouse was, this incident should seal the deal. The bathroom was on the 2nd floor. The men’s room consisted of a trough which extended across the entire wall of the room. It just so happened it would get clogged by cigarette butts and whatever else drunk guys would throw in. The trough was filled to overflowing that night. It had crested and was spilling onto the floor. If their staff didn’t care, we certainly didn’t.

Late in the evening, as we continued to drink and sing the lyrics to Centerfield, all of a sudden there was a groaning sound and without notice an enormous urine soaked ceiling tile came crashing down a few feet from our table. No one flinched. No one seemed to notice. We just kept on drinking and singing. It was the Jailhouse. I think we subconsciously knew this was the best time of our lives and didn’t want it to end. But it did end. After graduation I never saw many of these guys ever again. Thirty-eight years have gone by in the blink of an eye, but this memory will never fade.

Happy opening day.

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