Blind man runnin

 through the light of the night

With an answer in his hand
Come on down to the river of sight 
And you can really understand. (N. Young)

where were we ? ah yes....the sad disappearance of the watering hole. I have always thought of the Great American Bar as so much more than a place to get a drink. It's a place to get your news, interpret the news and discuss the news with your neighbor...both the temporary neighbor on the next stool and the lasting citizens of the town in which you imbibe.

When i started my second stint in the financial district (after having been chased to the Garden state in the aftermath of the collapse of the towers) I found myself at a firm that discouraged drinking at lunch every single day, and so on occasion instead of going to O'haras next door; i would venture across the pit towards J&R Records and rediscovered an old haunt i had not visited in a decade. The BEEKMAN Pub........the thing i loved most was a separation wall that stood around 4 feet high and separated the Bar from the dining room.....it had a ledge and barstools beneath......if the barstools were all taken (which they often were in the golden age of alcohol , before the financial collapse of 2008-09) you could get a pint, order a burger and sit at the ledge and not feel like a redheaded stepchild..... i used to drink with my boy Dano in here....sometimes planned and sometimes we would just run into each other at the ledge.....we were both drawn to this bar by the same attribute but for different reasons.....we used to laugh the Nobody will Ever find you in the Beekman.....lost at the moment was the irony that we both quite often did find the other at the mahogany cave across from the Hospital......the Guiness was grand, the food edible, the prices were reasonable......but it was the bar itself that held the magic......the little stained glass sign behind the till that shouted Welcome to the Beekman.....and when you approached from the streets there were times when you swore they must be closed.....but once you opened the door it was like walking onto the field at Yankee Stadium. I mourn the passing of these great Cathedrals ....i feel empathy for those that never got to experience the emotional rescue that these legendary haunts provided. She was established in 1936.......she witnessed a lot of NYC history ...just a stones throw from the base of the Brooklyn Bridge and down the block from city hall....across the street from the hospital and the constant wailing of the sirens of the dead and dying.......2+3=BEEER

Red lights flashing through the window in the rain
Can you hear the sirens moan?
White cane lying in a gutter in the lane
If you're walking home alone