For my writing class the topic was, “describe a place that means something to you and why.” I miss the fun we had way back then, but life moved on for everyone. Enjoy this little stroll down memory lane. It's not a Clayfic, but I'll just pretend I'm talking to him.
The Nickel Tour
(by Cella)
You can just shut the car door, it's already locked. Watch your step off that curb, 'cause it's really high – you don't want to stumble into the street and look like you're ALREADY drunk when you go IN the bar. Just kidding, but the curbs here are quite high as you can see. They must get a lot of runoff when it rains, but how bad can that be? I mean, we're in L.A.! Ok, technically we're in Burbank, best-known for where NBC tapes The Tonight Show, but as much television work is done in Burbank as in Hollywood, if not more. Just down the road you've got the Warner Brothers studios, Disney's corporate and animation buildings and the E! Entertainment Channel building, to name a few. A lot of location filming is done in this area, too; as a matter of fact, where we're going was once used in a Cledus T. Judd video. Real impressive, huh?
The place is just beyond this Taco Bell. I'm surprised they haven't torn this one down and put up one of the newer, blander versions. Even though it's on a corner lot, there isn't much property to have a new restaurant with a drive thru and a parking lot, so I suppose that could be why. It's nice to still have a throwback from the past around, though – the whole grayish-yellow, clay-tiled roof and walls effect; the arched windows in the eating area; the “sleeping senor” sign – but I think they'd make the place look a hell of a lot more presentable if the owner took a power washer and some bleach solution to it every once in a while.
Ok, enough of the Taco Bell. Here we are! Yeah, it doesn't look like much, but what dive bar does? A nondescript, white stucco building without windows and a black door – tres chic. Here, let me get the door for you. Oh, yeah, there's that “it ain't a dive bar without an 'Under 21 Not Permitted' sign” securely affixed at eye level. Well, eye level for people taller than my short self.
Dang, I forgot how loud they play their music! It hits you in the ears like a strong wind as bad as the stale cigarette smell hits you in the nose. We should stand here a minute and let our eyes adjust. It's like walking into night, going through that door!
Better now? Well, this is it – Jack's Cinnamon Cinder. I came here after work twice a week for two years with my friends Esther, Jen and Dan. Esther finally convinced me to join them here after I had broken up with my boyfriend at the time. We all worked for the same company in different departments. It was great exercise, great therapy, and I made a whole bunch of friends – even found a boyfriend here; he was nice, but it only lasted for a few months. No, I didn't make friends with those old barflies over there. Smartass. Gee, some of them still look familiar after all these years – how sad is that?
There were two types of people who inhabited CinCin on those Tuesdays and Thursdays: the regulars and the line dancers. The regulars all stayed at the bar straight ahead or sat at those little round tables just to the right of the bar. They have a kitchen way back behind the tables – the food was okay, but Esther and I found it cheaper to eat at Taco Bell then just have drinks in here. Although, I have to say they did have good chips and fresh salsa.
Over to the right there's a few more little tables and immediately to our right are the two dartboards. I played once or twice with Dan, but I totally sucked at it. Dan was quite good, though. Many times while we waited for the teacher to begin he'd play, but most of the time Dan showed up late for class.
Now, this whole area to the left of the bar – that's where the line dancers inhabited. That tiny area in the far left corner was where the band set up while we had our lesson, then played promptly after the class ended. The same guys played EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. I can't believe their names escape me at the moment – Tim and Shawn? Dan and Tim? Tom and Don? – what the heck were their names? Oh well.
Our little group sat at the last of these four tables overlooking the dance floor, closest to the bar. Esther would sit facing the door and I'd sit across from her. We'd just chit-chat about how work went while I drank my orange juice and she drank her cranberry juice, though it was never hard for the waitress to convince us to order the chips and salsa.
Last, but not least, the area in the back, immediately left of the bar flanking the dance floor were two more long tables, but also along the wall were black banquettes – a more lounge-type area where we rarely sat. Above those banquettes, see the black and white artwork? Another way to tell you're near the glamor of Hollywood. From the left, that's Tommy Dorsey playing his clarinet, then young Frank Sinatra tipping his hat, then Liz Taylor, then Elvis – it just keeps going. Maybe later we can go take a closer look at all the celebrities pictured on it. To us back then, though, the area was just the place we had to pass through to get to the restrooms.
Well, that's the nickel tour of Cinnamon Cinder. There are so many memories here, it'd take hours to tell them. Why don't we go sit at the far table, order some juice and I'll tell you a few. The lesson starts promptly at seven.
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~Posted 10.13.2004~
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