Destroyed Ambitions - A story about a bar and it's patrons.

[FlounderBox]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se9rfWucgeY&feature=related[/media]

Yay! Long wall of text. Enjoy.

[quote]"Christ almighty, where'd you find this relic? Yea, this was back when I ran the bar.
God, I havent seen any of these people in years.
Who are they?
Well, on the right was Lindsey. She worked as a waitress all through her college career and even afterwards stuck with it. Great gal, everybody loved her.
That handsome devil behind the bar, well. You already know him. Yea, I was bald back then as well. Just shows you how old I'm getting.

The old man at the corner of the bar there, that was Herbert. Saddest sack of shit I'd ever seen. Fought in the war ya know. Tried to drown his sorrows at the ol' place.
No amount of liquor could help him forget though. Kept saying he'd seen and done horrible things over there, but never said o word of it. That night though, something was different about old Herbert.

The oriental fella next to him was Chinfield, but we all called him Chin. Good man, hated his job though. Worked for some big name politician. I remember the first time he came in the joint, his face was always brimming saying that he was going to change the world and beat the corruption.
A few years on the capitol and he was back. Would always rant to me about how the sick bastards on the hill only thought of themselves. Never drank to much, he just enjoyed coming here for a quiet place to smoke and think. That's all he really did afterwards. Think. About what, I'm not sure. World tore this poor kid a new one.

Those two gents at the table back there were new at the time. Ricky and Scott. Both worked in some some accounting company. Always talking about how all they did was mindlessly click keys and push buttons. Ricky, the one with the shaved head, he always wanted to run his own circus. Weird huh? He always talked about starting this circus with his best friend Scott. Two had known each other since they were tots. The circus was his childhood dream and we were all sick of his rambling. Always claiming he was going to tame lions, dress as a clown and hire the best gymnasts for his incredible acrobatic act. One day, Scott came in by himself without Ricky. I asked him where Ricky was at. Turns out the boy killed himself. Bullet through the brain. Guess reality caught up to his dreams and he just couldn't handle it.

The guy by the piano? I have no idea who he was. When he came for a drink, I asked him what he was doing in a place like this. Said that his wife of 10some years had left for some German swimmer. Let me tell ya, man looked near suicidal. His eyes were that of a man who had lost everything and had nothing to live for.

Oh, the guy in the tacky tropical shirt? He's the guy that would never shut up. Everyone hated him, but loved him at the same time. Marty was his name. He was the guy who would try to pick you up when you were down, and once you were back up thought you were his best friend and would never leave you alone with your drink. Good guy, but never knew how to keep his mouth shut. Apparently he sells tupperware for a living. You'd never guess that such a cheerful man would have such an empty existence.

The guy at the piano?
I don't know.
He came in one night and just started playing. Now, nobody played the piano. It was mostly there for decoration. But this man came in and made sweet beautiful music. God, I remember that night like it was yesterday. It was a normal night, everyone getting piss drunk, Lindsey was just getting off work. Poor girl was taking night classes along with her classes during the day. Everyone else was very down and quiet. But then this man walked in and ordered a single drink. I didn't ask him his name or what he did. I don't know why I didn't. I guess I just didn't want to know.[/quote]

[img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/51353469/screenies/SaturdayAtFive.jpg[/img]

[quote]After his drink though, he got up and went over to the piano. Nobody really paid him any attention until he sat down and started playing.
And suddenly, all the troubles of our daily lives were gone. The music was somehow perfect. To this day, I still can't capture what happened in words, but I can attempt to describe it.
The weight of our burdens was lifted, and suddenly everyone seemed to live in the moment. Even Herbert managed a smile. I had never seen him smile. Heh, at one point, Scott and Ricky began to dance. Hell, we all began to dance.
I even saw in poor Ricky's eye a spark that I had never seen in him. Something that said "Everything is going to be alright."

The mysterious piano man left later that night. Never said a word, but he left an impression on all of us. It was a single moment of ecstasy and happiness that none of these lonely men would ever experience again.
This piano man may have been someone famous now that I look back on it. His skill was to good. Looking back, I wonder what he was doing in a place like the old bar. I'd sure like to hear his story sometime. Maybe it has a happier ending.
Though my time owning that bar taught me that you don't get many of those."[/quote]

[Minilandstan]

And to this day, Fort still doesn't believe in youth-gaining pills.

[the tee]

I really like it.

[quacles]

This is fantastic, the old guy at the bar seems to be stretched in a bit of an unnatural way, but besides that it's fantastic.