spotes wrote:
I talked to about 15 people concerning Bill's Friday adventure at 86th street pub and the conclusion is simple:
You were being a drunk.
Which leads to a question:
If I was really being a drunk, why did the Pub continue to serve me all afternoon and in the evening? Why did the owner/manager offer to let me return inside to drink more? Why didn't Mike or Steve just offer to call a cab or to drive me back to my hotel to make sure I stayed out of trouble?
Harry, I appreciate your efforts at research, but it seems that you're just focusing on accumulating evidence trying to support how drunk I was. Yes, I drink. It's a bar. The purpose of going to a bar, in large measure for most, is drinking. Heck, I'm allergic to Dr. Pepper...options become limited.
See, a lot of folks in Buzztime Nation have seen me drink beer, and I don't get so drunk on beer in five hours that I'm not functional, after eating and not drinking more, two hours later. What you're suggesting isn't in the pattern of behavior. I do drink - if not driving, I do drink quite a bit - but I go off and sober up and return if I need to. Your "fifteen people" all allegedly agree, but if it's true, it's very out of character...and if it's true, it begs the question of why nobody tried to help.
"Even the non-trivia regulars that I talked to thought you were about 5 seconds away from pulling out an Uzi and shooting up the place."
I'm usually polite when drinking. I'm occasionally frustrated when drinking. I'm now loud much of the time, especially in noisy settings, thanks to hearing loss, as you know. I've never in my life thrown a punch when drinking, even when directly threatened. I'm not a violent person.
Odd that everybody at your site has become so convinced of my near-violence.
"Your assertions about our play levels on Friday on the BT site review are ludicrous."
I assure you that I made up nothing. Read exactly what I posted; cross-check to six-month numbers drawn into Excel.
When you start challenging numbers I know to have calculated honestly, I question your credibility on all the subjective issues you mention.
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Harry, here's the feedback I got from various people on this:
1) A lot of people were very surprised and upset that I wasn't hosted. It costs a lot to visit an out-of-town Buzztime site. You do, as a site, compete more often than not each afternoon. You knew it was a planned four-day visit; while Jake was kind enough to drop by for a couple of LTT games, on the whole that Friday was just a tough day for the core regulars. Had you said something, I had an alternate weekend plan...but that was shot when I didn't check out Friday morning. All I knew was that YOU wouldn't be there, not that Friday was going to be a tough day for all. Many folks thought that somebody should've been there...all that I'd expect is a day's warning.
2) Others, including some who posted here, don't believe that hosting implies any guarantee of company. I've noted who said that, and I won't drop by your sites expecting company. It is an opinion held by a minority, but a reasonably-sized minority, of those who've communicated with me.
3) Even before this, many, many folks have pointed out the difference between your description of me after I've been drinking and their experience with me after I've been drinking. Violence is not a defining character trait of mine.
4) One individual I respect wrote that deafness makes people assholes. I offer it for consideration.
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I posted about this to ensure that nobody would have a day like mine at 86th Street, wondering where the core team was, getting yelled at by ROCKNE, and discovering the manager didn't care. I expect it won't happen. Those in the community distant enough not to know you will be aware of the precedent; candidly, I bet that you'll be sure it never happens to any guest again.
I refuse to get into the general character condemnation that you're pursuing. I remain upset with my visit and the lack of hosting...I am upset at the way you've twisted this...I'm upset, if the perception were that I was drunk, that nobody had the character to offer help, knowing that my hotel was across both 86th Street and Michigan Avenue.
But those are actions, not character issues. I won't be back, and we don't get along. I still wish you the best collectively and personally, and I still regard you as the best team in Buzztime.
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PS "He (Mike) also mentioned something about you pestering him repeatedly about buying him a shot if he kissed Suzie the bartender and your wanting to escalate that whole scenario. Really? Your creepy voyeurism is duly noted."
Pestering? Nah...and I assure you that this wasn't originally my idea. I was merely facilitating for others...
Creepy voyeurism? Harry, I'm pre-Tailhook Navy...our tastes were very different.