On Monday nights in Ferndale, the Woodward Avenue Brewers becomes a hub of social activity. Micro-brewed beer, half-off food and a large, open patio during warmer months attract all kinds of Ferndalians and friends of Ferndale. I'd been wanting to spend time there enjoying dinner and couple drinks even before I was invited out last week, so when my buddy had to back out at the last minute, I decided to turn the night into an opportunity for people watching.
From my seat at the bar I had a head on view of the sun setting over the buildings on Nine Mile. Being able to absorb the sun's rays was worth having to squint half the time I looked around. After a beer and a half I found it comfortable to just sit back and get lost in the red glow of my closed eyelids and the ambient noise of the bustling around me. A lady who was sitting alone at a table for four on the patio took a large caesar salad and divided it in half. She then took a picture of her glass of water, or was intently reading something on her iPhone and had to hold it at that angle to catch the correct light. Where I was sitting was right next to the waitresses's stand and the trash can. After discovering that I wouldn't be upset, they started setting dishes in front of me when their hands were full before emptying the leftovers into the garbage. I was more disgusted by the amount of food being wasted than anything in the actual trash. Just before I left, a guy came in who I perceived to be quite drunk. I was the only other person at the bar when he sat down and ordered a double vodka cranberry. He made me think about how I would never make a good bartender. Half the time I have a hard time telling whether someone has been drinking at all, but in this case I might've told him he'd had enough, and who knows, I might've been wrong. He returned the drink almost immediately for a reason I didn't overhear, and a minute later had what looked like the same thing in a taller glass. This guy was fairly old, with square glasses and a strange graphic t-shirt; heather grey. He had a jacket on over that and looked like he'd been stood up for being too pretentious. I imagined he was there to drown himself in fruity drinks and a cheap burrito and I almost stuck around to find out.
As I was leaving I ran into some friends standing in a circle outside the door. They commented on my "summery" outfit - a green sweatshirt and brown shorts. One of them was showing everyone a picture on his iPhone of Keanu Reeves looking sad on a park bench. His favorite part of the picture was the bird in the foreground. Mine was the nondescript white bags sitting beside him that we both agreed looked like "some trash".
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