Hamburger Square

Earlier, I was sitting at the bar talking with my dear friend, Ed. It was middle of the afternoon so there weren’t many people in the pub when this 20-something dude (and believe me, he wasn’t a man, “dude” is being generous) comes in. He looks at me and says, “Hey, you wanna do shots with me?”

I’m a little taken aback that he would walk in and say that to me while I’m obviously deep in conversation with someone. So I say, “Sorry, I’m working.”

“Well, then, why don’t you get your ass behind the bar and make me a shot?”

Now Ed is older, more than 40 years my senior, and if he hadn’t been sitting there, I might’ve been a little tougher on this goon, but Ed is such a gentleman, I didn’t want him to see me being unladylike.

If only Ed hadn’t been there…

I just have to brag. I bet my buddy Carmine that the Giants would win by three. That was the best final quarter EVER. I felt like I had won the Super Bowl.

It’s been a big week on the Hamburger Square. We’ve got some new neighbors coming into the corner spot where O’Kennedy’s used to be. I believe it’s going to be another clothing store, which I think is great. My web dude Sean just moved into the vacant office in our suite.

(originally uploaded by CharlesMedia™)

He’s got a sweet location overlooking Elm Street and The Green Bean. I’m a little envious, as my office has no windows. It will be fun to have Sean up here — he’s great with marketing ideas and has a lot of good energy. So welcome to the corner guys. We’re glad to have you.

My friend Tracy has a service dog named Tunkha. He goes with her everywhere, including M’Coul’s. So the other evening I was sitting with Tracy at the bar and noticed some men across the bar staring at her. She’s a stunning woman, so it wasn’t hard to imagine why the men were staring, I was just shocked at how blatant it was. After about an hour I went over to say hi to one of them who is a regular and he said, “You know I just cannot help but stare at your friend. She is so beautiful! There’s just something about her — I can’t take my eyes off her.” I agreed with him, “Yes, and she’s just as lovely inside.”

To which he responded, “Thank goodness she’s blind!” Then referring to the fellows sitting by him, “We can just sit over her and stare at her all night and she’ll never know!” The gentlemen next to him nodded in agreement.

“She’s isn’t blind.”

“What?! Sure she is. What’s the seeing-eye-dog for?!”

“He’s her service dog, but I assure you, it’s not because she’s blind.”

He was appropriately mortified…

The first time I met Tracy, I too was a little green on the service dog protocol and thought to myself, she sure doesn’t look blind. That’s because she isn’t. She has other medical conditions which make Tunkha vital to her day-to-day. But it never ceases to amaze me how rude people can be. We go places and people literally stare and point. Some will try to pet her dog, thinking she’s blind and can’t tell they’re petting her dog, and then lie about it!

So here’s some tips if you see a service team.

–Don’t stare. They aren’t always for the blind. And even so, it’s RUDE.

–Don’t ask stupid questions like, “is that a blind dog?” Come on, let them be in peace.

–Don’t ever pet a service dog in harness. And no, they can’t make an exception for you!

–No, you can’t give a service dog a treat!

–A service dog in harness is working. Respect that.

Tracy, if you read this, feel free to expand on it!

It’s a good day for a Guinness! We are in a statewide contest for the perfect pint of Guinness and as of today, we’re in second place in the state. If you text that you’ve had the perfect pint to this number (88500), then you’re entered to win a trip to Dublin. So come by today and have a pint!

It’s not that I haven’t had anything to write, it’s that there’s so much to write that I get overwhelmed. And I’ve been having some issues with my neck, it’s not always so comfortable to sit and write. But that’s getting better.
We are getting ready for our annual block party for St. Patrick’s Day, which takes many months of preparation, but our band line-up is quite excellent, if I do say so myself. We’ve had quite a few inquiries as to what day we are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, but I am a traditionalist. I think we should celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on St. Patrick’s Day, no matter what day of the week it falls. This year it happens to be on Monday. I think that that’s the perfect way to start out your week.
My babies are also keeping me very busy, as usual. The oldest one keeps losing teeth and growing like an inch a week. I can’t keep up with his clothes. And now I get that there really is an unexplained phenomenon with regards to socks. Where do they go???
My five year-old decided he’s done with kindergarten. I don’t blame him. Getting up at 6:30 am and getting home at 3 pm is just too long for a five year old, especially when they are expected to then do homework every night. There’s no time to just be a kid.
And the baby… Well, she’s so excited to have a big brother home, it’s just delightful to see them together. And I guess pushing 3 makes her not so much a baby anymore.
I have more to say, so I’ll be back…

When I was thirteen, I was riding in the car with my mom and my best friend, Justine. We were in the backseat talking about listening to The Police at her house and my mom asked, “How’d you listen to them? Do you have a scanner?” We, of course, laughed and teased her for not knowing one of our FAVORITE BANDS. Geez, Mom, you’re so out of it!

Fast forward almost two and a half decades, everything has changed. I run a restaurant with a bunch of 20-somethings who now consider me the old fart. I got tickets to see The Police in Charlotte with some girlfriends and found myself with a spare one (Justine, where are you now???) and I couldn’t pay those guys to go.

“The Police? Are they still alive?”

“I can’t go down to the police station. I have outstanding parking tickets.”

“Who?”

One employee just started laughing at me so hard he couldn’t get out his derogatory comment.

I will be 37 next week, and maybe that seemed old to me at 20-something, but it sure doesn’t feel old to me now.

(Originally posted by Fort Photo)

It being Halloween, I thought I’d share another ghost story…

It was a beautiful night in late August.  I was standing in the upstairs bar of M’Coul’s talking to one of my dearest customers, Scotte.  The inside was pretty empty but for Scotte and me, and a bartender running around.  Everyone else was on the packed deck enjoying themselves.   Scotte was talking when I felt someone walk up, pinch my ear hard, and brush by me towards the door to the outside deck.  That’s exactly what it felt like, but I could see no one approach the door.

Now might be the time to interject that up until that point I had never been visited by our friends from the other side unless I was pregnant.  I’m not sure why that was the case, and since then I have had a few un-pregnant encounters.  BUT at that time, my husband and I were trying to have another baby and we were still in the early stages of trying, so to speak.

So, I asked Scotte, “Who just pinched me?”

Scotte looked baffled, “What?”

“Somebody just pinched my ear.”  I could still feel the pinch on my earlobe.

Scotte was now looking worried for me, “Simonne, we’re the only two people in here.  Nobody pinched you.”
Then it struck me:  I was pregnant!

“Oh, my God, Scotte!  I’m pregnant!”

“Ok, now you’re really freaking me out.”

I left a dumbfounded Scotte and ran downstairs to our beloved former bar manager Adam, and told him what happened.  I was almost too excited to speak.

I said, “I think I’m pregnant.”

“O-kay…”

“The ghost just pinched my ear!”  I could still feel the pinch in my earlobe.  “They don’t visit me unless I’m pregnant.”

I left and, one the way home, picked up a pregnancy test.  Sure enough, it was positive.

About Poppyrazzi.

I am going to be a sometime contributor to the Hamburger Square blog sight. Poppy is a name given to me by youngest. I was Poppy from day one to her since she was adopted 10 years ago at age 11 from Russia. It was later picked up by all of her friends and my grandchildren. Anyway, it stuck and for much of my world I am Poppy. Poppy has 5 children who dote on him. He is very proud of them all. More on them later. The razzi was added to confuse Lindsay Lohan and Brittany Spears in case they are reading. I am not much of a writer, but with spell check it should at least read half way correctly. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to read my thoughts, but it is a catharsis for me, humor me.

Many of my waking hours are spent at the Square. I know many of the regulars on the corner, business proprietors, street people and bicycle policemen. It is a special place for so many. I hope others will join me in my attempt to make this blog a community affair.

I work at the square with just a great group of people. Most of them are under 25 years old, which is the nature of the restaurant biz. I have been in the feeding business for many, many years. This age group makes you feel very old. Not with words, but, well, you know. They are all so funny, so smart, and so unique. It’s quite a collection. I think that the future is in good hands that being said, I still feel old these days, and I am loving it. In addition to all of the everyday perks that   you get,(free coffee at Chic-Fil-A, 2% discount on Thursday at Harris-Teeter) It is just amusing hearing people talk right in front of you, thinking your deaf, or annoying people on a regular   basis, and them excusing you because you are senile. I guess you have seen that ad on TV about the fellow paying his bill at a check out cashier using cash or worse yet, writing a check. You should hear the response of those behind Poppy when he pays with a pocketful of coins. Don’t even get me started with the driving. I often look out the rear window to watch people near crashing into each other after I have poked through an intersection. Several years ago I was pulled over for speeding. I had to go and sit in the back seat of the trooper’s car while he ran my license and all. (Hey, where are the door handles?) Two of my children, Sarah & Leo (who goaded me into speeding in the first place) were looking out the rear window laughing, and making faces. Mr. Trooper asked me what was wrong with them. I told him that they had always told me that the only thing I would ever get a ticket for was impeding traffic. After learning of my stellar driving record, I guess he could sense that I had enough problems, so he left me off with a stern warning to never return to High Point  slow down .Poppy was most relieved. 

I am a history buff of sorts and have always been interested with the downtown area. I am sure that there is a lot written on the square somewhere. I know a little and am always excited to see old pictures of all of the different things that have transpired on and near the corner. The walls of these old building could provide tons of fodder of interesting stories. If only they could talk. It is sad that many of them are no longer standing. Poppy will dig deeper and keep you posted. You can also respond with facts. Being given to prevarication, Poppy often embellishes things.                                        

We just finished hosting the first of two nights of our autumn Harvest Beer Dinner.  It was my favorite one yet.   The second course featured La Chouff  Golden Ale paired with lamb carbonnade and buttery tarragon spaetzle.  Just the smell of it was the best thing in the world!  My hat is off to the chefs, Leighanne  and John and their helper today, Katie.  Wow.  Thank you for a wonderful evening!