Regulars
I don’t remember how we all got there that night, and that was probably what made it seem so cool. Four guys had all just happened into the bar, knew each other from here or there, and sat down to share a pitcher. It seemed like the stage was set.
The star was Thomas Hannah, Jr. He and I had worked at the movie theatre and would get together to drink probably once a week. I did not know the other two as well. That, as hinted above, comprised their significance as neither had any lines in the script. One I can recall only as The Outlaw Josey Wales, a nickname he gained after going a bit over the top cowboying up his wardrobe. The other was Tim Damn, and he was a friend of a friend.
One additional actor remains shrouded in mystery: …show more content…
“I get chills,” he said, shuddering. Tim Damn and The Outlaw Josey Wales nodded.
I suspect that I rolled my eyes and made a disparaging remark. Having a reputation as a cynic, my rejection of Tom’s emotional response would have been accepted. It is also possible, however, that I didn’t say anything. Either way, the evening continued without incident, though the scene seemed decidedly less cool than when we first sat down.
Let’s revisit those moments just after the curtain opened. The tableau could have hardly been more mundane: four men drinking in a bar. When the stage direction expands, however, the additional details play off one another, adding a cultural frame to the setting. Note that the beverage was beer and the bar had “saloon” in its name, and the idea that all four of us were white, working-class males starts to make the scene either iconic or stereotypical, depending on your …show more content…
It didn’t have to be that one anyway. Any anthem full of jingoist patriotism would have done the trick. It needn’t have even been a song. The mystery drinker could have switched the television in the corner from ESPN to Fox News (or some facsimile thereof since Fox didn’t exist yet). Anything could have prompted Tom’s unqualified endorsement of one version of American history, his embrace of one concept of American identity. When he did, a spark jumped in my mind from a collection of cultural stereotypes to a political ideology. The two became connected, and the evening