{"id":188,"date":"2006-06-12T17:50:36","date_gmt":"2006-06-12T21:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.summerofjim.com\/2006\/06\/12\/the-buzz\/"},"modified":"2006-06-12T17:50:36","modified_gmt":"2006-06-12T21:50:36","slug":"the-buzz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/?p=188","title":{"rendered":"The Buzz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever been to a quiet place? A place where the houses are set far apart… and maybe you can’t even see<\/em> the next house. It might be a place where air conditioning is not in vogue. And on a warm summer’s night the windows open to a medley of outdoor sounds. Chirps & squeaks of crickets and cicadas create a “wall of sound” that can match the “buzz” of any nighttime New York City street. <\/p>\n

On one level, it is simply a blend <\/em>of sound… on another there are specific sounds that can be picked out… like a single spice in a particular sauce… or a single instrument in an orchestra. <\/p>\n

You don’t have to be in the “country” on an August night, or on the Upper East Side in Manhattan to experience the buzz. <\/em>Stop into Ash Creek Saloon on a Thursday evening… pick a cozy stool and listen… listen to the buzz. <\/p>\n

On the way in I give a quick “hi” to Red (he is stationed at his usual roost, on the “goal line”), and then I move at flank speed to a stool that will give me an advantageous view of the Yankee game that is in progress on the big screen. <\/p>\n

Sean and Nicole are patrolling the business side of the bar… theirs are the first voices I pick out and respond to. It’s a busy night and Nicole has my Wild Turkey Rye in front of me before I say a word… “Hiya Jim, nice to see ya…” And she is off to mixing serious shots for a clutch of folks at the other end. <\/p>\n

Then Sean moves thru, seeing that Nicole had covered my beverage need, merely thrusts his hand in greeting, “Hello Seamus!” <\/p>\n

No other person calls me Seamus… and I must say, I look forward to the greeting. I feel like I have been accepted! I love it! Yeah, Seamus… it works. <\/p>\n

Whisky in front of me… the Yankees at bat, drubbing the Devil Rays to the tune of 10 – 5, I can ease back on the throttle. The sound of the TV is turned off in lieu of music… and it is the sound of music that I hear next… not<\/strong> The Sound of Music; <\/em>but Dire Straits The Sultan of Swing. <\/em>Yes, I like that. <\/p>\n

Bits and pieces of conversation surround me. It could be 3 or 4 people, maybe more… maybe just two. I think the technical term is a “talking unit”. And in rare cases, it’s just one patron. Be advised: folks talking to themselves at a bar should be given wide berth… they maybe in a work-release program, or maybe worse. <\/p>\n

There’s pleasant chatter, an occasional laugh that raises above the din… but the over all sound is no different than the outdoor symphony heard on a hot August night in the hinterland. <\/p>\n

No need to focus on the specific voice, or phrase… it’s good enough to get lost in the texture of various pitches and melodies. <\/p>\n

The buzz. <\/p>\n

And on this night, at least… nothing mean spirited. <\/p>\n

Next song… Up On Cripple Creek, <\/em>The Band. Too bad Zack’s not here… it’s one of his favorites. <\/p>\n

Uh oh… shmuck alert. A member of the pod to the left punctuates his remarks with an accusatory point of the finger. His voice is like picking out the oboe in Rhapsody in Blue <\/em>(I think he was complaining about a “Mars\/Venus” issue). I glance over, “Venus”, to his immediate right does not look too happy. I could be wrong on this, but I don’t think he is getting “any” tonight. Luckily he has to “hit the head”, and the peaceful buzz resumes. <\/p>\n

Sean returns. “Seamus, are you ready?” He has correctly assessed that my beaker of Rye is at the dangerously low level. I nod my gratitude. <\/p>\n

It’s been a long day, in a string of long days. I spend nearly my entire day talking to folks… talking to folks about wine (which is what I sell) why a certain Spanish Red from Ribera del Guadiana is best thing since Mother’s milk (don’t ask me what that<\/em> tastes like, it’s been a while since I’ve had it). I talk, talk, talk… specific words, specific conversations… totally focused one to one. <\/p>\n

It’s nice to melt into the buzz, to get lost in the comfortable, non-focused sounds in a hospitable place… nothing untoward (now that the shmuck is in the john). Songs kick over, some noticed, some not. <\/p>\n

Nicole drifts this way. She bears a pint of Bass for a patron to my left. He nods appreciatively probably more for Nicole’s admirable cleavage than the ale. <\/p>\n

I guess it’s pretty much the same, isn’t it? The wind moving thru a stand of Birch trees… taxis honking and jostling 10 floors below, or the sweet hum of voices and music in Ash Creek Saloon. <\/p>\n

It’s just a buzz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever been to a quiet place? A place where the houses are set far apart… and maybe you can’t even see the next house. It might be a place where air conditioning is not in vogue. And on … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}