"Two wrongs may not make a right but a thousand wrongs make a writer.”

Sunday, June 1, 2025

The Best Tavern in America


From out of the weather
with a whisper of the latch
into the quiet
of the St. James Tavern.
Escape from the noise of the city,
as through a decompression chamber,
the only sounds are the clink of ice in a glass
the clunk clunk clunk of the billiard tables
and murmur of voices over
the pull of the tap and roll of the surge.

A television-free zone where hardwood floors are heeled to a shine,
voices and laughter seem soft and sacred as in the nave of a church.
Where connections are forged 
under dim lights and electric vibes.
A haven where monsters need not apply.


In restaurant speak the 86 Board means What We Are Out Of.  At the St. James Tavern in Columbus Ohio it means what we are sick of. 

A happy Sunday to all!  As we used to say before the pandemic, it's Sunday Funday. Can we bring it back?  Or as Poets & Storytellers United ask, start over again? 
 

10 comments:

Rommy said...

It sounds like a very cool place to catch up with people. We've got a cool place like that near me too. It's usually a bit noisier! But they just started a Tuesday book and brew night (quiet reading in the back room, staff brings you drinks).

Rosemary Nissen-Wade said...

It sounds very enticing!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Oh Romy !! I would love that. Sounds perfect. Thanks!!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Thanks Rosemary. Hope all is well with you down under!

Jim said...

Hi Cousin -- this sounds very enticing. When I was single on Sundays I would eat at a tavern on Main Street of Lincoln, Nebraska, generally alone. I'm not sure what my favorite meal was.
So good you wrote of this visit, please some more visits here.

Intelliblog said...

Reminds me of a tavern I stopped at in a little town close to Chicago when I did a big road trip in the USA many years ago. It was pouring rain all evening and I was driving in the deluge at night until I saw the lights of the tavern and the neon sign, that seemed like a godsend. It was amazing! Cosy place, full of friendly people, great atmosphere, warmth and a genuine welcome for a night traveller. Later, beers, free tasty pizza and a comfortable bed to sleep in in the adjacent motel. I think it's one of my fondest memories of my trip there.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Thanks Jim, (yes cousins) Maybe I will write of more visits.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Hi and thanks for sharing the memory. I likewise have one of just such a place, in from the cold to a cozy eatery with rooms overhead. Some places we never forget.

rallentanda said...

Sounds like a great place.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Ral, Yes, it was unique in that it's television free. Unheard of these days, no?