The Banker
After almost living here for two months, I finally ventured into Wrangell nightlife. I know that sounds like the opposite of bold or daring. I was spoiled in Hong Kong with an easy to attain social life. Not only did I have good friends close by on Lingnan’s campus, but I also had people to see and things to do elsewhere. It never bothered me to kill an hour or two in the city waiting for someone. There was always something to do, someone to meet, some new restaurant to try out, some Pacific Coffee to check email, some Page One to loiter in, or some trusty bar to get a drink.
I went to Rich’s place to get him on the way to the Nolan Center, where the movie theater is housed. Rich is from Anchorage, moved here a few months ago, and lives like a 22-year old boy. I walked up the staircase and found him playing a video game sitting on his couch that was like a ship floating on an ocean of mess. There were empty beer cans, cherry coke cans strewn everywhere, an abandoned pizza box, a used dish bowl that had dried and crusted over, clothes all over the floor. To be fair, he did warn me beforehand and made claims that when he wants, he can be a neat person.
Rich is a tee shirt, jeans, baseball cap kind of guy, which I truly enjoy. He wears his cap a bit high and off center, which I find endlessly endearing.
To my shock and happiness he liked Rent, a lot. You know that feeling when you think you’ve dragged someone to see something, and all the while you’re stressing out wondering if they’re enjoying it? Every time he shifted in his seat or coughed I was sure he was about to lean over and tell me he couldn’t take the singing anymore and was going to walk out. And I was trying to figure out in my mind what I would do – would I walk out also, would I apologize but stay? But he liked it, and even said he kind of wanted to buy the soundtrack, which I kind of agreed with. So all those thoughts were just a symptom of over thinking and being paranoid – classic me.
Afterward I stepped foot into my first bar in Wrangell, the Totem. Wrangell has three bars – Totem, Brigg, and Marine. It was the sort of bar where most people look toward the door when someone walks in. The majority of the crowd seemed early twenties, and one side of the bar seated the older, middle-aged crowd. There were pool tables, booths, a disappointing jukebox that contained those NOW and Totally Hits compilations and country albums and that’s about is. Even though it caught me off guard, the soundtrack to Varsity Blues seemed appropriately fitting.
I sat at the bar, drank gin and tonics, and met some people that Rich all knew. Rich mostly drank Heart Attacks, which is some Red Bull and a shot of Jagermeister. I had the opportunity to put a face with a voice of a woman I had phone interviewed earlier that week, the owner of the bar. She said she took up ownership seven years ago, had spent her whole life in Wrangell, knew everyone’s name at the bar and supplied brief synopsis of the few I asked about. Her bartenders were a mother-daughter duo.
After some time, me and Rich started talking and we had one of those surprisingly revealing conversations, revealing even for a drunk conversation. It started with me asking him to name one thing he loved about Wrangell, and the answer was his job, which is my thing also. While I could rattle off more items – the picturesque surroundings, the small town life, the fact that I live in Alaska – his list began and stopped there. He loves his job at Well’s Fargo, that’s why he’s here, and that’s it. As we got more into it, the conversation steered its way into family matters, and while I could recount what he told me, I’d feel like I was breaching a confidence. I’m usually all for confessional writing, but I guess they’re not my confessions to make. I was genuinely shocked at how open he was – it’s rare to find a male who talks about family the way he did, who isn’t afraid to air the sad truths, his opinions, his mistakes, his hopes. When he talked, it was obvious how much he loves his family, how much his hard work is in part because and for them, how much he wants to lead by example for his younger brothers. It was about our fourth or fifth conversation ever and he confided in me more than my last boyfriend did during our whole relationship.
He was so natural. He was so full of hope and pride. Without having any idea of how long I'll be friends with him, how long I'll know him, I still hope he never changes.
I went to Rich’s place to get him on the way to the Nolan Center, where the movie theater is housed. Rich is from Anchorage, moved here a few months ago, and lives like a 22-year old boy. I walked up the staircase and found him playing a video game sitting on his couch that was like a ship floating on an ocean of mess. There were empty beer cans, cherry coke cans strewn everywhere, an abandoned pizza box, a used dish bowl that had dried and crusted over, clothes all over the floor. To be fair, he did warn me beforehand and made claims that when he wants, he can be a neat person.
Rich is a tee shirt, jeans, baseball cap kind of guy, which I truly enjoy. He wears his cap a bit high and off center, which I find endlessly endearing.
To my shock and happiness he liked Rent, a lot. You know that feeling when you think you’ve dragged someone to see something, and all the while you’re stressing out wondering if they’re enjoying it? Every time he shifted in his seat or coughed I was sure he was about to lean over and tell me he couldn’t take the singing anymore and was going to walk out. And I was trying to figure out in my mind what I would do – would I walk out also, would I apologize but stay? But he liked it, and even said he kind of wanted to buy the soundtrack, which I kind of agreed with. So all those thoughts were just a symptom of over thinking and being paranoid – classic me.
Afterward I stepped foot into my first bar in Wrangell, the Totem. Wrangell has three bars – Totem, Brigg, and Marine. It was the sort of bar where most people look toward the door when someone walks in. The majority of the crowd seemed early twenties, and one side of the bar seated the older, middle-aged crowd. There were pool tables, booths, a disappointing jukebox that contained those NOW and Totally Hits compilations and country albums and that’s about is. Even though it caught me off guard, the soundtrack to Varsity Blues seemed appropriately fitting.
I sat at the bar, drank gin and tonics, and met some people that Rich all knew. Rich mostly drank Heart Attacks, which is some Red Bull and a shot of Jagermeister. I had the opportunity to put a face with a voice of a woman I had phone interviewed earlier that week, the owner of the bar. She said she took up ownership seven years ago, had spent her whole life in Wrangell, knew everyone’s name at the bar and supplied brief synopsis of the few I asked about. Her bartenders were a mother-daughter duo.
After some time, me and Rich started talking and we had one of those surprisingly revealing conversations, revealing even for a drunk conversation. It started with me asking him to name one thing he loved about Wrangell, and the answer was his job, which is my thing also. While I could rattle off more items – the picturesque surroundings, the small town life, the fact that I live in Alaska – his list began and stopped there. He loves his job at Well’s Fargo, that’s why he’s here, and that’s it. As we got more into it, the conversation steered its way into family matters, and while I could recount what he told me, I’d feel like I was breaching a confidence. I’m usually all for confessional writing, but I guess they’re not my confessions to make. I was genuinely shocked at how open he was – it’s rare to find a male who talks about family the way he did, who isn’t afraid to air the sad truths, his opinions, his mistakes, his hopes. When he talked, it was obvious how much he loves his family, how much his hard work is in part because and for them, how much he wants to lead by example for his younger brothers. It was about our fourth or fifth conversation ever and he confided in me more than my last boyfriend did during our whole relationship.
He was so natural. He was so full of hope and pride. Without having any idea of how long I'll be friends with him, how long I'll know him, I still hope he never changes.
posted by Siapiau | 6:56 PM
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