was it the booze or did the beer blast bartender at the Eagle tonight really, really like me? . . . could be, u know . . . how many guys ever have asked him if that was Golden Earring on the CD he burned for rock 'n roll happy hour . . . instant bonding material . . . first off, very few fags of a certain age would recognize both Grand Funk Railroad (were u a Mark Farner groupie? he asked when i reminded him that An American Band, recently remade by Kid Rock, was recorded on gold vinyl . . . two beers later i was singing along to Horses when the cute guy in the Havana t-shirt on the bar stool next to me turned and said excuse me, but did u just belch . . . nahh, i growled . . . u don't sing along to Patti Smith, u growl along . . . as i was leaving, Joe the bartender introduced himself and said hey i'm here Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays . . . i'll bet he says that to all the guys but hey, i'm naive enough to think we might have had a moment over great guitar solos, even if we're polar opposites, physically . . . i mean, he really looks like Mark Farner, albeit 30 years older and wearing a leather vest that laced up the sides.