Yesterday was the night of the Stumbling Elvis Downtown pub crawl to raise canned good and monetary donations for the Mid-South Food Bank. We had a slightly bigger crowd than last year – someone counted 83 at our second stop, I think.
So yesterday afternoon I prepared. I got my costume out of the closet and attempted to get the wrinkles out. I located my Elvis sunglasses. Then I made the addition to my costume that I discussed yesterday: I dyed my hair black. Permanent dye, so it will be black for a while. People started tweeting and Facebooking pics as soon as I went out. So yesterday I was Elvis. Today the pub crawl is over and I still have black hair. Maybe I’ll be Goth Paul or something. Meh. Over the fall I’ll gradually return my hair to its normal color.
I have a bone to pick with Elvis: Why did you have to die in the middle of August? I had on the most comfortable Elvis costume available (meaning, the cheapest and therefore the thinnest material) and I thought I was going to die of heat stroke. I don’t know how the people in the high-dollar polyester costumes survived.
So we started at the Saucer, and at 7:45 we marched to Blue Fin. I have to say, Blue Fin was my favorite stop on the pub crawl. They had $2 Yuengling and Sapporo waiting for us on the patio. Nice! We got invited to the back party room, where there was a birthday party going on. Six of us sang “happy birthday” to the birthday girl.
Then we found a bachelorette party in the next room, and also one outside in the main room. We sang “don’t get married” to the tune of “happy birthday.” It was a lot of fun being the center of attention. To the bachelorettes: Take the message seriously though.
Next stop was the Peabody lobby. We posed with a groom and his groomsmen who’d just got married, and numerous other people who wanted pics. I don’t think the Peabody was as happy to have us as Blue Fin was. Shortly after we arrived, several security men in coats and ties appeared, watching us. Frankly I was happy to get out of there anyway, as the prices at the lobby bar are way too high.
The original plan was to do Alfred’s next, but they changed things up and made Silky O’Sullivan’s the next stop. We had to pass through security on Beale and get wanded for weapons, which some people grumbled about but I didn’t mind at all. I’m glad they’re keeping us safe. We stopped to pose for what seemed like a million photos as we walked toward Silky’s.
I got a Hurricane and went to the outdoor patio. Odd to choose the patio over inside where there was A/C, but on the patio we had enough room to move around. Plus there was a band out there. I looked to my right and saw that another group of Elvii were sharing a Diver. Nice job on that.
One of the people sharing the Diver commented, “I know you from Twitter.” It’s weird that I’m starting to get that, people knowing me from Twitter rather than my blog. I tweet fairly regularly but I’m not that good. The only two times I’ve ever really been on fire on Twitter were BBQ Fest and my recent NOLA trip.
About 9:45 some of the crew commented “We’re heading south,” some to Calhoun’s and some to the Blue Monkey for karaoke night. I have to admit it’s a bit irritating that the South Mainers in our group can’t seem to hang out in the core past 10 on weekends, 8 on weekdays before deciding to “head south.” Nothing against the Blue Monkey, but I cannot think of a bigger waste of a Saturday night than karaoke. I’d hang out at the Fox & Hound Cordova before I’d go there.
The remainder of the crew carried on to Alfred’s, stopping to pose for another bazillion pictures on the way. Mike T, Bicycle Bobby and I went upstairs and hung out at the rail of the patio. People on Beale saw us and started taking pics. That was fun – one of us would see a camera out of the corner of our eye, and point it out to the other two and we’d pose. Someone played “Suspicious Minds” and we broke out the worst rendition of the song ever.
Last stop was the Saucer. Most of the people on the pub crawl didn’t make it back, because of the heat. The Saucer’s A/C is out in the Garden, and the A/C in the indoor room is not powerful enough to keep it comfortable when the heat index is 105+ and the room is filled with bodies. I have a little more sympathy since I learned it’s not their fault – their hands are tied as they wait on their landlord to fix the air. Still, though, I know it kept people away.
By 11:30 it was down to just Bicycle Bobby and me. Then he rode his bike home, to Mud Island, in his Elvis costume. I decided to hang out in the Garden and watch the show – not so much the band that was playing, but the show that was occurring on one of the benches, involving a certain redhead.
Good times. One thing I did not do last night was take photos. It’s hard to get items out of an Elvis costume pocket, especially when holding a beer. I was asked to take a pic very early on in the evening and spilled half my beer, and at that time I determined I’d leave the photos to other people. If someone wants to send me five or six of the best ones (note – five or six, not 50 or 60) and give me permission to post them, I will. Shoot ’em to paul@paulryburn.com.
Now it’s Sunday and the beginning of approximately 100 explanations why I have black hair. That’s not a bad thing though, as I’ll get to mention the Food Bank many, many times.
Hmmm. Up early enough to make it to brunch. Not really hungry though. In any event, I’ll be at the Saucer at noon to get the beer drinking started.