Saturday, August 22, 2009
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Many of the discussion topics below are live continuations of chapters in the book.
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Many of the discussion topics below are live continuations of chapters in the book.
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One of the many things i learned during my travels last semester was how common this same sort of "speakeasy" environment is at bars in major cities across America. Though obviously, Route 36 is it a bit more publicized...
I visited a number of establishments which had, in addition to their liquor licenses, a cocaine or pill dealer who kept certain hours and a certain location in the bar. People would casually sit with the person for a minute, transact business, go to the bathroom, and then rejoin their friends at the other end of the bar. The bartender almost always seemed aware of the situation - most likely earning a percentage of the dealer's earnings. Initially i found the whole thing strange - i think because of the "dive-bar" settings of these locations, but realized how much sense it made. Where better to find customers than in a place that's already selling drugs (different types of alcohol). You know they brought money. No beeper, cell phone, etc. surveillance to worry about. And the dealer has no paper connection to the establishment, so the place probably doesn't assume much risk. I had always been more used to this kind of thing taking place at clubs, or those less likely places and connections that you always think of, like hotel bellboys. or maybe the notion of dealers having an public place of business, as opposed to delivery service or private residence, is what seemed too new to me - the fact that one could drink and play pool throughout the evening and repeatedly buy grams of blow off a stranger 10 feet away... "it's a good thing this place has a closing time" i thought...
I witnessed the most ridiculous examples of these bar/drug dealerships in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Austin.
It dawned on me - how many bar flies in my favorite NYC bars were actually hard at work all those hours whilst they pretended to be nursing beers.
Someone could call me an idiot for thinking that we are not surrounded by the seedy underbelly of the drug world at all times. but then i realize, i'd be an idiot to assume we're not.
Of course, after one week back in NYC, a heroin user that was potentially to be in a documentary we're making said to me, "my dope guy is getting real fucking snobby. he doesn't leave his freakin' bar stool between 12 to 4am." We had to walk to a dive bar, which i'll leave unnamed, in alphabet city. i was no longer surprised...
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