Part II of Day 7: Major League Bseball Trip

DATE: Saturday, September 7, 2013. Part II of Day 7.
LOCATION: Jack Doyle's Irish Pub on 235th Street in Manhattan.

After our afternoon visit to Ground Zero and Wall Street we took the subway back to our hotel and went across the street to our favorite hang-out - Jack Doyle's Irish Pub. That evening we watched the Oklahoma - West Virginia football game. The pub was having a party for the West Virginia fans in the area so it was packed with their fans. We met a couple of interesting people - here are their stories.

Brad and I had on Hawkeye caps. One guy came up to us named Jim and said he was from New Jersey and a student at Rutgers University. Jim was a former construction worker but had gone back to school to become an attorney and spend his life defending the unions in America. He had recognized our Hawkeye caps and that is why he wanted to talk to us. He knew a lot about Hawkeye football because one of his high school classmates had played defensive tackle for the Hawks from 2009 to 2011. The players name is Mike Daniels. Mike was not only was in the same school but he was a neighbor also. He said Mike was a nice and friendly guy and always talked to him. Mike is now playing for the Green Bay Packers. Jim said he knew all about the Iowa-Iowa State rivalry and the Hawkeye rivalry with Minnesota. Jim was a fun guy to talk to. Brad wore a Hawkeye cap and shirt on most of the trip which led to several conversations with complete strangers. One guy on Times Square walked by Brad and, "GO HAWKS." All I can say is 'It's great to be a Hawkeye."

There were lots of West Virginia people in the Pub. One lady standing by John was listening to him talk. That's when she  asked John, " Are you from Ireland." John said, "No, I'm from Minnesota. Do you know where Minnesota is." She said, "No, I don't." Then John asked if she knew about the Great Lakes. Minnesota is west of the Great Lakes  She said, "I've heard about the  Great Lakes. I think I've heard of Lake Michigan." Then she said "You're really a long ways from home." John said she finally left when she realized how stupid she was sounding. Later, when John was telling us about this conversation we decided she was a geography major from the University of West Virginia. Sometimes, I just shake my head at the level of ignorance about people from the eastern states.

Then there is John, the psychological warfare expert. He first started talking to Brad and Brad managed to escape and he comes to me. He said he was in the military and taught psychological warfare tactics to soldiers just out of boot camp. He said psychological warfare was learning how to mess with the minds of the enemy - such as playing loud music, using threats, sleep deprivation, etc. By teaching this to the troops he was making America and the world a better place to live.

He claimed to have been in Iraq twice and Afghanistan once. He should have been dead many times due to IEDs, mortars, and rockets but was lucky to get only minor shrapnel wounds. I talked to him for an hour - I should say I mainly listened. Anyway, he told me, "You are really a man of great wisdom." I think he said that because I let him talk and didn't disagree with him.

Then we went outside and talked so he could have a cigarette. He was trying to quit because he said cigarettes were $13.00 a pack in NYC so he had bought one of these electronic cigarettes which he had figured out to cost him only .13 cents each time he smoked it instead of .76 cents for a real cigarette. But he said "I carry real cigarettes just in case." The funny thing is he had two packs of real cigarettes in his pocket and he smoked 2-3 real cigarettes outside.

Then he told me he had a  girlfriend and they had a 4-year-boy.  His famous words to me were, "We really get along great except we fight a lot." He said they got in a fight last week and she left and went back to West Virginia. He said, "I haven't decided if I want her back." So, being the man of wisdom that I am I said, "Do you think she wants to come back to you?" He told me, "I didn't think you'd say something like that."
I said "John, there are two sides to everything and she definitely has her side ." He said, "That is so true and that is why you are such a MAN OF WISDOM."

Then he said he had to go inside to meet some friends.  So he walks by my brother John and says to him, "Your brother has a lot of wisdom. I've been trying to draw as much wisdom out of him as I can."

So the next time any of you readers see me or email me please address me as follows, "The Wise One" or "The Man of Great Wisdom."