Bruno 78's trip

[wortchillergoal]

I just got home after having beers with Bruno on his Syr. stop of his trip. A nice guy who had words of high praise for all the bb members he met in Chicago recently.

He had a couple of nice stops in Roch. I took him to Middle Ages Brewey and The Blue Tusk here in Syr. He was going to try to make Utica tonight and see the FX Matts/Saranac Brewery tomorrow morning before continuing east.

[DreamWeaver]

You turnt him loose? Poor *guy* is prolly drinking beers he's never heard of in a place he's never heard of with people he don't know. Hahahaha. I'm Green w/envy! Sounds like a great trip!

Syracuse Huh? I gotta Truckers story to tell ya 'bout Syr, NY... Most trucker stories end up with " That ain't no $h1T!. But this one is true.

About 20+ years ago I was hauling a load of freight (semi) to the Chrysler plant in Syr and was late due to snow. I had to wait till the next day to unload, so having time on my hands, I went for a cab that night & asked to be dropped at a bar. The driver took me to a bar near the campus and said "Here ya go." I walked down to a bar (I don't recall the name of the bar) & I went in and ordered a beer. The bar-keep told me he could not serve me because I did'nt belong (maybe it was a private club?) and told me if I was smart, I'd leave. I then looked around the darkly lit place and realized I was the only white guy in the place. The music playing was great blues and I mentioned I loved blues but the bartender still advised I leave. I asked for some beer to go & he said "NO." So I got up and walked out. In a minute or two, I heard a voice yelling at me as I was walking down the street, in a bad snowstorm, and as I turned around, an older black gentleman was outside following me. He was the old man that sitting next to me in the bar. He handed me a bag and said "Here, I'm sorry" and walked back towards the bar. It was a six pack of Bud.
I don't remember the name of the place. It was a long walk back to my truck.

Know where I'm talking about? It don't matter.

I don't know why I had to tell this story... Just that when I think of Syr, NY I always remember this event. ;)

[BluesHarp]

...that old man had probably experienced that exact thing more times in his life than he cared to remember and understood that wrong is wrong...

The question is - did you ever get your hands on that $#%$^$%&* of a cabbie? :mad: ...cool story actually.

[wortchillergoal]

I find your story interesting but it brings up a few questions.

Was the cabbie white or black?

Which Campus? It could be one of three college campus or do you mean chrylser campus? It would be a 10 to 15 mile hike from the closest college campus. There were plenty of bars much closer than that. Also, the plant is located in a heavily white side of the county and in that time frame maybe all white.

Did he say which campus if it was a college?

Your story has me thinking as you can see. That cabbie did you no favor and it sounds like he drove you as far as he could to run up the fare. I would also guess he knew you would not be safe in a bar in the area he dropped you.

Glad you came out alive to be here on this board with us 20 years later.

[DreamWeaver]

Originally posted by BluesHarp
...that old man had probably experienced that exact thing more times in his life than he cared to remember and understood that wrong is wrong...

The question is - did you ever get your hands on that $#%$^$%&* of a cabbie? :mad: ...cool story actually.

BluesHarp,
No doubt you are right about the old man. As I remember, I asked the cab driver to stop at the first bar so it was my doing. I knew nothing about SYR.

WCG,
The driver was an older white guy. I'm not sure where I was but actually the driver suggested the bar near what he said was near a campus and I remember a bunch of young kids acting kinda crazy, near a McDonalds or Burger King inside of what looked like a dorm building and this bar was less than a block away. So I opted to walk to the other bar. I don't know what part of town but it was only 2-3 mile walk back to my truck. The 6'er barely made it, so it was a 5 can walk in a 2 foot snowstorm! I never felt threatened or was worried, I was maybe to dumb to realize any possible trouble & just glad to be out of the truck after a long trip seeking a beer. I've been back to Syr plenty of times but never got a chance to look around much. Load/unload & go. I tried to be a Truckin Tourist everywhere I went but that did'nt work too often.