A friendly conversation in an unlikely place
By VENESSA OSTERGAARD
DCN Correspondent
Its 8:30 on a Tuesday night at the Twins bar in the Central Hillside. There are five or so groups of people indulging in conversations over beers and popcorn. The place smells like a moldy pool. There is only one girl in the entire bar besides myself. There are pull-tabs in the corner. An old man, in his sixties, runs the operation.
Taking a seat at the bar, I glance around at all the empty tables and dart boards. Typical for an early weekday night I guess.
The bartender was 30 or so and wearing a Mario T-shirt.
“What can I get you?� he asks. “I recommend the 89 cent beers until ten.� He says this with his hundred-watt smile shining down on me.
Two other guys work behind the bar. Both seem young enough to be freshly legal. I estimate college age, working for rent money.
A scruffy looking woman wearing a large coat with a hat, scarf and mittens enters through the door. She makes her way toward the bar and takes a seat.
“Can I get you something?� asks the bartender who is sporting the Mario T-shirt.
She replies with “No, I am just waiting for the bus.�
A middle-aged man buys some pull-tabs. He must have spent a hundred dollars on them throughout the evening. He sits down beside me with a tin of Copenhagen, a spit cup, two beers and his pull-tabs strewn out on the surface of the bar.
His name is Mike Herald. He lives in Duluth, in the Woodland neighborhood. He tells me about his family. He’s not married and has no kids of his own, but he has a niece that attends to Central High School. He talks about her, Jenna, so much that I think he is actually her father.
Mike has just been laid off. He is a laborer at a construction company. “It’s not a big deal or anything…it's just seasonal work.� So the best thing for him to do is hang out at Twins.
He comes here often, more now.
“Why wouldn’t I want to come here? Look around. There are Christmas decorations and a tree, and the bartenders are great and go talk to the people. Like Ken over there, he’s a good guy.�
Ken is the pull-tab guy. He has worked at Twins for a few years now; his wife works pull-tabs at the Blue Crab in West Duluth.
“Those are the kind of things that make this bar so great, the people and their stories,� says Mike.
We talk about school, basketball, why we are there and music. According to Mike, Boom Town is the best song out there. The meaning is what gets him. Everyone has their problems, but they make them better people. It’s good for them.
He uses this to shift topics to his uncle. He was sober for 12 years, but recently fell off the wagon. He now drinks out of the vodka bottle and smokes four packs a day.
He seems upset or embarrassed for telling a complete stranger this story.
At this point he orders himself a shot and tells the young bartender to call him a cab. Mike stands up to leave, but pauses with a smile.
“And that, is a lesson in responsibility…�