Darrel, Glen, Scott, Tadao, Christian, myself, and Michael Mason all met at Christian's house in the morning. Glen drove Darrel's van up from San Diego and we all piled in.
 2350-01Darrel L. Exline, the groom (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 11:22) |
 2350-02Glen Wooten, the best man (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 11:22) |
 2350-03Tadao Tomomatsu (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 11:22) |
 2350-04Scott Beckstead (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 11:22) |
 2350-05Michael Mason (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 11:23) |
 2350-06Chaz Boston Baden (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 11:23) |
 2350-07Allie Johnson baking pies (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 11:23) |
 2350-08Christian B. McGuire (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 11:28) |
 2350-09Stained glass at the Wild Goose. We went first to Wild Goose, down by LAX. We had lunch there. This is a topless bar/restaurant. On stage, each dancer does a two-song set (which is pretty standard in this business) where they take off their top for the second song. They have to stay six feet from the patrons when they're topless, so there's a limit line painted on the stage. They serve drinks (although the bartender that knew what he was doing was out sick, so we ordered simple drinks) and food. One of the dancers (Candace) recognized Michael, from when he used to frequent "Thirsty's" in the Valley and she worked there. We bought Darrel a couple of dances - that is, we paid two of the dancers to gyrate in front of him (in their bikini or whatever cover-up they'd hang out in). We tried to tip well; Christian kept Darrel well supplied with singles so he could tip, and I had a stack of fivers. (I would transfer some fives from my wallet to my shirt pocket, so I could keep track of what I was spending and have easy access to it.) At Wild Goose, the DJ has a computerized music system; if we'd brought music in MP3 form, we probably could have had them use it. (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 12:31) |
 2350-10Century Lounge, aka Nude Nudes. After "Wild Goose" we went to Century Lounge, aka "Live Nude Nudes." Ye gawds, what a mercenary place. They had a really sleazy XXX shop in front, which Darrel (who it turns out is an expert on the subject) says looks like it's owned by Larry Flynt - same color scheme outside, similar merchandise to the other stores. The cover charge was $5, the songs were all cut to the same 2 and half minute length, and the announcer was pushing private dances - $19 topless, $27 nude. I had a "Red Bull" which, let me tell you, is truly vile. It's an "energy drink" which means it has sugar and caffeine in it. Also citric acid. It reminded me of the "Lik'em'sticks" and "Tart 'n' tiny" and similar overly sweet candies that I used to be fond of. When I was in elementary school. Which is a long way behind me now, let me tell you. Only this was in liquid form. Bleah. On the other hand it was no trouble to nurse the drink to last a good long time. (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 13:55) |
 2350-11Oki-Dogs. When we left the Century Lounge, we headed towards Hollywood. We stopped at Oki Dog at 860 S. Fairfax, in West Hollywood I think, where four or five of us had Oki Dogs. Myself, Christian, Darrel, and Tadao; and Michael Mason had one after seeing how much we enjoyed ours. An Oki Dog is two hot dogs, chili, cheese, and pastrami, all wrapped up into a burrito. (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 16:06) |
 2350-12Christian eating his Oki-Dog. It's an ideal food for Christian, who thinks nothing of ordering a "burger dog" (a hamburger with a hot dog on top) but thinks they'd be improved by adding cheese, a fried egg, and maybe more meat. (Saturday 17-Apr-2004 16:11) |
