The Fort Wayne Country Club vs. The Brass Rail

I had the opportunity of spending time lately at two of Fort Wayne's finest.  As I sat at the finely linened table with silver place setting, plates with silver embellishments along the edge, wine glasses, water glasses, small butter knives, cloth napkins, courteous yet phony servers, over looking a golf course like those on television I also took notice of the people.  The men particularly, as it's mostly men at the country club you know.  What happens to wealthy men?  Why the conformity?  Where does fashion go?  I took note of several of them wearing shorts, Brooks Brothers likely, no socks, with heeled dress shoes.  Leather, kind of high-end looking loafers I guess.  With tassels - leather meaningless designs tethered to the top of the shoe.  Skinny white legs.  With mostly big bellies, 'chub' as my kids would say. 

It all made me think of the Brass Rail, and contrast the two.  The Brass Rail is a bar downtown. I'd classify it as a dirty punk band bar.  A friend recently referred to the people there as 'dirty hipsters'.  They conform just as much as the country club crowd.  No doubt.  The outfits are a bit different.  The tattoo's rampant. Everyone's in close contact, real close, and loving it.  It's dirty mostly.  And loud.  And real. Or maybe it's not real.  Just as phony as the country club.  Maybe.  Just a different clik. There are no men in shorts with tassled dress shoes and Polo shirts at the Rail. But there's probably the occasional nose ring - which is also a meaningless design tethered to ones nose cartilage? Is that how those work?

Anyway...to each his own.  I feel about as 'sorry' for the skinny legged guy in dress shoes with no socks as I do the kid with the nose ring trying to be cool. Fashion is a funny thing.

I'm doing a workout on Memorial Day at CrossFit called Murph.  They're having a cookout, beer, barbeque, the whole deal.  Sounds like fun.  When I asked what Murph was I got the answer and it scared me:  run 1 mile, do 100 Pull-Ups, 200 Push-Ups, 300 Air Squats, then run another mile.  I don't know why, but I live for phsycal challenges like that.  I don't know if I have the guts for the nose ring - but I'm going sockless in a pair of these babies: