2003-05-31 - 11:41 a.m.
April 5th
It was all made almost worth it by the beautiful drive north along the Ohio River to Cincinnati. We passed through sleepy old river towns with names like Hanging Rock, Happy Hollow, Friendship and Utopia. Huge barges filled coal headed up and down river. Trains filled with coal headed in both directions alongside the river. I broke into “Paradise” by John Prine….”I’m sorry my son, you’re too late in asking, Mr. Peabody’s coal train has hauled it away.”
Even as close to Cincy as 10 miles, rolling hills and peaceful countryside predominate the landscape. All of that changed as we crossed the bridge and got into the neighborhood of the club. Crack city baby! This is the area where there were riots 6 months ago. Two white police officers shot an unarmed black teenager. The neighborhood was set to flames and ironically, the police stood by and watched. It seems they never bothered to rebuild the area and it remains a burned out shell of it’s former self. It looked like Berlin circa 1945 except with a lot of dangerous looking crack heads milling about with eyes like saucers.
The Barrel House Brewing Co. was a brewpub like any number of other brewpubs. There was nothing terribly remarkable about it. Since I gave up drinking beer, I can’t even attest to the brew masters skill. Some folks made the trip out from New Jersey. It was good to see Silent Mark and Gayle.
After the show Andy, Todd and I decide to head to Wheeling, W.V. and get a head start at getting home. Andy takes the first shift and I doze off listening to the war on the radio. I take over in Columbus and race the dawn to Wheeling.
