Day 9 stats -- Dacey's Tavern by Sophia

Day 10 Location: Big Fish Bistro
3535 U.S. Route 1 South, Princeton, NJ 08540 -- 609-919-1179


Day 9 Stats by Sophia, Dacey's Tavern, Morrisville, PA:

It was great to be back at my old stomping ground with my sisters, brothers-in-law, old friends, and especially fellow TDDoCers. I tried to get there early enough so that I could place a “WHYYYY?” call but even at 5 PM Ugi had beaten me to it. I had beaten Scugi there, but that wasn't good enough. So I had to sit and wait to see who else would make it across the river. I was glad to see so many brave the mighty waters and accomplish the feat. George Washington would be proud.



Michael's hasn't changed much over the years except that now it's called Dacey's and the menu is more limited, but it still can host a good time to anyone who wants one. Pat was happy to serve up drinks early on but was sure to remind us that our waitress would be in "soon" so that we could order some food too. They don't mess around here it seems with mixing the two up. Although they weren’t chasing us down to pay the bills, either. And they still have great wings at Dacey's. It's one of the things they promised to keep when it went from Michael's to an Irish pub and somehow those guys have managed it well. I saw a lot of them around but I didn’t get to sample any. I guess I’ll have to get back there sometime soon. After the 12 days and a little rest though.

Some of the slacker PA folks made it out (Bill (Billy Bob?), Dorian, Donna,…) but some were still noticeably absent (Howard Jones, Falvo, CPL,… ). Keeping track seems like a big job and one that I am happy to have left to others so far. Do you have to write down all of the names as soon as you get home? I would have to do it at the bar, which I didn't. Cole has his second missed point. Should we send out the cavalry?

My brother-in-law was pleasantly (!) surprised at all of the people who showed up for "a quiet dinner with my two sisters-in law". Ha! Felicia and I discovered that we knew about 20 or 50 people from about 35 years ago when we were both in school in Morrisville one year apart. Then found out she's friends with Helen, my sister-in-law-in-law (is that real?) who came out for her first point. Pap was there, but I didn't even recognize him, then Jocko showed up to cap the whole thing off. If you don’t recognize these people that’s probably a good sign.

Rebecca and Lynn showed up early and left quickly with an excuse about Mahjong, but I heard them whispering about the dive they found themselves in, and dark back-streets, and I’m not sure what to believe now. My bribe at Jo- Jo's seems to have helped, but not to actually keep them in the place once they saw where they were. It was great to see Niel and Pat for their first point of the season. Michelle promised to make it out for her second point if we hit Morrisville but wasn't actually spotted by anyone. I think she's still alive and drinking; we're just not sure where. Reese however is continuing her streak and was right there with us, but I didn’t notice any fancy martinis coming around. A slow night for Reese. For Russ too– thermal vac at Christmas! Sheesh. Don’t they know we need our points!

I saved up my drinking-and-staying-up-late for tonight but I guess I was one of the few. Maybe my 1.5-mile drive home had something to do with my ease. Or the stumble-to-sister's-house-if-you-can't-make-the-1.5-mile-drive was working on me too. Either way I was still raring to go when the place started to empty out. Maybe I had reverted to the "old days" when I could stay out until 2 or 3 AM and still function well enough the next day. But I am kidding myself. My ears are ringing and I will have a headache at some point. I am lucky that I don't have to work tomorrow. Just lots of baking. But isn’t the sugar good for what ails you – whatever that is? That’s my story and I think I’ll stick to it tomorrow.

It was really great to see everyone who came out to the “ramrodded” (is that a word?) Dacey’s. The families – Emans, Gmans, and Chorbas; the secret committee members (you know who you are – and I don’t since there isn’t one, so you won’t be named here); the rookies (Kevin, me?); old timers (you know who you are too); stragglers, and the unsuspecting masses or family members who might not be inviting me back for Sunday night dinners any time soon! But true happiness was mine for the night. Even though I didn’t see Mike the Homicidal Maniac, so he won’t be getting his point. But don’t tell him – he gets a little crazy when he doesn’t get his daily point and will want to shake your hand with his lizard-oil one so that you too will have to trek off to the bathroom with a chaperone in tow to scrub the top 5 layers of skin off.

I leave you with 7 Things you didn't know about alcohol:

1. The family of compounds known as alcohols are all toxins that can kill you, whether instantly, quickly, or gradually. But you'll have a good time at it, or you won't remember anyway.
2. According to the Drunken Monkey Hypothesis, our zest for alcoholic beverages derives from our distant ancestors' impulse to seek the ripest, most energy-intensive fruits. (not s3x?!)
3. Seriously, officer! Japanese doctors have observed patients with "auto-brewery syndrome", in which high levels of candida yeast in the intestines churn out so much alcohol that they can cause drunkenness.
4. No digestion required. Ethanol is such a small, simple molecule that it pours directly out of the stomach and small intestine into the bloodstream.
5. Until 1916 whiskey and brandy were listed as scientifically approved medicines in the United States Pharmacopeia.
6. Methanol, a distillation of wood pulp, can destroy the optic nerves. "Blind drunk" was Prohibition-era slang for damage caused by drinking grain alcohol that had been cut with methanol by unscrupulous bootleggers.
7. Resolution for 2012: Don't stare at the cork. The CO2 in champagne bottles creates 90 lbs of psi, 3x the pressure in auto tires. Flying corks can cause retinal detachment, double vision, and blindness.

Happy New Year! Or at least “Happy Day 9”.