Saturday night at The Dub

It’s getting close to closing time at The Dubliner, a dark-wood panelled bar with emerald-green interior walls. A flock of animals enters the bar … well, 20-somethings dressed as a variety of creatures ranging from an eagle to a giraffe and/or cow.

“I'm so bummed I forgot my alligator costume."

My friend Matt chats up a girl in a penguin costume and finds out she and her friends are doing this as their own, unusual way to celebrate Mardi Gras.
“What would possess a girl to walk into a bar dressed as a penguin?” I ask.
“Well, she got my attention,” Matt says.

The bartender, a pretty girl with a booming, throaty voice saunters over and asks us what we think of the barnyard dance going on around us. (Two more penguins have started slow-dancing on the stage that is usually reserved for karaoke and open mic).

“I'm so bummed I forgot my alligator costume,” Matt says.

“Yeah, then maybe you could’ve gotten Zebra girl over there,” says our bartender, gesturing to the stripey girl who is shimmying to the beat of a nameless song.

“Only if she gets too close to the water,” Matt replies.

The eagle, who appears to be the leader of the pack, has just bought $80 worth of shots. The bartender pours a dark, purple liquid into ten, tiny gleaming glasses. Her friends help cart the shots over to their table because even a predator can’t carry ten glasses in two hands. They whoop and holler and I can’t understand what they’re toasting.

I take a gulp of my own beer. Here’s to Fat Tuesday.