Hey, how ya doing? What can I get ya? Hmm, I don’t make too many of those but I’ll see what I can do.

              Here ya are. Don’t worry about it. Bob bought the house drinks tonight. Who’s Bob? He’s over there. Nah, that’s Gus, Bob’s the one in the corner, the handsome guy in the suit. Hey don’t look at me that way. If a man’s handsome, I’m comfortable enough to say so. I hope I look that good when I’m fifty. Hell, I wish I looked that good now.

              Yeah, that’s him. Good old Robert Singleton. How can he afford the drinks? He’s well off, hell, better than well-off. Ya know the house on main and first. That’s for the weekends.

              Ha ha, he’s a hell of a guy that Bob. Got a nice family too. Beautiful wife, I mean, beautiful. Used to be an amateur model, almost went pro but decided to stay home with the kids.  Their kids, oh man, their kids are unbelievable. His boy, this kid’s got a jump shot that can reduce a man to tears. You might of read about him in the paper. Schools from all over the country want him. Smart, too, but not like the girl. She’s a cutie, gonna be beautiful just like her mom. You know she’s the Valedictorian of that private school, the one outside of town. That expensive one but guess what? Girl got a scholarship and let it go to someone else. What a sweetheart.

              What’s he do? That’s the best part, he’s an entrepreneur. Everything he touches turns to gold. Got a chain of restaurants in Chicago, a small software company in Oakland, and he even wrote a movie. It’s in the works, be seeing it in two years. Probably win an Oscar.

              You know what the crazy thing is? He grew up right here, right on these streets. You read his book? It’s in the university’s library, you know Randall. No? Well I’ll give ya the short version. Born to a single mother who worked two jobs. The fifth of eight kids, none of them shared daddies. Couldn’t read right till he was skipped up to high school. A teacher of his says he’s going to amount to nothing and he better drop out. You know what Bob does? Gets mad, graduates, gets a degree, works in a bank, climbs, quits, uses the money saved to start his first restaurant, meets his wife while in a sailboat race, and there he is.

              Oh watch this. Ha ha, poor girl. Didn’t even give her the time of day. That’s Bob committed and honest. Generous too. Buys drinks for the night every week when he comes in here. He and his wife started a few non-profits, out of pocket.

              Well, that’s Bob. Hope I didn’t bore ya. What? Why does he drink alone? Well to tell ya the truth, I don’t know. Truth is, he doesn’t drink much, just stares into his glass.