Hoohoodilly

I received an e-mail from an old Navy buddy, Geno, today. As with most things, it sparked a memory that I deem blogworthy.

Geno is a character. He looks like a cross between the bald bouncer on the Jerry Springer show and the monster in Goonies. Add to that gangster-style clothes, an ability to chug countless pints of beer, and a penchant for running around in his boxers in public and there's really no way you can't love him.

We met a few years back on a project at the Red Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. There were about 20 of us Navy folks working to put in the water and sewer lines for new homes at the reservation. We worked long hours and lived in a local hotel in the megalopolis of Bemidji. Lucky for us there was a bar at the hotel where we would congregate every night for bar food and beer.

Thing is, the women are a little different in a small northern Minnesota town. Not to say better or worse, just different - and not aware of the ways of the west. Of course, that didn't stop Geno from his usual antics and within a couple of weeks he had swapped at least spit with the entire female gene pool of Bemidji, excluding women missing more than three teeth and one holdout. The omnipresent cute bartender. I can't even remember her name anymore, I only remember the four words she uttered one night in the bar...

That night Geno was in fine form. He had just dropped his pants and was sauntering around the pool table in his boxer shorts, trying to impress said bartender. We patrons were experiencing one of those rare moments of silence in the bar during which jukebox muted itself to change selections, the billiard balls stood still as the players chalked their cues, the chatter was hushed as imbibers chugged, and life progressed in a muted fashion. Geno was seen heading for the bar, presumably for another beer when suddenly, the stunned and shrill voice of the bartender broke the silence and exclaimed "I saw Geno's Hoohoodilly!"

She must have liked the hoohoodilly as she eventually fell prey to the charms of Geno and he added another Bemidji notch to his belt.