A few days ago while doing some neck exercises given to me 8 years ago by a physical therapist to help prevent pain from bone spurs in a neck vertebra, instead of stopping at 50 repetitions as I usually do, I continued to 51 by mistake. That triggered the thought that 51 is 3 x 17 which made me think of playing darts where landing a dart in the triple 17 ring is desirable.
I started playing darts around 1985 or so. At the time, I was working at GE Information Systems in Rockville, MD at the time and commuting there from Northern VA. At GE I became friends with a Brit named Dave there who organized weekly lunch outings to area ethnic restaurants. Those outings were a welcome distraction from the repressed corporate atmosphere at GE. Dave left GE about a year after I met him and he started working at Sprint International in Northern VA. Few recognize the name Sprint International. It's what was left of Telenet which used to run one of the largest packet switched networks in the world.
Since Dave lived in MD and was commuting to Northern VA, we had commutes which were close to the opposites of one another. He and I missed chatting and we figured out that McLean would be roughly halfway if we wanted to meet for a beer after work. He found a great little place called McKeever's Pub which had a great atmosphere as well as featuring a couple dart boards and we began meeting once a week there.
Dave was quite skilled at darts. With practice I became a mediocre player but only for about an hour or so when the beer I consumed balanced out the residual caffeine from my workday which tended to leave me too jittery to have much accuracy. At some point, my skills started waning as the caffeine lost the battle and I relaxed too much. We usually played either Cricket or 301. Despite not being very good, I enjoyed playing darts unless forced to play against someone who was too competitive.
The strange train of thought which began with my 51st repetition next had me wondering what happened to the owners of McKeever's Pub. I had heard a rumor that it it had closed about 10 years ago which made me a little sad but still nostalgic for the many evenings spent there chatting with friends and trying not to embarrass myself at darts. It turns out the rumor of the pub closing was true and I discovered that one of the patrons had loved the place so much that he bought up the furnishings and recreated it in his basement. Those of us who enjoyed the McKeever's Pub's welcoming atmosphere and excellent food (I still miss their bacon cheeseburger and home fries) can understand the impulse to keep it alive. Then I discovered that the owners had opened a vineyard and restaurant on their farm in Leesburg, VA. It's called EagleTree Restaurant and Winery and judging by the menus I looked at, it sounds amazing. I think a visit may be in order at some point.
I hope everyone finds a happy place to meet friends to unwind after work. I've had a few since McKeever's including Old Dominion Brewpub, Dogfish Head Alehouse, and Leesburg Public House. Discussions outside of the office tend to let you find interests you may have in common and can make work friendships closer.
