Eudemon looks forward to a Milwaukee Friday night and the old Catholic tradition of a fish fry. There are so many places to go and so many folks out on the town. Eudemon’s group of diners includes neighbors and workplace friends. They travel the city to experience the tastes and moods of the different neighborhoods. This Friday it is a short trip over to Boobie’s Place — 502 W. Garfield. Boobie’s is just west of MLK Drive on Garfield. The large windows of the bar/restaurant look out onto the unusual cityscape of Halyard Park. This is a quiet neighborhood of ranch style homes built in the late twentieth century, not the nineteenth or early twentieth like most of the central city. Boobie’s is a friendly place with an active bar with patrons involved in lively banter. The sound system immerses the crowd in African American love ballads. The bar regulars give a glance to the newcomers and then return to their conversations. The group of friends picks a table and menus come quickly. There are five friends out tonight and they are a mixed group, some young, some old, some black, some white. Everyone orders a nice looking salad and fish, catfish or perch, except Eudemon, who orders pork chops, which are particularly tasty at Boobie’s Place. All the servings are ample and all seem happy with their choice. She asks, ” Would you bring your wife here?” He says, “She’s out of town today but she was here the last time we came.” He tells Eudemon, “I’ve got video of you in Spain.” Eudemon laughs. He would like to go to Spain. Maybe sit on the nude beach. “Gotta get rid of my beer belly first.” He explains to her the origin of the “kakodaimon.” “He is the etymological source of the guy who sits on your shoulder and whispers in your ear, ‘be naughty,’ while the good spirit sits on the other and urges you to be good.” “Ah, the ‘urquell’ of conscience,” says Eudemon as he orders a Pilsner. And so it goes. The Friday tradition met, the group moves on and splits up. Two head over to The Commons on E. Locust to meet some friends, Eudemon joins the other two at the new bar on Center and Pierce Streets, The Riverhorse. The new owners have done a nice turn on the decor and the place has a good feeling. DJs spin records and the music level doesn’t stop conversation. If it gets too loud, you can always head to the back room to share your thoughts. The conversation this night turns on race and religion, topics sure to generate interest among these three at their little round table. He says ” When I was a boy”…blah blah blah. She says “At my (all black) church they said you shouldn’t date a white boy,” and she says, “And I asked them, ‘But what if I fell in love with a white boy?'” Riverwest Currents – Volume 2 – Issue 2 – February 2003