Yesterday afternoon, after tiring of watching to AJ mope around the house and listening to him moan about how I never let his friends come over (I felt that having hosted 5 of his friends yesterday afternoon, I should be off the hook today), we decided to take AJ to a basketball game at , which, perhaps coincidentally, is also the alma mater of another funny bald man.

But I digress (what else is new?). The game featured a few good plays (Midcourt shot!), a few bad calls (How could the ref miss the guy holding onto another�s ankle so hard that he was dragged down the court as the guy he was holding tried to run with the ball? Even I know that�s not legal.), and some appalling errors (I can�t even speak of it), the good guys won and we decided to go out to dinner to celebrate.

At my request, we headed for my most favorite drinking hole in the greater Chicago area, Meier�s Tavern in Glenview. Depending on who you talk to, Meier�s has been around since the 1920s or 1930s (Their menu says it was �established in 1938,� but the disturbing quotes around the date of establishment, which are also on the menu, make me question whether it was in fact established at that time or perhaps was founded at another time. Or perhaps it means that the whole place is an illusion and it was never established at all. Which, after you�ve tied a few on, might seem entirely plausible. In any case, it is apparently too vintage to have a website).

Meier�s isn�t fancy. The main room features a huge swath of bar and lots of small tables covered in green and white checked vinyl tablecloths. The walls and ceiling are covered in beer memorabilia, some of which looks as if it might have been there since the place opened. The top of the wood-paneled walls features a painted mural, but dim light and years of smoke have left its subject a little murky.

Unlike most bars in suburbia, this is a family joint in the way that the pubs I hung out in while in Ireland were for families � designed for adults, but welcoming all. Last night�s clientele at Meier�s was typical: a few lifers at the bar, nursing their Old Styles (which, to our infinite amusement, we geeky music students like to refer to as Stile Antico) and shouting at the Colts/Chiefs game (they were hushed by the waitresses when their banter got too R-rated); a dad sharing a cheeseburger with his soccer-uniformed son, two more dads and their sons eating an absurdly large amount of food, an elderly couple holding hands across a table. The latter were soon joined by an even older couple. They all ordered beer and toasted each other.

The food isn�t fancy, but it�s good and cheap. Plus all sandwiches are served with Tater Tots. AJ had a hot dog which, to his great fascination, arrived attached to its bun with a pair of plastic toothpicks. AJ attempted to pick his teeth, stab holes in the table and stage a mock sword fight before the toothpicks were removed from his grasp in order that he might commence eating. My husband had his usual � a cheesburger, perfectly grilled. I had my usual � grilled cheese (American on white bread � it�s the only way they make it).

On our way out, we stopped to pay at the counter and spotted an article framed in a place of honor next to the door � it was an article my husband had written about Meier�s a number of years ago for a national magazine. I picked up AJ so he could find his name (he and Mr. Spy share the same name). �Did you really write this Daddy?�

The only drawback to Meier�s is that it is not very close to our house. Being cooped up together in a car gets to us all � we are all three solitary by nature. So we retreated to our separate corners when we got home � AJ to bed, my husband downstairs with the Bulls and the New York Review of Books, and me upstairs with my laptop and MASH on TVLand. I watched the movie last night. Although I�ve seen all the TV episodes repeatedly, I�d never seen the film. I really liked it, although I found the commercials distracting in the extreme. If the commercials describe the perceived audience of a channel, then apparently TVLand thinks its target audience is fat (Nutrisystem), broke (innumerable loan companies and bill consolidation firms) and incontinent (Depends, assorted drugs to control an overactive bladder). A little depressing.

[There�s a new post up at AJ�s Clubhouse. I really need to find a better name for that site.]

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