Open All Night

I've always been a nightowl. Back in the days we were walking the creaking floors of the old middle building my Friday and Saturday nights would find me awake until 3 A.M. or so, then sleeping in until 11-12 O'Clock.
(And that sleep schedule made Monday mornings mighty difficult.)
But thinkin' about those days dredged a couple stories up from 'way back in the grey matter-

The Greybeard garage was a place to congregate.
A great tool inventory, plenty of available light, Jacks/jackstands, a lift for pulling engines, and a radio for top 40, news, weather, and sports.
Near perfection.
It was perfectly normal to find several teen-aged boys changing a clutch/pressure plate/throwout bearing at 1 A.M. Saturday morning at Greybeard's folk's place. We'd listen to Rock-n-Roll on WIBC until midnight, then when "Dawnbeat" came on we'd try switching over to WLS out of Chicago so we didn't have to listen to the elevator music Dawnbeat offered. Sometimes Dick Biondi would be on WLS... (Remember "Greasy Kid Stuff"?)

Fond memories...
And part of the reason they are fond memories is because IF, in the middle of our mechanic-ing efforts we broke something or found something worn out that we didn't expect, we knew we could call "Hi-Way Parts" and check to see if they had what we needed. Hi-Way Parts was "Open All Night"!
I wish I had a nickel for every muffler and tailpipe I've changed in the wee hours using parts procured from Hi-Way parts...
I could now buy a fine cuppa Joe!

When the wrench-twisting was done and our stomachs were growling, we'd head to the newly opened "White Castle" on Madison Avenue...
Open All Night...
What an interesting place to be at 3 A.M.! It's understatement to say the clientele there at that hour was "diverse".
I can remember standing in line with TPO one morning when he informed me the reason White Castle's burgers were so cheap was because they were made from "lame cows". White Castle got 'em for bottom dollar 'cause no one else wanted 'em!
At the cash register, the name-tag on the gal said "Betty", and beneath that it said "Manager".
From that point on, any time we saw her we referred to her as "Betty Manager". Betty Manager tolerated us with a big smile.

It may have been that same morning that a VERY drunk, mid-twenties black man in front of me started singing...
"La di dah di di... La di dah di die." (Sonny's part from Sonny and Cher's "The Beat Goes On".)
He turned to me and with a mostly-toothy grin and said, "I wrote that!"
"You wrote what?"
"That part of that song. They couldn't figure out what to put in there, so they called me. I told them what to put in there."

So now you can imagine what I think of every time I hear Sonny singing on the radio:
"La di dah di di... La di dah di die"... even these fifty or so years later.

Now...
Echo is knee deep in a Real Estate deal.
Cissy is thinking about going postal at her new/old job.
Rita is overworked and she and Bob need a trip to Alabama.
HF is thinkin' about catching fish.
GB and Sara Jean are headed to L.A. to visit Big Bubba this weekend.
Many of us are looking forward to fine fellowship and an adult beverage while overlooking lovely Lake Eufaula.
It's Friday Forum time.
Tell us...
What's upcoming on your agenda?