Day 54 of 100

“I’m not sure this is a good thing.”

When my drug addiction really was at its hight I was living in Denver, Colorado. We spent a lot of time in the bars and clubs downtown and in LoDo and in an apartment complex that seemed to house all the partiers in town.

There was one club that I frequented quite a bit where the entrance hid a flight of stairs that opened into the main bar area. There were tables around the back, and we spent many a night at those tables. At this point, my experience with table service had grown, and I tended to have the same drink and (Grey Goose Orange) cocktail server every time. I must have spent quite a bit of money in that club.

One night we were partying heavily and we decided to go to LoDo but not go to a club. Maybe grab some dinner and drinks and head back to the apartment complex. To be honest all those days tended to be the same, so it’s hard to know exactly what we were doing, but I do know it had to have been the fall because I was wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and some shoes, which if anyone knows me knows that is a rare occurrence.

We walked by the club, and as usual the line was long, maybe a hundred people. All dressed up to impress and most looking forward to a great night of music and drinking.

At the front of the line was Marcus Camby, who at the time was playing for the Denver Nuggets, and he was there with some friends. As we walked by it became evident that he was trying to talk his way in, and all the doorman kept saying was “Marcus, I’m sorry, but we are full.”

I walked over to say hi to the doorman (I want to say his name was Jeff), and as soon as he saw me with my friends said “Hi Micah! We are just cleaning off your table, and you can come right in.” Now we had no intention of going in the club, nor had I reserved a table. I sheepishly looked at the seven foot tall angry Marcus Camby, shrugged, and walked down the stairs.

For years I loved that story. It felt like I was important. But the truth was that I was a good customer who didn’t cause much trouble and spent good money. I wasn’t special, I was just good business.