Hey Free Rangers,
Weird week. And not that good Hunter Thompson kind of weird. It takes a lot for me to call the cops on someone. Officers have better things to do, and it’s *very* rarely that I believe a couple of guys with guns are what is actually required to best resolve a situation (though their live body cams are certainly an improvement). And having long criticized the NYPD (and American law enforcement as a whole) due in part to the NYPD taking the lion’s share of the NYC budget every year, while still billing profound amounts of overtime above that, and then making we taxpayers foot the bill again when they have to cough up millions in settlement fees, often for violence against unarmed protesters resulting in major injury and death. But credit where credit is due. This is the first time in our 11+ years on Atlantic Ave when we contacted the NYPD, and they showed up, and resolved the situation (without violence to anyone and/or insult to us), and we thank the officers involved. Granted the bar had been set fairly low by a number of their colleagues over the previous decade. This ridiculous story is too long (and uneventful) to fully recount here, but the short version is that a young man who had been standing out on the Ave over a City Bike lying on the edge of the curb into the street, taking a phone call, had at some point picked it up and parked it under the middle front window of our shop, and now seemed to be mimicking a seizure and/or other impairment into the corner of that window. Upon closer inspection, he may have been recording a video or on a FaceTime, and was likely not in actual distress. Some time later when he decided to drape an arm over our chalkboard and lean into it, I politely asked him not to do that as I had just put it back together, and it’s not structurally sound to hold any real weight. Over this, he wanted to step unreasonably close and talk very softly about his feelings on the matter. I politely declined, and asked him if he was planning to shop here, he said no, and I closed the door, holding it shut when he went for it again.
It became slowly more absurd from there, and eventually he was pressing his face up against the glass of the front door, recording with his phone, and blocking and/or harassing customers, and the occasional random passer by. He was asked several times to leave (which was recorded) and that he wasn’t welcome to mess with the door or our customers, to which he replied evenly, “Yes, I understand,” though he continued to stand in the doorway and I had to escort customers in and out around him, drawing his attention from them and opening the door slowly enough that he couldn’t claim it hit him. He was now speaking in a completely different voice than he had been when I asked him to please not crush our sad old chalkboard. So, he flipped us a few fingers, kicked a potted tree, and spat on a window. He would put on a third voice for the cops, and would tell them that he had been denied entry to the shop due to discrimination. Soon after the scene dissipated, just in time to close the shop for the night. If I could make all this shit up, I’d be a better writer. Regardless, our team was cucumber salad on the other side of the pillow cool, and usual business continued inside. Also, sincere apologies to any of you who walked in, through, or by that scene. Well, this gig is never boring, and I suppose that was one of the primary goals. So, who needs a drink?
On a brighter note, this week’s in-store tasting and online sale feature the delightful methode champenoise bubbles of Ridgeview, hailing from Sussex, England. While I have yet to taste one, I have heard tale of convincing Pinot Noir being grown in this region as well, and I eagerly await the excuse to go explore that notion (and region) myself. It would be nice to witness one of the very few positive impacts of the crushing global climate change currently underway. But for now, we can confirm that the best British bubbles compete swimmingly with their French counterparts, per dollar (Pound, Euro) spent. Our old pal, Roy, will be here in the shop tomorrow, Thursday, May 30th (5-7pm) pouring you FREE tastes of Ridgeview Bloomsbury, Ridgeview Fitzrovia Rosé, and Ridgeview Blanc de Noirs 2014.
Both in-store on tasting day AND all week ONLINE ONLY, enjoy 10% off all Ridgeview bottles, or 20% off 6+ bottles (mix & match). The tasting is tomorrow. The sale page is below! Apologies that the Blanc de Noirs is showing only 1 bottle available, more just arrived, and will be updated online shortly!
(!) Click here for Ridgeview Sale page (!)
Cheers,
Jack
Proprietor
Free Range Wine & Spirits
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