Last evening the St. Stanislaus Kostka Holy Rosary Society gathered at the Southside Social and Athletic Club and discreetly said grace before tucking into heaps of wings, hot, medium, mild, teriyaki and Italian.
While I had been upstairs at Southside, I had never been in the inner sanctum, usually the province of men. On Friday nights Southside opens up its sanctuary to the public for Wing Nite. The room reminded me very much of the Our Lady of Vilnius basement. There was no disco ball or vintage Christmas lights, but a big American flag hung on the side wall and a bar dominated another. A row of cushy booths upholstered in red vinyl sat in the center of the room and a pool table waited in a far corner.
We got there early, but soon the saints came marching in. Familiar faces paraded past, our fire and policemen in civvies. Hastings natives held court, receiving hugs and kisses from longtime friends and neighbors not seen over the harsh winter.
The Hastings Spring Crawl was in progress, so soon some other saints crawled in for the six piece wing and soda combo offered by Southside. The Crawl is an event where you purchase a "Boarding Pass" and stroll around the village for a nosh at participating bars and restaurants, pretty much all of them.
After a hard work week I sat opposite professor Julie slugging a second Heinekens among all this goodness at the intersection of everything.
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