Today was a good day.

Played darts at Alley Cats. Threw my first 180 in the Philippines.

For those who don’t know, a ton-80 looks like this (three triple 20s) and is the highest possible score in the ’01 game

In recognition of this rare event for pub league players, the bar gave me a coupon for a free drink. Just what I needed, more beer. Right?

More importantly, me and my partner managed to go through the winner’s bracket undefeated and take 1st place money for our efforts.

Ain’t she sweet? I mean, isn’t she a good looking dart player….er, we played well with each other. Ah, fuck…never mind!

Now, I ain’t saying that throwing a ton-80 and winning a tourney is enough to make you a celebrity in this town, but…

Just sayin’….

Anyway, it was a great afternoon of competitive darts with a good group who placed a premium on keeping it fun. It was!

Here’s a funny story that illustrates just what a small town Barrio Barretto truly is.

That’s my friend John and his girlfriend Mango. We got together for awhile on Friday evening at the SOB dance contest.

During the course of the conversation, Mango mentioned she had a friend I should meet. Apparently, this gal is somewhere around 26 years old and works at a local gift shop. I knew the gift shop because I had stopped in there back in January to by some sunglasses for Gem. Anyway, to counter my protestations that she was a bit young for me (which in retrospect was probably rude, Mango is 21, John is 66), Mango noted that this gal usually dates men younger than her and is continually disappointed. In part because they don’t have a pot to piss in. Mango said her friend had mentioned wanting to find an older guy who could support her financially like John does her (basically a small allowance). Mango also told me that her friend was half Filipina, half American, but that she looks American.

Well, I was non-committal. I mean, I’m thinking the best way to meet a “good” someone would be through an introduction by mutual friends. But, I didn’t really retire to the Philippines to hook up with an American looking woman less than half my age. Anyway, the conversation moved on and that was that. Or so I thought.

As I mentioned above, I played darts today from 2 p.m. until nearly 6. And it should come as no surprise that I consumed a fair amount of beer during the course of the afternoon. With darts finished, I noted that my fitbit indicated I was still well shy of my 20,000 step goal. So I took a long and roundabout route back home. And wouldn’t you know, I came upon the gift shop where this young woman works. Did I mention I was a little drunk? Anyway, I figured what the hell? Why not just go in and have a look see. And so I did.

The first words out of her mouth were “what are you doing here?”. You see, the young woman in question turned out to be MJ, my dart partner that afternoon. And then it all started making sense. I mean, even though MJ speaks fluent Tagalog, she doesn’t look like a Filipina (although truthfully, she looks pretty damn fine!). I just didn’t make the connection between her and the woman Mango described.

So, I told her that I was friends with John and Mango and they thought I should meet you. I guess we both found that pretty funny. And then I remembered something else. When I bought the sunglasses back in January, she was the person who sold them to me. Why do I remember that mundane detail? Because later that night she came into the bar where I was drinking. It was one of those “U” shaped bars and she was sitting across from me. We made eye contact and she said, you look familiar. How do I know you? I had to think about it myself, but then remembered I had seen her that afternoon in the store.

Anyway, it was another reminder of the joys of small town living. Or something.