A Tribute to John Casey
A Tribute to John Casey: June 7, 2016.
The 3rd annual JP Bar Wars kicked off at the Midway Cafe on June 7th in all of its debouched Rock n Roll glory accompanied by our darling and always flamboyant Vice Versatile as the MC. This year, there was a more sobering tone to the festivities as the memory of a fallen friend of the community and server in the Bar industry, John Casey was present in the hearts that knew him and for whom this years JP Music Festival fundraiser was named after.
Though I did not know John Casey personally, my memories of him were of a man who was smart, fair and always willing to lend his ear to a patron who needed one to be heard.
In the year of 2010, I moved to JP and had a small group of friends I would run around with. One of them had a birthday that we celebrated down in Copely but soon felt that the bars in JP would suit us better. After a few shots and some cheap tacos, we found ourselves at the Brendan Behan Pub on a Saturday night where John Casey was sailing the ship solo from behind the bar. Certainly no easy task for a bar tender, but he was holding his own as he always did.
Not exactly being sensitive to our surroundings and fueled with alcohol, the general spirit of birthday celebrations and caught up in the excitement of being in a new place with new friends, our little group somehow got the idea that it would be hilarious to begin laughing out loud as if we were a Doctor Evil trio. We let out a repetitive and collective roar in an ugly and all- too- unpleasant triumvirate of buffoonery and lunacy in the form of evil and insane laughter that the entire Bar heard. It was shortly after this moment that my back facing the Bar was then greeted by a freezing cold hail of hard, crystalized ice particle vapor that proceeded to drip down the back of my neck and my lower back. Every second of it claiming a territory of its own, designed to uproot whatever feelings of belonging and festivities I had been wrapped up and consumed by. Looking stunned, I glanced up at the people behind the table across the Bar from us but to my surprise they looked as shocked as we! Yet, I also noticed that their eyes were slightly off of my right shoulder as if they were deer in headlights. I turn myself around and behind the Bar is a lone John Casey, breaking from an impossible schedule of slamming, insatiably thirsty, pub goers, with a belting, powerfully thundering and authoritative call, like a referee on the soccer field at Wembley, through the penetrating, thumping, loud, music, with the dim lights showering him in a faintly reincarnation of The Incredible Hulk, looking straight into my eyes with his arms out to a “T”… “What are you DOING?!!”
I was frozen. My Guinness nearly turned green with my guilt of what our little group had done.He did NOT throw us out. We quietly finished our beverages and walked out slowly and sheepishly.
My thoughts were that my future in JP was ruined by this. A hard working, local, bartender now had it out for me. He was probably ready to shame my name, hang a photo of my face behind the bar with a sign painted on it saying “banned for life!” or at least have it printed on the dart board.
Not to worry. This was John Casey. This was the man who worked hard, was fair, decent and honest. He expected nothing more than for people to be responsible enough to be where they were at. Quiet but direct. Happy to see you but not overly excited. He knew where his place was and expected you to know where yours was as well. He was welcoming and knew his friends. His friends loved him and respected him. His friends were deeply hurt and confused when they learned that they had lost him.
I know those that knew him well. Seeing their response to his passing and the mark that it left on this community was staggering and bewildering. I seriously am sickened when I see my friends like that.
For me, what makes events in JP like the Bar Wars so special is that it is one of many creative and effective ways for this community and their friends to come together is good spirit. In song, in laughter and above all else…in support of each other. Perhaps any kind of silver lining Mr. Casey could leave for us is to seriously stop and take stock in what we have here and now. To be grateful and thankful. To be fair and honest. To work hard and to be there for one another. To serve each other.
Billy Squire
June 14, 2016.