They often tell the women and the college girls they have coke: they don't need to find someone that has it: they already do. And it is back at their place.

David Foster Wallace had a collection of short stories entitled "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men"; at times, this seems like a perfectly reasonable title for conversations that happen with some people at the bar. Maybe not truly hideous; I could check a thesaurus for a synonym that seems somewhat lighter, but it is just easier to say I could check a thesaurus for a synonym that seems somewhat lighter, and you'll know what I mean.

I have mentioned the broken men before, and those that instill distaste.They are usually obvious as losers: poor posture, poor bodies, questionable hygiene, enervated, isolated. The broken men who inspire fear -- sometimes it is just a vibe that says prison, or possible serial killer. The kind of guy most women instinctively know to never get in a car with.

But there are also the broken losers who look like winners. They show up in a fashionable suit and tie; they wear an expensive watch, expensive shoes. Maybe mid-twenties; maybe early thirties. They often show up via Uber. Uber doesn't really have anything to do with them being deceptively broken; it is just a detail I have noticed. Maybe it means something to you, I don't know.

These men apprise the women and the college girls, and look for the combination of looks and low self-esteem. A surprising number of women and college girls fit this description; a lot of them occasionally look for cocaine. I could probably make a connection between low self-esteem and the desire for cocaine, but it would likely fall apart under a few moments' scrutiny. Still: the idea.

As I said, these men show up in a fashionable suit and tie; they wear an expensive watch, expensive shoes. Youngish. They seem like the kind of guys who enjoy a party. Which is shorthand for coke. They often tell the women and the college girls they have coke: they don't need to find someone that has it: they already do. And it is back at their place.

So some of these guys go with the guy back to his place. Where the cocaine is. And, I assume, a small party. Sometimes you hear rumors afterwards, but usually no one is talking.

If the woman or college girl does come back to the bar they are noticeably quieter upon their return. Connecting dots, it seems like the party was not a positive experience, with the youngish guy with the fashionable suit and tie and the expensive watch, expensive shoes.  Sometimes the women never come back.

By saying they never come back I am not implying that something hideous happened to them, like murder. Probably not even drunken rape, although that might indeed be the case sometimes. For them, a sense of shame and regret is now associated with the bar, and it is a place they no longer feel comfortable going to. Maybe they don't feel safe. Conjecture on my part, yes.

As I said, these guys look like winners. And they no doubt believe that they are winning. But even the other losers -- the ones that instill distaste, not fear -- know what these guys are about. They probably think that if they had the looks, the fashionable suits and ties and the expensive watches, the expensive shoes, that they would be winners, but winners who would treat women better.

Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn't. Perhaps some of the losers have kind souls. That would be nice. And sad, given their current circumstances.

james james