Friday Story Time

Sit back and relax, and let Mal tell you a story. . .

Once upon a time, there was a wee little freshman who moved into the dorms very excited and very nervous for her first year in college. Coming from a small town, she didn't know what to expect about not knowing anyone or anything to do with the little college town of Norman, OK.

Upon meeting her roommate (whose name was Meridith), she discovered that the new roommate was normal, and that the year should bring on lots of adventures. Little did she know that the adventures together would begin that night. Meridith had a boyfriend who was already a student at The University of Oklahoma, and he invited Meridith and her new roommate to join him at a little Irish pub called O'Connell's. The freshman and Meridith then began to take showers and get ready for a night out, shaking their booties to "Ms. New Booty" by Bubba Sparxxx.

O'Connell's, Lindsey Street location, across from the football stadium

The freshman wasn't quite sure if she was ready to take on the whole college thing, and was completely nervous when she stepped into this pub. However, once she sat at the table inside the pub, she realized that Meridith's boyfriend was good friends with a guy named Taylor, who also came from the exact same small town she was from! This may not be so bad after all! Once at the table, the 4 people of age ordered a couple "beer rockets" and many glasses for the 3 of us under age. The freshman fell in love with the place and returned to this pub many, many times in her college career (not just for drinking, but for eating and birthdays too! The pizzas are fantastic!)

If you couldn't tell, I am the freshman. I LOVE the O'Connell's location on the corner of Lindsey and Jenkins. However, at the very end of my freshman year, the horrible University bought the land out from underneath the location. Since then, they have been "closing" 7 different times. I have been very sentimental about this place, as I have had some amazing memories there. Not only that, but the pub itself has stood in its location, across from the football stadium, since 1968. My roommate's parents drank there when they were in college.

O'Connell's is really closing its doors tonight. Tomorrow they are having an auction and auctioning off almost everything inside the pub. The O'Connell's franchise has opened another location on Campus Corner, but it's just not the same. This one is more of a pub feel, whereas the one on Campus Corner feels like just another bar on Campus Corner.

So to celebrate the last week, I went and visited my original watering hole on Wednesday for Karaoke and $5 pitcher night, and then returned there last night for 99 cent happy hour specials from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. (I wasn't there for 12 hours I promise!) My friend Kaitlyn and I had decided when we were roommates for Fall 2009 that we wanted to do the Aggie tradition of a ring dunk. I wanted to do it at the old O'Connell's (the Lindsey St. location) just because of the history of the bar. What an Aggie ring dunk is, from what we both understand, is for each person with a class ring to get a pitcher of beer, drop the ring in the beer, and chug (don't swallow the ring!) Well, we aren't that hardcore so we just got a pint and did a ring dunk. We were at O'Connell's from about 7:00-12:30, enjoying the various 99 cent specials (such as chips and queso at 8 p.m.).

I love this bar. I don't want it to close, but I'm so glad that I had all the friends there with me to celebrate my last night in the first bar I ever went to. Thank you to Kaitlyn, Katy, Rachel, Michelle, Matt, Lance, and Rockie and Craig (for the couple hours or so you were there) for helping me make my last night memorable.

And thank you to the old O'Connell's for hosting many memories throughout my college years. I truly will miss the pub atmosphere of the place.

Thank you readers for letting me tell you a story about me breaking the law when I was 18. Please don't report me ;-)

p.s. You know what today is. Fab Friends Friday at For the Love of Blogs. So head on over and find some new great reads! You won't be disappointed!