July 12, 2002 9:34 PM

It was crowded in the room, no chairs as people gathered at the center, dancing with their drinks in hand, some people lingering at the sides, talking to their friends or just being general wallflowers. A local gig, something Mitch had decided to go to at the last minute when he learned about its existence, to decompress, unwind after work. Get a drink or two in his system, go back home.

And so, here he was, talking to some guy as he nursed his drink, idle smalltalk, sharing a few anecdotes, laughing, barely even hearing each other over the live band playing. But that was part of the fun, wasn't it?