The best Valentine's Day present I ever got was a Siamese fighting fish from a man who's name I cannot remember.

I was working the afternoon shift at Good Friend's bar in the French Quarter. It was 1999, maybe even 2000. The usual pop music was blasting from all four of the TV screens mounted around the bar. The French doors were all open that day, the AC mingling with the warm afternoon air. The rainbow flags hanging outside from the balcony upstairs snapped in the crisp breeze. Lenny Kravitz was in the back, playing a game of pool. He lived in the neighbored at the time, a few doors down, and would often stop in for a solo game. There were maybe nine or ten customers sprinkled around the bar, all enjoying a refreshing afternoon sojourn. The crowd was mostly local, though there were...

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