Louisville Is Short One Fun Joint

I am in the city I consider my "hometown."

It's Louisville, Kentucky.

I moved here with my parents when I was 13. It was the fifth city in the fourth state that I lived. Consequently, I had no idea just how much it would mean to me.

I graduated from high school and buried both parents in Louisville during the 15 or so years I lived here.

Some of my best friends still live in Louisville. It will always be a part of me and I of it.

"You can never go back," are words often heard. I've never believed them. I've been back dozens of times and it still feels like I never left.

This trip, however, is a bit different. I discovered that one of my oldest and dearest stomping grounds is gone.

TGI Fridays in Plainview -- an upscale subdivision in Louisville's east end -- went out of business. It's boarded up, literally.

I remember when it opened in 1974 or 75. It was unique and fun. That was back in the day when at midnight on Thursdays, the joint erupted in celebration. People yelled, screamed and tossed stacks of paper napkins in the air. It was bedlam.

One or two nights a week my buddy Ray and I would hit the bar after work and raise ten kinds of hell.

It was a place we always visited during my every trip back here.

Its passing means more to me than just some joint going out of business; it was part of my Louisville experience and memories.

I am crestfallen.