by Luis Lira

It’s Friday night and my long time gal pal, Frances, has invited me to entertain her out of town guests—except she has no clue on where to take them for entertainment. Then she texts me a solution, “The Common Interest Karaoke Bar.” I instantly thought of my last time there, which was over ten years ago. The food was good and the beer was cold, but something bothered me throughout the night. I had barely turned twenty-one and everyone in there was older than me.  So, being a hot-blooded twenty-one year old, I didn’t like it because I didn’t pick up any girls. Then, I had the epiphany, which brought me back to reality. Over ten years had passed and I was now thirty-two years old! After that I sent a text letting her know I would be happy to attend.

I am greeted with the company sign “The Common Interest Karaoke Bar, The Original Austin Karaoke Bar, since 1974” when I walk in. The place is so packed it is hard to move around and find my friends. After a short while of bumping into people and begging for their forgiveness, I find Frances and her friends sitting on a table with a good view of the stage. Frances asks me “What do you think?” The first thing I noticed that the place is filled with people from all walks of life. Most of the people are dressed comfortably, wearing jeans, shorts, shirts, and casual tops.  However, a few of them are elegantly dressed; the men are wearing dress shirts and slacks and their female companions are wearing cocktail dresses.

We sit and enjoy the brave Karaoke singers belt out their favorite songs.  We begin to see a variety of musical tastes among the singers. For example, cowboys singing and dancing like Lady Gaga is something I’ll never forget. The Samuel L. Jackson look-a-like singing “We belong Together” brought tears to everyone’s eyes. But, the singer I am sure to remember for a long time was a big man who was over six feet tall and weighed about three hundred pounds. He announces to the bar it is his nine-year wedding anniversary and wishes to sing a special song to his special angel.

We then begin to hear him sing the legendary love song, “Always and Forever.” One particular table near us becomes the noisiest in the bar. Since he is singing in their direction, we conclude his special angel is sitting at the table. However, we notice a big man like the karaoke singer on stage is standing in front of the table swaying from side to side. A moment later we notice the same man has tears rolling down his face. “Is the karaoke singer on stage singing to man standing by his table,” we ask each other at our table. Suddenly, a woman who was sitting next to the man who is crying stands up and walks up to the stage. We all clap as she kisses the karaoke singer on stage when the song is over.

When the karaoke singer on stage makes it back to his table, he is greeted by a massive hug given to him by the man who was crying. Later on I met the mysterious crying man in the bathroom and told him I thought the karaoke singer on stage was singing to him. He reveals to me that the karaoke singer is his brother-in-law and “Always and Forever” was sung at their wedding. It’s like a family tradition he told me. His father used to sing to his mother all the time, until his death, which was recent. “That’s why I was crying”, he said.

After I told the story to Frances she simply asks “Did you have good time?”  My answer was simple “Yes, we all shared a common interest.”