GSU: ENGL 4320

February 21, 2015

For my busy schedule I don’t get to go to many events. So, for my event I decided to go out with my mom for dinner at Maguire’s Pub down the street from my house, because they normally have live music. This is a usual meeting place for everyone in town for this reason. Also, I believe at any point when you can get a free meal that’s an event.

Maguire’s Pub has larger than what most people would expect as they descend down the new, but rustic stairway. There is a heavy, mahogany door with iron work handles that belongs more on a large house than it does as a restaurant opening. Through the door there is a counter on the left side where a teen-aged waiter will show your group to a table. The area has dim, orange lighting that makes the atmosphere inviting to sit down and talk over pretzel sticks and mustard sauce.

The sounds I heard from our table were mainly background noises, and at the time nothing really stood out to me aside from the high-pitch reverberation from the speakers being setup. That came up a little at the beginning and ending of my recording so TURN THE VOLUME DOWN. You have been warned. The reverb wasn’t as loud in the restaurant, but it was very loud in the recording.

Within my recording the sound is a lot more claustrophobic than my real experience. It was a very peaceful dinner with several people having chats between one another. There was one man on the recording that was louder than the children who were playing at the far end of the pub. Yes, this is a “family friendly” pub. Who says you can’t have a beer or wine with dinner when your kids are around?

The sound of all of the talking, the kids playing, the waitress asking if everything was okay, and, yes, even the reverberation every now and then I found very relaxing. It became a steady hum in the background. I really enjoy going to this pub with friends and family when we just want a place to sit and have drink over dinner. It reminds me of group events I would go on with friends and family. There would be food and a slight hustle and bustle.

It’s odd, because when I was younger, well before my time at college, I wouldn’t be comfortable in situations like this: too many people, doing to many things, and not being able to hear what was being asked of me because of all of the background noise. These things would make me feel too smothered and would send my senses into overdrive.

Now it reminds me of dinner my first year of college. Everyone on campus would come together and get food. There would be talking over the table, and across the room. There would be people going to and from different areas of the dinning hall as music would be pumped in through the speakers. Maybe that is why I really enjoy Maguire’s Pub. It has become a meeting place of the town to hear and talk between people.