O'Malley's Story

Buzz O'Malley liked his alcohol. After all he was Irish as McGinty's limp. His wife would meet the boat and wait for the count before carrying off most of the money. Buzz would sit on the dock with the other fishermen, drink beer and tell stories for a few hours before calling his wife for a ride. He loved his family and was a good provider and good father, when he was around.

Buzz's real weakness was fighting. He got his nickname for fighting like a buzz saw when he was a tough young man and he turned into a tougher older man. "I'm four years younger than the century," Buzz said to a rowdy, drunken young man sitting at his bar, "but I'll whup the hide off of you if you don't leave presently!"

The local Deputy brought him home more than once. He was a legend among street fighters. Everyone knew him to be a loyal southerner with the confederate battle flag on all of his pick-up trucks, a baptized Baptist, not more racist than the next guy and a good friend. He also sent two daughters and a son to college to keep them away from fishing.

The hard fishing life took a toll on his body, in his fifties, arthritis crept into his joints. The pain got to a point that he new he couldn't keep fishing and so he sold his boat and the spare rigging for a good price. During the fall full Moon festival the fishing community threw him a big party. Many of his fellow Captains celebrated his retirement because Buzz was famous for giving 'too big a cut' to his crew.

O'Malley used the boat's proceeds to start O'Malley's Alley in the mid-60's. The bar became a haven for hard working fishermen, locals and tradesmen. Buzz was selective about who could drink in his bar, "those 'damned hippies could stay the hell out!"

Buzz ruled his bar for nearly fifteen years before he sold out. He made a decent living for him and his beloved old woman. Everyone knew him to be a loyal southerner with the confederate battle flag on all of his pick-up trucks, a baptized Baptist, not more racist than the next guy and a good friend. 

He also sent two daughters and a son to college to keep them away from fishing. He became a celebrity of sorts helping to establish the popular shrimp festival in the Spring and the Fish Festival in the Fall.

He donated a good amount to the little league and was a signatory to the City Charter even though he doubted the necessity of another layer of government. Eventually, he bought a small motel on the beach for his wife and daughter and her family.

Every few years the chain grocery store would demand to expand into the bar area. They offered to buy Buzz out but he refused. O'Malley knew his lease contract was solid so they'd have to co-exist. The little bar at the end of the alley and at the end of a dead-end canal was surrounded by mangroves and mosquitoes but it became the favorite real locals. 

Tourist couldn't see it from the main street and the bar didn't advertise. The poor location saved it from being turned it into a Tex-Mex restaurant with 57 varieties of Margaritas so O'Malley's Alley remained 'almost' the same.

Buzz was a creature of habit. He wore his uniform of sorts every day. A long sleeved light blue shirt over khaki slacks with a brown belt and red suspenders. He was a lively sort who loved to tell jokes especially about little black Sambo and he was a good southern man who believed in the separation of the races. "You know how to keep a Nigger out of your backyard? Hang one in the front"

Around 1980, O'Malley began to lose his hearing and his eyesight. The tough old fisherman faded until he had to sell the bar. There was another farewell party that lasted three days and Buzz moved under a Tiki Hut on the beach at their motel. Buzz took a just few things, a few favorite pictures and his certificates of appreciation from civic groups but left the rest.

“You ain't bringing that junk home,” his wife told him when he was trying to decide what memorabilia to take with him. He'd never had an eye for decoration, so fishing gear and old photo's and other junk covered the walls. The only piece of furniture that was worth anything after all those years was the back bar. 

It had started out as a joke. The other fishing Captains bought a slab of marble and had it engraved with Buzz's name and the date he sold his boat. This was their memorial. O'Malley appreciated the humor and used it as the base for building his back bar. 

It evolved to be a monstrous overstatement with a large ornate mirror that had local fish etched around the outside. The base was made out of two-lit glass pillars and the upper shelves were fashioned out of trophy stands of different sizes.

Mrs. O'Malley hated the gaudy piece but Buzz loved it because his friends had donated each and every piece. He promoted the bar using it's most outstanding feature. The t-shirts and ball caps and tank tops all had the caricature of the back bar emblazoned on them.

The old fisherman died peacefully in 1983 while sitting under the Tiki Hut watching the boats run out to the fishing grounds. The 'Alley' sold three times between Buzz and the current owner. One young couple tried to move it into the mainstream of the island bar business but they quickly failed. Most of the original 'décor' was removed or stolen over the years but the old photos were laminated onto the walls with epoxy.

The bare spots were filled in with more modern or personal preferences of the recent proprietors. For a while there was a lot of biker memorabilia and then there was a sailing theme but the bar remained a refuge for fishermen and women and somehow them 'damned old hippies' wrangled there way in, too.

By the late 1990's the 60's flower children had mellowed with age and learned to keep their opinions to themselves especially around drunken fishermen. The old hippies lived aboard cruising sailboats and traveled around the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Estuary Beach was a favorite stopover because the city council had not yet regulated the anchorage and there were plenty of haul-out facilities and boat repair yards. The commercial port tolerated their different lifestyle because who were they to judge.

The most recent owner of O'Malley's Alley toured the country with his blues band performing really good blues, original and favorites. He was immediately attracted to the 'Alley' because of its grittiness and soul. Playing the blues felt right there and when he was in town there was a non-stop jam session with his group and whoever wanted to join in. Out of deference to the owner, the jukebox had a lot of Blues and Jazz but Country/Western and rock oldies were the most popular music. 

This blog/column is meant for educational purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Void where prohibited. Some assembly required. Do not read while operating a vehicle or heavy machinery. Keep sending those great questions and comments! (Contact) boatguied@aol.com