The Bloody Nose Saloon

Photo courtesy Gary Firstenberg.

Gary Firstenberg sent this photo of The Bloody Nose Saloon and I couldn't help but think of my story The Nose, which I had written in the 90s and published on my original website.

I believe, if I'm not mistaken, the Bloody Nose Saloon is located in Deadwood, nestled snugly in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Here's how that story begins. To finish, follow the link below.

THE NOSE
The crammed little bar sizzled with so much energy that it began to unsettle him. He wondered why he ever said he would meet his friends here.

His friends were late, and Ted’s brain started running on the hyperactive groove that, once out of control, often left him terrified and unsettled.

But Ted Krueger had a mind game he played to help him gain control of himself in these situations. He would focus on an object, enabling his thoughts — which at this point were so numerous and random that he felt overwhelmed by them — to narrow their scope. In this way he was able to harness them and feel he had some measure of control over himself.

He held the view that though feelings were nebulous and impossible to direct, with a great effort of will thoughts could be managed and coerced, and that one’s feelings would eventually come into alignment with the thoughts that preceded, and stirred, one’s emotions. His feelings of terror were often so immense that only a more immense distraction could deliver him from being tyrannized by his fears. Hence the game.

Finish reading my story here: The Nose