Shinola, Please...

Shinola, Please..., originally uploaded by wgoodwin.

Granted, they weren't asking a question, but if the kindly residents of downtown Norman intended an interrogative, I'd certainly take shinola or crapola. Henry's just happy that he has a choice.

A one-legged bartender later told us that we had stumbled onto the dividing line of the infamous Shit gang and Shinola mob. Supposedly, the two clans bifurcate Norman and have been the cause of hundreds of deaths in the past decade, while tagging their antagonistic mottos all across town; "Spit on Shit" and "Shinola is Linola(eum)." The Shinoleans are widely understood to have the better insult.

Then again, the veracity of this entire claim is questionable; our monopedal friend was later seen to be pouring small quantities of peanuts and alcohol into his screw-on pegleg, talking to his "little friend who lived in the hole." Could this compromise his integrity as a witness to gang violence? I remain unconvinced.