The article reflects on the vibrant yet chaotic atmosphere at Cactus Club, a local bar frequented by journalists from the alt-weekly Metro. Lisa Thomas, a key figure, encouraged the author to seek a job at Metro, showcasing how friendships can impact career paths. The narrative captures the bar's history, drawing parallels to past eras when local reporters mingled in similar settings, while highlighting the eclectic mix of patrons—from freelancers to street people—who populated its happy hour, ultimately painting a vivid picture of camaraderie amid disorder.
In those days, several people from the front office meandered over to Cactus every day, after work. This made sense, historically speaking.
Cactus became a workable afterwork joint. In addition to the rock shows at nighttime, Cactus offered the best happy hour in San Jose history.
Every day, 5-9pm, there were cockroaches, washed-up strippers, fading suburban stoners, homeless punks...there was definitely some overlap in those categories.
Inside, our feet stuck to the floor. The pizza often tasted like a tire tread.
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