Lights going off at The Dock, this time for good, in 2 weeks

By Bobby Cleveland
bcleveland@clarionledger.com

Dock tales Got a favorite story from The Dock or thoughts on its closing? Send them (short versions, please) to bcleveland@clarionledger.com, or to P.O. Box 40, Jackson, MS 39205. We'll share a few on Aug. 29, the day the lights go out for good at The Dock.

My favorite story about The Dock, at least among those that can be printed in a family newspaper, involves a former reporter at The Clarion-Ledger.

I won't list his name, since he is now so much older and wiser than he was when he forevermore qualified for The Dock Hall of Fame. Besides, he hasn't lived here in 15 years.

Late one night, after putting the paper to bed, he drove out to the popular nightspot at Main Harbor on the Reservoir for some late night music.

Bobby Cleveland

And a beer or two or three.

As he prepared to leave the crowded parking lot, he put his pickup in reverse, moved all of about 3 feet and, unbeknownst to him, rendered all of Main Harbor and the surrounding area powerless.

The utility pole he hit, which wasn't very substantial, apparently had a critical transformer that made sure The Dock's amps could blast music, it's frozen drink machines could pump out Dock Rockers, Bushwhackers and Sammy Whackers and that the many house boats in the harbor could be air conditioned.

He put his truck in first gear and drove off toward his home in Belhaven, making one stop at the convenience store across Old Canton Road from Amerigos. It was one stop too many, turns out.

He bought a small bag of chips, a Coke and a whole lot of trouble.

"I was just sitting there in the parking lot chomping on my chips and drinking my soda when I heard this rat-a-tat-tat on my window," he recalled on a recent visit to Jackson. "I looked up and here was this officer tapping on the glass with the butt of his flashlight."

A lady who lived on one of the house boats had seen him whop the pole.

"This officer was telling me that a guy driving a truck that looked like mine had knocked out the power to a big part of Ridgeland," he said. "I couldn't believe it. We looked and there wasn't a dent in my bumper or a scratch on the fender."

About that time, however, another police car pulled in and a woman climbed out and started pointing and yelling: "That's him. That's the guy. That's the truck. That's the #@$+@%&!"

"I didn't argue — I'd had a few — until they wouldn't let me take my chips," he said, adding he didn't get a DUI (didn't qualify), but was charged with hit and run and leaving the scene of an accident.

Plus, he figures, those chips were costly. If it hadn't been for the munchies, it's likely he'd have gotten away.

The lady hadn't gotten his tag number ... it was too dark.

It's closing time

The Dock and its predecessor Tubby's Tavern have been a large part of the metro area's entertainment scene for parts of four decades and to three generations, many of whom have their own favorite Dock tales.

Two weeks from today, on Aug. 29, The Dock will close its doors forever.

About two weeks after that, an auction will be held to empty its contents.

Within a few months, the pier will be torn down as part of the renovation of the newer, bigger Main Harbor project.

Barnett Reservoir, which truly needs an outdoor tavern on a pier, will never be the same.

There is no other place on the lake where you can boat up to a dock and have a waitress come and take your order.

It's like a Sonic on the water, only with thicker burgers, boiled shrimp, oyster po'boys and frozen beverages. Instead of tater tots, there's fried pickles.

There's entertainment, and there's also music.

The real entertainment is people. All types, all sizes and all usually very happy. The happiest are the kids, oblivious to the madness around them as they feed ducks and geese the bread off their burgers.

Boaters use The Dock as safe harbor during storms, a place to grab a quick lunch or as a place to get a Bloody Mary when the morning's coming down hard.

When skies darken over the main lake and the winds begin to blow, you can see boats making the run to the mouth of Main Harbor, where they line up for the idle across to The Dock.

Ah yes, that long, slow idle through the harbor-wide no-wake zone. It bores many boaters, and you'll see them break from single file and go three or four wide like on a straightaway at Talladega. Those who speed up run the risk of the blue lights of Reservoir Patrol.

Not me. It's the long, slow crawl under a hot sun that makes the $7 large frozen Sammy Whacker or Dock Rocker so good, even the virgin variety for the captain.

Two more weeks ...

Some say good riddance, and make jokes about what Ridgeland will do to offset its loss of revenue generated by DUI checkpoints.

Others say it won't be long before someone steps in and opens a similar dockside tavern/restaurant.

I say there will never be another Dock.

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