Even though I've only been able to drink legally for a decade, I come across some memorable bartenders. There were the big sports fans, the beer connoisseurs, the music fans, and of course, the ladies. All of whom made drinking even more enjoyable then it usually is. A good barkeep not only makes you feel welcome, but makes you feel at home, no matter had bad, how hole-in-the-wall, how run-down, or how much of a dump the place you are drinking is.
I tried my hand at bartending once. For three weeks, I worked once a week at a bar in Tallahassee. It was the end of December and I was supposed to hold the place down while the girls who normally worked there took their Christmas/Winter breaks. It really wasn't difficult, to be honest. Then again, the most people I had at the bar at one time was three - my roommate, some random guy, and a homeless guy.
Although I worked probably close to 20 hours, I didn't bring home a red cent. Not only did I not get paid, but I actually lost money. One night the aforementioned homeless guy came in and said he knew the owner and that the owner said to give him 10 bucks for some nearby McDonalds. Since I had seen the homeless fellow in the place before talking to the owner, I assumed maybe they were tight. I was wrong. Needless to say, the owner was not happy and I had to pay back the ten bucks, which considering I worked for tips, and I wouldn't take my roommate's money (it would go for food or beer for our fridge either way), meant I had to pay back the bar out of my own pocket.
Yup, I might be the only person who lost money working in a bar in a college town.
I tell this tale because my second saloon stint, albeit this time online, has come to a close. I will no longer be blogging over at Thunder Matt's Saloon. They've decided to be more Cubs-centric and filter out any of the Tampa riff-raff they had floating around. But they did give me a nice severance package: a case of Old Style and a beat-up Cubs hat. So I have that going for me.
Anyway, I wasn't the only one recently given the boot from El Saloon de Thunder Matt. A few weeks ago, the cops found out about little Baby Hack Wilson and his residence in the back of the Saloon. They not only took him away but threw him in jail for a while. So rumor has it he is not allowed in the Saloon anymore. Well, little buddy, that makes two of us.
The End of the Bottle: Baby Hack's Sad Farewell
