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Hi all. My wife and I have one meal a day at a local Denny's. That's a restaurant that specializes in 24-hour breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We do so in part just to make sure we get out of the apartment each day. But we also go because we have developed a very fond relationship with the servers at this establishment. We keep up with their family news, sometimes help a little if we can, trade bad jokes, and generally enjoy the heck out of each other. Over the years, I've noticed that a lot of us Old Coots have a similar pattern--Trudy and I are not the only customers whose day is made by spending a little time with a talented server.

 

My question is this--do you have or did you once have a server or a barmaid or a bartender who played a welcome role in your life?

 

Me?

Bartender- Kenna Bay in Karamursel, Turkey

Bar Maid -Louise in Taipei, Taiwan

Food servers - Summer, Tami, Amanda, Chad, and Brian here and now.

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My Favourite Bartender was Elisha when I used to live on Queen Street West in Toronto, she was a bartender at our local pub. I was in my early 30's at the time and I thought she was in her late 20's, but as I got to know her she eventually told me she was actually only 17 but lied to get the job because you couldn't be a minor and work as a bartender. That surprised me as you would never guess she was 17, but some girls can be very mature at 17 and way too smart and bored for their age and get away with something like this, not so much anymore as we have become a more zero tolerance society compared to life back then when people got away with more.

 

She was cool because she knew her music and culture and extremely smart, like a walking encyclopedia, great conversations in that pub and she could work the bar alone and hold up amazing banter with everyone of all ages. I am still friends with her today as we have all settled down now with kids. Last I checked she owns and runs her own business, not surprised she is a self made person that made things happen for herself.

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16 hours ago, Matthew Kane said:

My Favourite Bartender was Elisha when I used to live on Queen Street West in Toronto, she was a bartender at our local pub. I was in my early 30's at the time and I thought she was in her late 20's, but as I got to know her she eventually told me she was actually only 17 but lied to get the job because you couldn't be a minor and work as a bartender. That surprised me as you would never guess she was 17, but some girls can be very mature at 17 and way too smart and bored for their age and get away with something like this, not so much anymore as we have become a more zero tolerance society compared to life back then when people got away with more.

 

She was cool because she knew her music and culture and extremely smart, like a walking encyclopedia, great conversations in that pub and she could work the bar alone and hold up amazing banter with everyone of all ages. I am still friends with her today as we have all settled down now with kids. Last I checked she owns and runs her own business, not surprised she is a self made person that made things happen for herself.

Hey Matthew. One of those special people we are lucky enough to encounter along life's way. Congratulations on staying in touch with her.

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I rather envy you Matthew to have been able to form a lasting friendship like that.

 

We've never frequented pubs because we don't really like the atmosphere in them.   That's apart from the fact I only drink lemonade and Sheila has the odd glass of wine with her dinner.  Or, perhaps its because we're not particularly social.

 

Although we don't play any more, Sheila and I still go to the golf club for coffee twice a week to meet up with the people we used to play with.  Some still play and others like us simply go for a chat and with me particularly, to swap insults.

 

One thing about golf clubs is you know there's a behaviour code which is rigidly adhered to so we also know its a safe and convivial place to go.

 

We quite frequently go to a restaurant in town owned and run by a fellow golfer and his wife and we also go to Taunton, the Somerset County Town, about 25 miles from where we live, and there we have the choice of a very good Chinese 'eat as much as you like place' or a golf club which serves excellent food in a large restaurant overlooking the course.  But again, its just the two of us.

 

We visit Chinatown in Soho, London four or five times every year and meet up with our our son and daughter for a Chinese meal.  There we have a friendly relationship with the restaurant owner who happens to be the Chairwoman of the Chinese Association and the Manager who is Malay who comes from Penang which I visited while stationed in the Far East during my National Service.  If they discover we're there for a special occasion, out comes the Champagne and if a birthday, a cake, and they all gather round to sing us 'Happy Birthday' which many of the other customers join in!  I must say, it is a very happy and enjoyable place to visit.

 

As you can tell, we're almost loners.  And always together.  Goodness knows what'll happen to the one left when one of us pops our clogs!

 

Blimey, I've depressed myself!!

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Me and a couple of other guys frequent a cafe near where I work, just about every morning and sometimes also at lunch time.  There is a woman named Vicki who made the coffee and served us, up until about two weeks ago, as new owners have taken over the shop, and for some unknown reason they have taken Vicki off the coffees, although she is still there serving and doing other tasks.  Vicki is very friendly, makes (made) great coffee and is just good to have a quick conversation with every day.  What is amazing is that she will see you walk in the door and be getting the coffees prepared before you have even ordered, as she knows off the top of her head what everyone has.  This goes for every customer who visits the cafe, which I find very impressive.

 

It was really funny to start off with, as when me and my past assistant first discovered the cafe, when we moved to the location, my assistant used to bag Vicki out because she was too pushy :lol:.  You would get a coffee, and she would try and "up sell" some food, and then when you were leaving you would get "see you at lunch time".  I used to laugh at him, and found the whole thing pretty funny.  Eventually we did end up there every morning and at lunch time if we were working in the area, so I guess Vicki's "up selling" worked after all :lol:.

 

I work all over the wider Melbourne (and Victoria) area, so I visit a lot of different food establishments, but I always prefer to visit Onx cafe in Braeside if possible.

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My favorite was an older barman at the saloon  at the Oyster Bar in New York City.  I was there for lunch, but the table wasn't ready so we sat down at the bar.  The barman came up to me and said, not asked, that I would be having a vodka martini.  I had never spoken to the man before and had only seen in once or twice from a distance.  After he brought me my drink, he looked me up and down and said I was Frank Campbell's grandson, wasn't I?  Frank Campbell was my grandfather and had passed away at least 25 years before this happened when I was only 10-years-old.  I had been told I looked a lot like my grandfather and I know I had probably been in that saloon as a youngster when I traveled to Chicago with my grandfather by the 20th Century Limited.  He drank vodka martinis, too.

 

It was amazing how the barman could remember faces, etc., and put it all together. His name was Oscar and he retired a year or so later.

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7 hours ago, JohnY said:

I rather envy you Matthew to have been able to form a lasting friendship like that.

 

We've never frequented pubs because we don't really like the atmosphere in them.   That's apart from the fact I only drink lemonade and Sheila has the odd glass of wine with her dinner.  Or, perhaps its because we're not particularly social.

 

Although we don't play any more, Sheila and I still go to the golf club for coffee twice a week to meet up with the people we used to play with.  Some still play and others like us simply go for a chat and with me particularly, to swap insults.

 

One thing about golf clubs is you know there's a behaviour code which is rigidly adhered to so we also know its a safe and convivial place to go.

 

We quite frequently go to a restaurant in town owned and run by a fellow golfer and his wife and we also go to Taunton, the Somerset County Town, about 25 miles from where we live, and there we have the choice of a very good Chinese 'eat as much as you like place' or a golf club which serves excellent food in a large restaurant overlooking the course.  But again, its just the two of us.

 

We visit Chinatown in Soho, London four or five times every year and meet up with our our son and daughter for a Chinese meal.  There we have a friendly relationship with the restaurant owner who happens to be the Chairwoman of the Chinese Association and the Manager who is Malay who comes from Penang which I visited while stationed in the Far East during my National Service.  If they discover we're there for a special occasion, out comes the Champagne and if a birthday, a cake, and they all gather round to sing us 'Happy Birthday' which many of the other customers join in!  I must say, it is a very happy and enjoyable place to visit.

 

As you can tell, we're almost loners.  And always together.  Goodness knows what'll happen to the one left when one of us pops our clogs!

 

Blimey, I've depressed myself!!

Well, my friend, neither of you has "popped your clog" today, so hold hands, celebrate another day together, and take an ORBX flight in your favorite location. Today, all is well. :)

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Thanks for that Rodger.

 

It's five past nine in the evening here and Sheila is watching football.

 

So what's the time there that we are both still up?

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3 hours ago, JohnY said:

Thanks for that Rodger.

 

It's five past nine in the evening here and Sheila is watching football.

 

So what's the time there that we are both still up?

It is 5:00 p,m, here Pacific Standard Time. Just about to eat the evening meal and go do some flying. Good day here, too.

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When I was young and not very bright (as opposed to a bit older and not very bright), I used to frequent a bar next door to work.  Both buildings are long gone.  We'd go out the side door of work and into the back door of the bar.  There was a rather lovely young lady behind said bar.  I never had to ask for my drink.  It was there by the time I reached it.  One of the lads nudged me and told me she fancied me.  'Yeah, right, whatever...'  Anyway, some months later, one particular evening I'd decided it was home time, and wandered towards the door.  She was passing with a handful of empty glasses, stopped in front of me, wrapped her free hand around my neck, kissed me and carried on back to work.

 

Never saw her again.

 

Told you... not very bright.

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11 hours ago, Mickel said:

When I was young and not very bright (as opposed to a bit older and not very bright), I used to frequent a bar next door to work.  Both buildings are long gone.  We'd go out the side door of work and into the back door of the bar.  There was a rather lovely young lady behind said bar.  I never had to ask for my drink.  It was there by the time I reached it.  One of the lads nudged me and told me she fancied me.  'Yeah, right, whatever...'  Anyway, some months later, one particular evening I'd decided it was home time, and wandered towards the door.  She was passing with a handful of empty glasses, stopped in front of me, wrapped her free hand around my neck, kissed me and carried on back to work.

 

Never saw her again.

 

Told you... not very bright.

Mickel, this one brings tears to my eyes. I mean it. 

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