When Martin walked into The Thirsty Mermaid, the bar was damn near empty. The bartender, a young, chiseled Hispanic man, gave him a nod while two old drunkards at opposite ends of the bar stared into the bottom of their… Continue Reading
“So… is it true what they say about redheads?” I noticed him when he first walked into the bar. I don’t mean that in a “he walked through the door and my heart skipped a beat” kind of way. He… Continue Reading
“Let me guess, education conference?” He has that late Clooney salt and pepper scruff, that skips leg day sort of build. The hotel bar is nearly empty, but he’s still here, cruising. Lucky me. “The glasses gave it away? Who… Continue Reading
The sign outside the bar read “Cheap Drinks! Free Pool! Live Music Combo!,” but the combo on stage consisted of one guy in a Santa hat with a Casio keyboard. He was singing John Denver’s “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk… Continue Reading
One drink, another. Stack the spent $2 Hamms into a nice pyramid. The sun hasn’t even set yet. The drinks tonight are on the State of Illinois. See this leather jacket? Bet you’d never guess it belonged to Paul Newman.… Continue Reading
I arrived at the hotel bar just as things were picking up, slid onto a barstool and swiveled to peek up at the big guy next to me. Well, I tried to, anyway, but looking up through my new mink… Continue Reading
I had never seen anyone play the fiddle like her. To be fair, though, I hadn’t seen those many fiddlers playing on stage. I am not the most musical person. Jan was, and he reckoned that she wasn’t that good.… Continue Reading
Always wanted to live on the coast, so I come down here in — well, a long time ago — and opened this little bar. And let me tell you, I seen a lot of crazy things in them thirty… Continue Reading
Through my early years on West Taylor Avenue, I remember spending many lazy afternoons resting my elbows on the windowsill of my upstairs bedroom window and watching the comings and goings at Bernie’s Bar across the street, naming the pigeons… Continue Reading
Bucky is late again. This ticks me off, since I have to cover for him. Yes, I’m the best waitress this dive has ever seen, but a bartender I’m not. What did you expect? I ask myself. After living with… Continue Reading