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| The author, Dane F. Baylis |
Share A Favorite Memory
There was a night in the tenderloin in San Francisco when I came across this transsexual stripper and her pet one legged...Bet you really thought I was going to finish that thought! No, at least not on this page but it might make a great lead in for a fictional something or other, n'est-ce pas? However, one of my favorite memories does come from a bit of time in the city by the bay in 1970-71 when I passed a little time in an establishment we'll leave unnamed. The reason we'll leave it unnamed is I had not reached my twenty-first birthday. The State of California's legal drinking age at that time was twenty-one which, naturally, means you have to have attained that milestone in order to even be in a barroom.
Well, a friend of mine had opened a joint in early nineteen seventy in the above mentioned burg and was having a hard time making a go of it. He asked if I would mind coming out and seeing if I had any ideas. Being about as stable as river rock at the time, I hopped on my motorcycle and rolled on out. (The trip itself is a whole different saga.)
I arrived with a driver's license from a state that hadn't yet adopted photo ID that stated I was twenty-two. Standing six foot plus with a full beard and a pair of brass balls I took up position in front of the bar. It didn't take any time at all to figure out that the two night bartenders were robbing the place blind. They were offered the opportunity to resign with a full set of teeth and I took up my new position behind the taps.
The job was all damned right! The crowd that frequented the place was young and alive and for the most part out for a good time for everyone. Sure, there were the occasional disturbances, but these could usually be handled with a little admonition and the rare casting of the offending parties into the foggy night.
Perhaps the most fun was one night in late December when it actually snowed about two inches in the bay area. There I was, standing behind the bar, not making a nickel. All my customers were out in the middle of Haight Street involved in one hell of a snowball fight! All I could do was stand looking through the front window and wait for the need for anti-freeze to over power cold tolerance. What a rare sight it was and a great memory of my wasted youth.
Looking for contributions of short fiction to 1200 words, poetry to 25 lines, and carefully crafted essays for the Your Work/Your Love page. No pay, just the glory of exposure and authorship. Contributors retain all rights. You can send them to me at dbaylis805@gmail.com . There are gadgets on the right side of the page to follow or subscribe to this blog. Please feel free, love the company and it helps with the search engine ratings. Comments, critiques, and questions are always welcome. Please use the form below and I will get back to you in as timely a manner as possible.
As always...live, love, write.
Dane F. Baylis
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