The Pros from Dover

A good friend of mine and sporadic commenter to my Blogs called me yesterday. We generally write voluminous emails to one another, so I was surprised that he called. When I answered I said “Hi Mike, who died?” He just laughed.

My next question was “Why do you do me this honor?”

He had just read my Mister Knows Most of It Blog. He mentioned a conversation that we had in January 1989. “You said the same thing when we attended the Inaugural Ball for George H. W. Bush.” Now it was my turn to laugh. Because it brought back some bittersweet memories.

I was unemployed at the time and Mike (a High School Teacher) had lost his part-time job working for me as a Bartender. My live-in girlfriend (The Love of My Life #7) had left me just before Christmas, after 5 years of having great casual sex (for some silly reason she suddenly wanted more from our relationship).

A business acquaintance, who owned a Restaurant in Annapolis (Maryland), called and asked me if I knew any Bartenders that didn’t work on Friday nights. He was catering one of the many Inaugural Balls and was having a hard time finding enough Bartenders.

I asked him what it paid. He said “only $75 but the tips should be more than $200.” I said “I’ll get back to you.”

I called Mikie and asked him if he would be interested in working a 7 to 8 hour gig for $75 plus tips. I called Ron back and told him that I had 2 Bartenders for him. He asked if they were good. I told him that it was me and my former Service Bartender. He gave me the address and said to be there before 6 on Friday night.

Much to my astonishment we made over $600 each that night – we told Ron that he could keep the $75. Ron called us the Pros from Dover (a reference to the movie M*A*S*H). We laughed.

When we left the Ballroom it was probably 10 degrees outside and we had a three block walk to the car. I said to Mike “Why don’t they hold these things in May or June?" I had forgotten that I had made that statement.

The Beach Bum