Keeper of the Rum

Not only are you keeper of the rum, a mixologist, multitasker, mediator, friend, enemy, asshole, but your a psychologist too. Definitely a very under paid psychologist. You learn to cope with the never ending chatter, the discombobulated words, politic rants, arguments, and laughs but you become family with your locals, the regulars… a job that can become extremely tiring, fun, energetic, some days can take the energy right from you, but it’s also a sadness because your delivering a poison to these people that you have become to love that is killing them slowly! This is what I suffered with all the time as a bartender! I was helping kill my people, time in and time out I’d watch them come in functioning to making a complete ass out of themselves! It broke my heart daily! I never understood it, yes I understand the meaning of addiction, I understand how how hard it is, but it doesn’t mean I have to be ok with it because to me it’s all about making a choice! Yeah yeah yeah I’m gonna get a lot of shit for that remark so maybe I don’t understand addiction because I don’t have one! I’ve had a lot of friends with some sort of addiction but I can’t understand something I haven’t had myself! So saying this it makes me sad that I would help contribute to this addiction that is eventually going to kill this amazing human! I know I’m only doing the job I was paid to do but it was still a battle with me every single day that I was helping destroy these people that I like! This kind of energy started to drain me and make me dislike what I was doing! I would see the change in people as they drank, hell I’ve been a drunk moron too, but it hurt my soul! So being drunken fools they would then begin to pick on me and rip me apart! Misery loves company so the misery they felt they would now have to portray me into the painting of destruction!

You never knew what you where walking into, what battle are we fighting today, are they going to be nice to me today, or are they going to rip me to shreds, am I going to be busy, will there be fights, oh the chaos of being a bartender but 90% of the time it was a great time! I loved my people! These people who have become an extreme part of my life! A huge influence and even my best cheerleaders in my life! They would drop anything to help me as I would for them! Yes it comes with a lot of drama, I bitched about my job a lot, my job made me laugh and made me cry! I am no longer a bartender and my life hasn’t been the same! Unfortunately the place I spent 5.5 years too was sold and the place is now closed! I would do anything in this world to take back all my anger, or bitching, or laughs to have my job back! Sure we had some drama but we had the most amazing group of people working together to make sure our customers where taken care of! We had finally found mural respect for one another as employees as this bar, and now it’s all gone! It really makes me sad!! I hadn’t spent a thanksgiving with my family for 5 years because me and others would cook food for free so people had a place to go! It was a family affair and it was amazing! A lot of great memories and life time friendships made there!!