Old School bartending at its finest.

Anchor Bar.

Kodiak, AK.

Early 80s.

1500ish local

Blaine and I were in town flush with cash from a successful fishing trip. Both of us had paid any debts we owed and had pretty good bundles left over.

It was a rare glorious day in Kodiak and we stumped into the Anchor and grabbed a couple of brews and went outside on the porch. We noticed that there were maybe six or eight people inside. A fairly small crowd.

We looked up at Pillar Mountain and Blaine asked me rhetorically how long it would last before it slid into the sea.

I smugly opined it would maybe last until 2025. He grunted and replied that it would be several centuries after that. 

"Betcha a round for the house," I said.

We can't settle that until 2025," Blaine said. Then he gave me a look of understanding and said, "I'll take that bet!"

I stuck my head in the door and said to the bartender (who happened to be the owner) "Mike, ring the bell. Blaine and I have a bet and the loser pays. Pour 'em!"

Blaine grinned and said, "Let's go double or nothing!"

"Cool!" I said and when Mike came out to collect I told him to go back in and ring the bell again because Blaine and I were going double or nothing!"

He went in, rang the bell, poured a round and came back out to us.

"What's the bet, anyway?"

Blaine answered him. "Pic says that Pillar Mountain is going to slide into the sea before 2025 and I say it's not gonna happen for another thousand years."

Mike looked confused for a second or two and it sunk in as to what the bet was all about. His face turned angry then relaxed as he thought about it.

"You bums!" he snapped but there really wasn't much anger in it.

He went back inside and behind the bar and face the handful of fisherman.

"I've been conned and conned bad, boys. By a couple of sanky, dirty con artists. You're not drinking on Blaine and Pic. Your're drinking on ME! The loser of the bet was supposed to pay for the last two rounds but I can't collect until 2025!'

The bar laughed themselves silly and Mike said, "What the hell!" and reached up and rang the bell. "What the hell. Why not? I'm losing money anyway."

Mike didn't lose a dime. His initial expenses were about $25 in beer wholesale, if that. He knew this and knew that word would go all over the fleet that Blaine and I had beaten him out of two rounds for the house and the fleet would have the place mobbed as they came in to hear the story from the horse's mouth. He'd make the loss up in spades. He knew how to run a small bar.

If you're smart you know how to cast your bread on the water and get back poached eggs on toast.

 

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY