Six people at Court Square Tavern

Only six people came in to Court Square Tavern this evening, but I worked a full night anyway. Because it was slow, I cleaned as much as I could. and scrubbed some things that hadn't been scrubbed in a while. As it was Boxing Day, I cleaned up a lot of packaging material in the office.

The six people who came in were all fantastic. At one point, two couples met. They didn't know each other before, but now they do. They have a lot in common. They also got to listen to me ranting a bit, as I am wont to do behind my bar, on my stage.

The third couple was made up of two high school friends who had the chance to catch up. At the end, I asked the one who lives in the area why he picked Court Square Tavern. He said he used to bring people from Europe there all the time when he worked downtown, and that the guest he brought always remembered they would always comment on how authentic it seems. That's what hooked me in from the very beginning.

Next year will be my fifteenth working at Court Square Tavern. That's a third of my life now. I don't work there all the time, but it's a constant to me that grounds me to this place, even if it isn't popular. In fact, I'd argue that it's the obscurity of the place that draws me to still remaining there.

The guy who lives here hadn't been there for over ten years, and so much has changed in that time. I can mark my life by the eras I have worked there. For so many it was a place to pass through, but for me it is one of the only constants I have.

If we had not been open tonight, people wouldn't have met. I love the idea of a place where you can go and meet people, be they strangers or long-time friends.

I do wish that more people came in, not because I want to make money. Instead, I love seeing people interact and communicate in real life. I love being in a space that has been so much part of my experience. So many of my own memories are there now, too.

I'll be there again tomorrow, and on Friday. And then I'll be there on January 2 as well. After that, I don't know. The whole point of a New Year is that you don't know what it will bring.

(originally posted to Facebook, but I wanted to document it here, too. Also, we don't