The family reunion was a big success. Unbelievably we encountered little traffic on the way up. Not a single slow-down on all the busy freeways between our home and Santa Maria. We stayed at a Radisson Hotel located near the airport in Santa Maria - hard to find, but quite comfortable. There was the inevitable wedding reception in progress and the hotel was full of children, running around the halls and crowding in and out of the elevators. They appeared to be having a wonderful time.
We went to the bar at about 9:00 to have a snack as dinner was served in mid-afternoon-we found we were hungry. The bartender was very personable and didn't blink an eye at our request to share a quesadilla and to share a beer - a Stella Artois which was very good - served at the perfect temperature, with a perfect head of fine bubbles in a frosty glass. Oozing with Jack cheese, dotted with spinach and chicken, the quesadilla appeared on a plate with microgreens, excellent guacamole, salsa and sour cream. We noticed they had a very nice list of central California wines by the glass and a tasting flight of 5 wines (3 ozs. each) for $14.00. A bargain and an opportunity to get a nice sampling of the local wines. It was too late after too long a day so we passed it up.
Visiting bars is not something we usually do, but this was a decent one and our only food option at that hour. A small unamplified combo played easy listening music providing a pleasant background for the room where the acoustics were pretty good. No clatter and we could actually hear ourselves speaking. How unusual is that? The patrons in the bar were an odd polyglot. There was a single drunk who wandered in and out muttering to himself. A couple who appeared to be Spanish, came in and ordered a beer each, downed them in about 5 minutes and left. Two men in their 30's, one Spanish, one not, came in and ordered cocktails, downed them and were out in about 10 minutes. One single guy sat at the bar and had two drinks during the time we ate and drank. Another pair of men came in and sat talking together and drinking slowly. No women.
The practise of rapidly belting down drinks puzzles me. My generation is likely the last of the cocktail "sippers". Bars, to us, still retain some of the hangover glamor of the 40's movies..places where the combo played, romances started, people met and fell in love - there was a patina of sophistication associated with frequenting them. Today's patrons view the bar as a "party" place. The contemporary version of a party consists of loud, loud music, drunken brawling, throwing up, public nudity and other vulgarities. The drinks pushed by the liquor companies reflect this attititude: Piece of ass, Fuk meup, Absolut Sex, Afganistany whore. They know their market.
As we age and we begin forgetting things AND our ability to retain information diminishes, the idea of voluntarily paying for alcohol to put us into a further muddle loses it's appeal. Bars are not places for old people.
No comments:
Post a Comment