NO DRINKING ANY TIME

A few weeks back I stopped in a bar that I frequented back in another place and time. I was happy to see Carmen's familiar face behind the old Irish bar. She is one of my All-Time Favorite bartenders. I remember that the last time I saw her, we had a helluva night. We pounded Patron and Corona's until neither of us could see, talk, or walk straight. I will say that we could still lie down OK.

We start reminiscing and getting nostalgic, so I offer to buy her a shot of Patron, for
old times sake. Carmen gave me a sad kinda look as she explained that the bartenders here were no longer allowed to drink while at work.

"That sucks!" was the first thought that entered my mind.

Carmen went on to explain that one of the bartenders who used to work here was involved in a hit and run accident after work one night. Jenna, who I met a couple of times, was both the hitter and runner after getting off from an 8PM - 4AM shift.

The accident happened only a few blocks from the bar. While driving her pimped out Lexus SUV, Jenna blew a light, and T-boned a Civic with four local teens in it. While there were no life-threatening injuries, a couple of kids did get hurt. One broken arm, one fractured rib, and one concussion is the way the scoreboard read. Jenna's airbag deployed, striking her in the mouth and nose. Her face looked like someone took some 40 Grit sandpaper to it. I guess Jenna knew she was pretty much screwed at this point. Nah, I take that back. I don't think Jenna knew anything at this point. With not so much as a look to see how the occupants of the Honda Civic fared, she backs up, turns right, and takes off. All the while her now demolished front end leaked and spewed steam and antifreeze.

She made it about another 100'-150' and hits a light pole. This stopped her and her truck for the night. The local PD arrived in minutes and collared her. Because of her injuries sustained, Jenna made a pit stop at Franklin General before spending the night in the Freeport PD Hilton.

Since that night, and the multi-million dollar lawsuits that have followed, NO DRINKING ANY TIME is the policy for the employees here.

I stayed a little while more, chatting it up with the sober Carmen. Just wasn't the same without the tequila though.