At one point during the road trip, we ended up stopping in Valentine, Nebraska. It's a fairly small town, and it doesn't really have any attractions other than the name. Still, it happened to be on the way, and we were tired of driving that day, so that's where we stopped.
Anyhow, after dinner, we figured we'd grab a drink somewhere. There were a couple of bars near the hotel, so we just walked over to one and headed in. Since we were in a town we didn't know, we more or less randomly picked one - this place called George's Corner Bar.
The first thing we noticed was that it was pretty empty inside. It happened to be a Monday night, though, so we figured that it wasn't unreasonable for the place to be a little empty. Still, we both pulled up a stool and ordered a drink. However, I look fairly young, so the bartender asked to see my ID, and commented, "you're a little young, aren't you, son?" I do look young, but it's been a while since anyone actually called me "son." Little did I know, that was just the beginning of the fun.
After analyzing my ID and grudgingly serving my drink, the guy pretty much left us alone. It was pretty empty, other than this one alcoholic lady sitting a couple of stools down. Anyhow, my friend and I both finished our first drink, so I figured I'd pony up for the second round. The bartender went to go pour those drinks, so I asked my friend what the first round had cost him (the bartender was too far). He said, "seven bucks." I thought that meant seven bucks per drink, so I threw down $14. Apparently, though, he had meant $7 for both drinks. Oops.
Anyhow, we were both starting in on drink #2 when this rancher-looking dude walked in and sat on the other end of the bar. He didn't seem to know anyone else, but he kept to himself, so I ignored him. About halfway through the second drink (maybe fifteen minutes later?), the bartender poured us both a 3rd drink. Since I had unwittingly given him a gigantic tip, I figured he was just repaying the favor. I started to thank him, but he held up his hand and pointed at the dude at the end of the bar. A random guy at a bar had just bought me a drink. A few seconds later, my friend asked, "um, did we just unknowingly walk into the only gay bar in town?"
As it turns out, no. We both thanked the guy with a "thanks" and a nod of the head, but he kept to himself. I figured I'd repay the favor, but I didn't get the chance. I hadn't even finished my second drink, when he just walked out. Apparently my friend & I had both had the same thought, and we felt sort of bad about the whole thing. What else could we do at that point, though?
At that point, everyone there had a decent buzz going. So, we got to talking to the alcoholic lady. She actually had a pretty interesting life story: started out in New York, moved cross country, lived in a bunch of places in between, and eventually ended up in the Midwest. Of course, she more or less admitted to ditching her family and not caring about people in general, so that tempered any potential excitement. Still, we spent a good while talking to her. In fact, we spent enough time talking to her that at the end of the night, my friend wanted a group photo including this lady and the bartender. Did I mention she didn't exactly have all of her teeth?
So, finally, a few hours later, we walked out. Not at all how I expected the evening to turn out, but I remember thinking, "this is going to make one heck of a story." (You tell me if I'm wrong)
Anyhow, after dinner, we figured we'd grab a drink somewhere. There were a couple of bars near the hotel, so we just walked over to one and headed in. Since we were in a town we didn't know, we more or less randomly picked one - this place called George's Corner Bar.
The first thing we noticed was that it was pretty empty inside. It happened to be a Monday night, though, so we figured that it wasn't unreasonable for the place to be a little empty. Still, we both pulled up a stool and ordered a drink. However, I look fairly young, so the bartender asked to see my ID, and commented, "you're a little young, aren't you, son?" I do look young, but it's been a while since anyone actually called me "son." Little did I know, that was just the beginning of the fun.
After analyzing my ID and grudgingly serving my drink, the guy pretty much left us alone. It was pretty empty, other than this one alcoholic lady sitting a couple of stools down. Anyhow, my friend and I both finished our first drink, so I figured I'd pony up for the second round. The bartender went to go pour those drinks, so I asked my friend what the first round had cost him (the bartender was too far). He said, "seven bucks." I thought that meant seven bucks per drink, so I threw down $14. Apparently, though, he had meant $7 for both drinks. Oops.
Anyhow, we were both starting in on drink #2 when this rancher-looking dude walked in and sat on the other end of the bar. He didn't seem to know anyone else, but he kept to himself, so I ignored him. About halfway through the second drink (maybe fifteen minutes later?), the bartender poured us both a 3rd drink. Since I had unwittingly given him a gigantic tip, I figured he was just repaying the favor. I started to thank him, but he held up his hand and pointed at the dude at the end of the bar. A random guy at a bar had just bought me a drink. A few seconds later, my friend asked, "um, did we just unknowingly walk into the only gay bar in town?"
As it turns out, no. We both thanked the guy with a "thanks" and a nod of the head, but he kept to himself. I figured I'd repay the favor, but I didn't get the chance. I hadn't even finished my second drink, when he just walked out. Apparently my friend & I had both had the same thought, and we felt sort of bad about the whole thing. What else could we do at that point, though?
At that point, everyone there had a decent buzz going. So, we got to talking to the alcoholic lady. She actually had a pretty interesting life story: started out in New York, moved cross country, lived in a bunch of places in between, and eventually ended up in the Midwest. Of course, she more or less admitted to ditching her family and not caring about people in general, so that tempered any potential excitement. Still, we spent a good while talking to her. In fact, we spent enough time talking to her that at the end of the night, my friend wanted a group photo including this lady and the bartender. Did I mention she didn't exactly have all of her teeth?
So, finally, a few hours later, we walked out. Not at all how I expected the evening to turn out, but I remember thinking, "this is going to make one heck of a story." (You tell me if I'm wrong)
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