Thread by @GeePawHill

I read in bars, or anyway, I used to read in bars, when bars were a place I could go to. I miss bars terribly, and I miss reading in bars, too.

I like bar culture. And, tho I am of course a junkie, I have spent many an hour in bars, dead sober, reading my book and drinking my Diet Coke.

I have a friend, Sandy, who was the bartender at a place that was once my local. And I went in two or three times a week. I'd be there for very long stretches, six or eight hours, even.

It's not that I never drank alcohol. But I didn't spend 8 hours drinking alcohol. Rather, I'd have a sandwich, read my book, and drink a thousand sodas, and then at some point I might or might not switch over to the liquor.

One day, early on in my relationship with Sandy, I was drinking my sodas and reading my book, and I'd been there for a few hours, and as afternoon faded into evening, the place got to hopping.

And I'm just sitting there, reading my book, and there's a complete riotous party going on around me. It was so loud.

So I gestured to Sandy, and she came near, and I leaned over and said,

"Say there, what kind of fucking library are you even *running* here!?!?"

We became fast friends. :)