The official definition for bartender is, “a person who mixes and serves alcoholic drinks at a bar.” However, the unofficial definition for a bartender is “everybody’s best friend.” It is a person you can go to vent your problems or share good news and someone whom you can form a real relationship with. While many people do not calculate how many hours they actually spend in bars, Rose Schaap, author of Drinking with Men did. She estimates that she has spent 13,000 hours in bars in order to find that perfect bar.
So what is that perfect bar? Well to everyone it may be something different but Rose points out how regardless everyone should find that perfect bar because it gives you a place of comfort and stability. It doesn’t need to be anywhere fancy but rather a local neighborhood bar will suffice because that is a place where you can meet great people and set up your community.
During The Cycle Friday, she said, “When I started going to bars a long time ago, probably a little younger than I should have, I didn’t know that was what I was looking for. But the more I became part of bar culture I realized that was the place that wasn’t home, that wasn’t school, that wasn’t work where I could meet people and have great conversations and actually learn from my fellow drinkers.”
As Rose points out this is something everyone needs, a sense of community that is outside your normal daily life. It gives you a new place to call home.
Abby Borovitz