My daughter told me tonight that the real-life bartender from the tv series Cheers was laid off due to the economy. I'm in shock. Who hasn't visited the Bull & Finch Pub in Boston that inspired the show? She doesn't remember it because she was young, but we spent a good part of a day in the Public Garden across the street from the Cheers bar, watching the swan boats and sitting on the duck statues. It's one of our favorite towns, especially the brick architecture and brownstones, the college and youth culture, the Italian immigrant and Revolutionary history, and the urban and cultural attitude (we're going to keep baseball out of this... Yankee fans).The bar where everybody knows your name had a real bartender, Eddie Doyle. As the news reported upon his layoff, he wasn't a womanizer like Sam Malone. In fact, he's been married to the same woman he met at the bar in the early 1970's. I don't know why this bothers me so much, after all, he is 66 and has had a good 35 year run at the bar. I guess it's because my high school years were peppered with memories of people shouting "Norm" and that song... The one that rings in my ears as I type. Unforgettable.
I hope Eddie Doyle can rise above this economic crisis and keep his heart smiling. As I hope for all of us.
1 comment:
Love the Bull & Finch and Baw-ston. On St. Patrick's Day Eve, need to point out the rich Irish history in the city as well. I love going up with my husband because he knows all the out-of-the-way places and knows Southie like the back of his hand. That's always an adventure!
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