by Debbi | Mar 3, 2010 | Off the Wall, Stories
Three guys were hanging out in the bar on Saturday night. Dave noticed they had a framed picture with them, so he struck up a conversation and asked where they were from and what brought them to Lawrence. And why they were carting around a picture in a frame. (Apparently one gentleman went to school at Syracuse. We won't talk about that.)
"What's the picture for?" Dave asked.
"Well, my mom's had this picture around for a long time, and she told me that one of these guys is my dad, but she won't tell me which one. And he's from Lawrence, so that's why we're here."
Dave thought that was kind of crazy and grabbed the picture to take a look. He busted out laughing.
"Well, that's Ken (better known as Count, to some of you long term Lawrencians), and that's one of his friends (Lenny maybe?)…so you better hope your dad's the third guy. I don't know him!" Dave told him.
Dave started telling stories about the guys in the pictures. After awhile, the customer said that it wasn't really his unknown father in the picture, but just a picture from his house that he liked. (Still not true.)
The guys stuck around the bar all night and, according to Dave, they took pictures of nearly everyone in the bar- with their framed picture. Turns out, they pilfered it from the wall of another bar in town, but we're not sure which one. Apparently they made a night out of telling tall tales to anyone who would listen.
Here's the picture:
We also found out the next day that one of the guys had so much fun, he left his (nice) jacket here. Fortunately we have a mostly honest crowd and a lost & found box, and Dave will be shipping his jacket home to California.
(Hey guys, if you read this, thanks for coming in! Thoroughly entertained by your shenanigans!)
by Debbi | Dec 3, 2009 | Off the Wall
Have you noticed our new friend hanging from the ceiling?
Once upon a time, we had a real live shark dwelling among us at the Sandbar, but that didn't work out too well. Mostly because he kept growing. (I noticed when I posted that link that I never finished Part 2 of Sammy's story. Sorry. If I can remember Part 2, I'll finish it one of these days.)
Now, we have an even bigger shark, and there's plenty of room for him on our ceiling. Bonus: he won't grow. Raymond, cousin to Philip, brought us this new toy.
He hangs in the back of the bar near the bathrooms. Doesn't he look remarkably like the toy sharks from the Shark Attack drink that are currently nowhere to be found on this planet except for children's bathtubs?
Now taking suggestions for a name for this big guy.
by Debbi | Nov 7, 2009 | Off the Wall, Sandbar Love Stories
As you can imagine, our bartenders take home lots of one dollar bills in tips. I've shared a bank account with Dave for ten years now, so I'm used to depositing lots of singles and getting strange looks from the bank teller. Once upon a time, I worked at the bank, and the tellers knew my husband's occupation, so it wasn't a big deal…but now that I don't know the tellers anymore, I always wonder what they think of a several hundred dollar deposit made up entirely of ones.
Last time I made a deposit, the teller paused for a second while counting, and I expected him to tell me that he suspected a fake bill.
Instead, he held this up:
It appears to be a statement of undying affection for Cole Joseph, written by an unknown admirer.
Unfortunately, Cole Joseph apparently chose to spend this love note at The Sandbar instead of saving it forever. Guess he didn't feel quite the same way.
It's a lot prettier than the dollar bills we usually see on the walls. We don't have colorful markers like our neighbors at Jefferson's, so our walls are a little less rainbow-like. Maybe I'll hang this one on the wall as a tribute to unrequited love.
by Debbi | Oct 4, 2009 | Off the Wall
At the bar, I mean, not on the blog.
Awhile back Dave built a new shot cup dispenser out of PVC pipe. He attached it to the awning that hangs over the bar, down on the end near the restrooms. It's pretty convenient for filling shot orders. Well, convenient for tall Dave- probably not quite as convenient for Tegan.
Not too long ago, Dave added bamboo around the PVC to make the dispenser look more Sandbar-ish. Nice and pretty, huh?
And that's not all.
Bamboo seems to be the current theme around here. Dave has started adding bamboo paneling to the entryway of the bar- the area that was merely painted and apparently too boring.
He's not done, he's still planning to add more around the entryway, but it looks pretty good so far:
I'm sure there will be more to come in the near future.
by Debbi | Jun 18, 2009 | Off the Wall, Trinkets and Toys
Our ceiling has been a point of interest lately, with a new Jayhawk windchime gift a few weeks ago, and now a new creation by Dave.
We sell a lot of Shark Attack drinks, and every drink comes with it's own little toy shark. Lots of people take these home for their collection (or their kids), but lots of others leave them at the bar. While most of them probably end up in the trashcans, a fair amount of the little guys are rescued and thrown into a bin behind the bar- mostly because Dave can't bear to throw things away that might still have some kind of use.
Let me assure you that we do not reuse the sharks in new drinks. But Dave has brainstormed for awhile about what exactly he could do with recycled sharks, and he finally hit on an idea.
He washed them up, bought a needle and some fishing line, and started stringing them up like popcorn for the Christmas tree. They looked pretty cool all bunched up on the string. He hooked the string up to the ceiling at The Sandbar, and now we have sharks hanging over everybody.
We also noticed that people have started autographing the sharks and tossing them in the nets overhead. The dollar bills on the walls seem to have lost people's interest- not to mention, we're sort of running out of wall space- so this might be a new, unique-to-the-Sandbar way of leaving your mark.
Next time you're in, ask for a marker and sign your shark. Toss it up in the net, or ask the bartender to throw it in the bin behind the bar, and we'll string it up on the next strand.
by Debbi | Jun 3, 2009 | Off the Wall
Yesterday when the Joe Factor showed up to open the bar, there was a gift hanging on the door. (Excuse the sort of fuzzy picture; I love my iPhone but the camera is a bit lacking, especially in a dim bar.)
Someone created? bought? this cool wooden windchime for us. It has a long-necked Jayhawk on the top. Dave hung it from the ceiling next to his garage door window-opening contraption.
We wonder if maybe it's from the elderly gentleman who has left us all of these wooden treats? If you or someone you know left this on our door, let us know! We thank you very much.
