by Debbi | Jan 17, 2009 | People
Here's a little Sandbar shout-out to two former employees who randomly and separately called the Sandbar while the boys were closing up last night.
Dave and I were hanging around after closing time watching Danny, Blair, and John clean and stock when the phone rang. It was Drew, calling from Taiwan, where he is teaching young students all sorts of things their mothers wouldn't want them to know. He's actually teaching English, although knowing Drew I"m sure there are some shenanigans involved.
Drew might be remembered best for his starring role in this video.
Not too long after the guys got off the phone with Drew, it rang again. Danny answered it and, looking confused, asked Dave if he knew someone named Lloyd.
"Lloyd!!" screamed Dave with delight. (That sounded like a line from a cheesy novel, eh?) He ran over to the phone to talk to Will, who was the pre-Blair version of Blair. Or maybe Blair is a new version of Will. Anyway, Will tended bar at The Sandbar for a long time and was well loved by everyone. He had an uncanny resemblance to Stifler from the American Pie movies. Will moved to St. Louis several years ago and makes it back to visit not nearly often enough.
I don't have any video footage of Will, unfortunately, but here's a picture. You might remember Will's star turn in one of the first Sandbar hurricane videos- he was the man whose clothes were blown away by the hurricane. One of these days I'll get that video posted for your enjoyment.
by Debbi | Jan 11, 2009 | People
It's a Friday night at The Sandbar. Chris is behind the bar sporting a bright and shiny red Sandbar shirt. Dave stops by to check on things, and Joe takes him aside to whisper in his ear.
"Don't tell anyone, but I think Chris is wearing a girls shirt."
"Hey Chris, what size is this shirt?" Dave asks as he pulls the tag out to check for himself.
"Extra-large!!" Chris responds rather proudly.
Fast forward to later in the night. Andrew arrives for his shift. As he walks through the bar towards the back room, Chris makes a comment about how Andrew looks like he's in high school when he wears his hat backwards. Andrew doesn't hear him.
"Hey Andrew, did you hear that? Chris said you look like a high school kid with your hat on backwards!" Dave yells across the bar, ever the instigator and setting Chris up perfectly for what would come next.
Andrew stops and looks at Chris.
"Oh yeah? Well at least I'm not wearing a girl's shirt."
It's just a like a locker room around here sometimes.
by Debbi | Dec 16, 2008 | Events, People
The Sandbar was happy to host a graduation party for Nurse Shelly, younger sibling of former staff member Erick, last weekend. She finished nursing school and accepted a job on graduation day, then celebrated the whole event at The Sandbar with family and friends.
It wouldn't be a party unless the guest of honor danced on the bar with several boys in mermaid costumes…
There were pictures of Shelly in her nurse's cap decorating the bar, which is pretty much a tradition for every party we have. Apparently a guy named Drew and his girlfriend Nancy
(good thing his first name is Drew, not his last) thought that Shelly had died and that was why her picture was all over the bar. Because that's what people do when someone dies, hang their picture all over a bar and drink all night.
Anyway, when he realized it was her graduation party, he bought her a shot. Thanks Nancy & Drew!
And one last picture of the graduate, this one with her siblings. I was sure I had posted this photo on the blog already, but after a quick search I didn't find it, and this is the perfect opportunity to embarrass the three of them.
This picture was originally taken in 1985 for an newspaper ad for their mother's clothing store. The picture made an appearance at Shelly's wedding this summer, and of course The Sandbar had to have a copy for the wall. Mom obliged- very quickly- and this photo now hangs in the back room. Aren't they cute? They'll probably never talk to me again.
by Debbi | Nov 21, 2008 | Cool Stuff, People
Sandbar friend and regular Devin- fondly known to us as Devo- graduated and left town last summer. But before she moved away, she wrote this poem for Dave.
Scooter Whisperer
He moves through the door
Like a calm cool breeze
The bar responds with a roar.
His gentle presence brings us ease.
He's got some new deal,
Some project he's been working on.
He'll listen to your spiel,
Even if it's a total bomb.
"Hey- how tall is that guy?"
Some drunk broad asks.
He doesn't come to work in a tie,
In height glory he basks.
In only a minute he'll fix your scooter.
If you're a butthead, he won't be ruder.
We're all lucky to know the Big Wave.
He might throw you out, if you misbehave.
He gets real psyched for a hurricane.
When he's tending bar the tips rain.
On your birthday he makes you feel glorious,
When you work with him, it's never laborious.
I'll never forget my times at Sandbar-
Okay, well some of 'em.
Those are the best by far,
And it's totally because of him.
I don't think even I could have written such a nice poem about Dave. Thanks, Devo. We miss you.
by Debbi | Nov 13, 2008 | Newsworthy, People
This is a little late, but our very own Pattoo was the "Man on the Street" for the Lawrence Journal-World last week.
He's had this honor a lot. I think he hangs around on Mass Street and stalks the reporter so he can be in the newspaper. He also got to star as the "Man on the Street" in our very first hurricane video. One of these days I'll find it and upload it to the internet so you can see it. It was a good one.
This time, Pat's question was: "How do you feel now that Obama has won the election?"
And his answer was very politically correct, in my opinion: “I’m kind of excited and anxious. I hope that he can do the things he
promised and bring about the change that people are looking for.â€Â
You can go here to see his picture.
by Debbi | Nov 4, 2008 | People
Those of you familiar with Key West know about Captain Tony, the namesake of the famous bar. Our friend Pat passed on the sad news of the Captain's passing November 1.
Captain Tony's son, Tony Jr. or TJ as he is more commonly known, sent out a message to all of his father's MySpace friends to assure them that his father was surrounded by family as he left the world with a smile. They plan to keep Captain Tony's MySpace page active as "a place for friends, family, parrot heads, weirdos, pirates, Democrats,
Republicans, middlemen, or just people interested about who Capt. Tony
the Legend was."
There will be several services held for Captain Tony in Key West, including a public viewing this Friday, November 7, and a memorial service on Saturday, November 8. After the memorial service, there will be a parade from the church down Duval Street to Captain Tony's Saloon.
Two weeks ago, a book that was written about Captain Tony's philosophy was released. Of course it's available at the bookstores in Key West, but if you're unfortunate enough to live somewhere else, you can also find it on Amazon. The book is called "Life Lessons of a Legend" and is written by Bradley Manard.
Drop by Captain Tony's MySpace page to pay your tribute, and next time you're in Key West be sure to stop by the saloon and raise a glass.
