Being new in town, and looking for a job, I was hitting every bar and restaurant om M street in Georgetown Wash D.C. A welcoming sign reading draft beer .95 caught my eye and I went in for two reasons, one to apply for a job and the other for a cold beer. Upon entering a beautiful young lady approached and asked what she could do for me? I replied that I was looking for work. about then my vision was getting acclimated to the lack of light and I saw a man with a scruffy beard, scruffy hair, and a scruffy cup of coffee look up as I said the word work.

The gal said she would get me an application and before I could get more than my name on it the man had come over and started to talk to me. Turns out he was the owner, and his name was Commy, remember that name. We chatted about my age (15) and my lack of experience and my long hair and lack of a place to stay and a few other ands and ifs. Then he says, can you start tomorrow at ten, I’m hired.

Next morning I started at ten. Fast forward sixteen years and I’m married to Joyce and we are moving to Michigan in a few days. I am still working at the saloon, but only two nights a week. I had already quit my full time job at the Occidental on capital hill and it was my last shift with Commy. As we sat playing gin and drinking whiskey he told me that his sister Farial was in charge of the money and that she kept a chart on me and Mike who was now the prime time drive bartender working five night a week. He brought out my chart and my money line was all over the place, and then he showed me Mike’s money chart and it was almost a straight line, meaning that when Mike worked the money matched the sales almost exactly and when I worked the money never matched. In fact the money never even came close to matching. I asked him how he could keep someone like me employed there and he toldme this.

He said, remember what you said when you first came here? I said I was looking for a job. Diane the bartender got me an application and as I was filling it out you came and talked to me and hired me. He said close. Diane was behind the bar, she got me the application, and You started to fill it out all right, but you didn’t say you were looking for a job, you said you were looking for work. Up until that day no one had ever said they were looking for work. And, since that day no one else has ever said those four words, I’m Looking For Work. That’s the reason I hired you right then and there and that’ the reason I told Farial not to worry about your chart. Wow, I left a great job and a great boss, and a great friend that night.