Galleano

Back when I was a wee little lad of eighteen I started bartending at The Saloon in Georgetown Washington D.C.. After working in the kitchen for two years when I turned 18 Commy, my boss, made me a bartended. I started in the daytime working lunches were it was slower paced and slowly worked my was up to the prime time drive time night bartender.

Four or five more years later I was finally getting the hang of this bartending thing. Then, one busy Tuesday night a drunked idiot somehow goy passed the doorman at the busiest time of the night, stumbled up to the bar and slurred some words at me the sounded like give me a beer. Not being able to understand him I leaned in a little closer and asked him what he wanted. He leaned in towards me and I leaned in towards him and suddenly he grabbed me by my shirt and tried to pull me over the bar.

Reaching back to my first days of training, Commy told me that if I ever felt threatened by someone that I should hit them with the Galleano bottle. It made perfect sense to me way back when, but I never imagined that I would ever have to follow through with it. But in the grasp of this drunken sot Panick struck me and I pulled away from him ripping my shirt from his grasp, when low and behold my right hand just happened upon the neck of the Galleano bottle. Instinct and adrenaline took over and WHAM right across the skull it went blasting blood everywhere, splash. Down like a sack of potatoes he went with his head cracked open like a melon.

Screams and shouting all around me but the adrenaline kept pumping. Reaching over the bar Galleano bottle still raised I waited for him to get up and take another whack, but he didn’t. Then I heard someone yell for me to put the bottle down and when I looked up it was one of the local policemen stand over the crumpled-up body of the drunk. I set the bottle down on the bar and then Commy came running out from his office to find me standing over the bar, the police standing next to the body, the two blood covered customers next to the body, and a general disarray in the bar.

It took a few minutes for the police to sort it all out and get the ambulance for our fallen drunk. They hauled him off and the band started to play again and pretty soon it was kinda like nothing untoward had ever happened. Commy did stay near the bar the rest of the night and when all was said and done, the waitresses were all gone he sat me down and asked me what in the world made me hit the guy with the Galleano bottle? I simply responded, You told me to. remember when I first started and you said if I ever felt threatened to use the Galleano bottle.

He stared at me for a few seconds and said, and I Quote, “I was Kidding.” Well shut my mouth!

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