Come on Down to the TIKI Bar and meet some strange people
58
An Introduction
This little story of mine is not an attempt to be poetry. Rather I was trying to pare the words down to just the bare essentials to get my thoughts across.
After four years of retirement in the Myrtle Beach resort area of South Carolina, I found that I had turned into a "Tiki Bar Hound". If you are not familiar with the phrase, let me explain.
Over my working lifetime, when ever I took vacations, i ended up landing for the afternoon or sometimes the evening in a Tiki Bar of some kind. You see, these little bars are invariably outside, on the edge of a beach, and usually about half of the people there are locals and the other half are tourists.
This combination usually makes for some very entertaining conversations, and as the day drags on, and the patrons get more soused, the entertainment is great.
But, over the past year, I began to study the patrons more for their personality traits than for their entertainment value. And, sad to say, they began to fall into stereotypes.
After one afternoon at my favorite of these local Tiki Bars, I sat down and banged out this little ode to my boredom with the whole bar scene.
I am afraid that I was a little sarcastic and ruthlessly cruel, but none of these people were specific, but rather a collection of characterizations.
People will be people, and things are what things are in life. I hope this explanation will help you appreciate the work rather than the actual people.
eBAY products
|
i584-b Surf Tiki Bar Mask Tree Decor Neon Light Sign
Current Bid: $9.99
|
|
Thatch 9' Round Palapa Cover Umbrella Thatching Tiki Bar
Current Bid: $92.00
|
My Tiki Bar
Come on Down to the Tiki Bar,
I'll be waiting for you there.
The Beer is Cold, and the Jaegar’s Cheap,
And the Wine comes in three colors,
Red, White and Pink.
They Got Kool-Aid Shots,
And Lemon Drops,
And every Liquor you like.
Come on Down to the Tiki Bar,
It's my favorite place on the Beach,
and I just gotta get there now.
Happy Hour starts at Four,
and I wanna claim my favorite chair.
Lee Ann, she’ll be waiting,
to serve my favorite Drink,
Then I can sit back, sip on my beer,
and watch the Sun sink.
Some related Amazon products
 | Amazon Price: $559.99 List Price: $599.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $159.99 List Price: $199.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $349.99 |
The Bar is right on the Ocean,
and the Breeze is always Great!
They just opened for the season,
and I can hardly wait!
I was pretty good the whole winter,
watching what I drank and ate.
So my Tommy Bahama’s would fit my skin,
and I can; Shag, Stroll and even Twist again.
And, later, I can stroll on the beach.
After all those drinks,
and think myself, pretty Cool,
for a little while at least.
So, Come on Down to the Tiki Bar,
All our friends will surely show up,
yelling our names, and “What’s Up!”,
as they grab their own seats.
Lee Ann will pour their drinks as they enter,
And she’ll smile and make a joke.
and she'll keep those drinks coming,
as she counts tips in the back of her head,
She knows that we, the regulars,
are the ones who provide the profit,
and the tourists pay the Bills.
Old George, he'll show up, with his cane,
and drink and tell those same old jokes,
but we’ll laugh at them just the same,
He’s a regular, you see, so we gotta play the game.
He’ll get there right at Happy Hour,
and leave when it ends.
‘Cause, just like the rest of us,
he needs to watch what he spends.
and he’s always watching his budget.
The Graham sisters will follow him,
and sit at the Bar, not a table.
They’ll throw down those cheap drinks,
Until they’re no longer able.
Then, Lee Ann will whisper in their ear,
and they will just giggle, nod and smile.
A cab will show up soon after.
and whisk them home ..... it’s only a mile.
But, they always make it through
those four hours of fun and camaraderie,
and safely leave with their smiles.
There will be Jim, the lonely widower,
and Willie, the Silver-tongued Condo seller,
The Carsons will show up, smelling of stale cigarettes,
talking about their Boat, and their new Wine Cellar.
And, before leaving, the old Hippie, Frank,
will leer and offer us all a toke.
Then the Martins will parade in,
dressed like magazine ads,
say Hi to everyone and sit,
with the Carsons, their “best friends”.
so their bragging battles can begin.
The rest of us?
We'll just laugh at them, and order another round.
Yep, the Tiki Bar is now Open,
And swinging every day.
The Beer is Cold,
And the Jaegar is Cheap,
The Wine comes in three colors,
Red, White and Pink.
They Got Kool-Aid Shots,
And Lemon Drops,
And every Liquor you like.
So, Come on Down, and we’ll all have
A Great Time!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © DonBobbitt® 2010 - All Rights Reserved
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out my HUB PROFILE where I list my BLOGs, including TALES by DON. This Blog includes some of my Poetry, Short Stories and other of my Writings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Rights and Your Rights
Some of Dons books on Amazon
 | Amazon Price: $7.25 List Price: $8.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $7.70 List Price: $9.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $7.12 List Price: $8.95 |
CommentsLoading...
Yeah, It does Hurt! But, sad to say, it is more real that you think! The names are not of the actual people, but each and every one the characters exists down here at at one or another of the "Tiki" and other Bars I have been at here, as a semi-regular. (I bore easy, so I change bars a lot.) We at these bars, in this resort/retirement community are a grouping of interesting/uninteresting characters, all trying to have a good time the best way we know how! Reality, truly is a Bitch! Is this poetry? I had to list it as something! All I was trying to do, in my burst of truth was to write in a staccato of "emphasis and pauses" for effect. Still learning girl, and thanks for the reality check. I need the honesty and feedback. I am learning that the rest of this "HUB" population, whom I really wanted creative criticism from, are actually numb to real creative effort, and just want you to be their follower/fan, for some damned reason, like Facebook, whom I think even less of. If I write I learn, if I think I just confuse myself!"
Not the real names, but keep in mind that the situations were real (I guess) and with that someone may could recognize themselves and wonder WHY? Yes, people are the same everywhere - in every little Tiki bar, every 29 Grill -and most have some troubling history and little hope to go on, for the most part. Still . . . with a good and caring heart, you have to love them and often say to yourself that old adage, "there but for the Grace of God . . ." When you can do that, the poetry will be there. Not sure what you mean by "emphasis and pauses/effect/truth". Truth is not an abstract in my opinion, but a concrete thing way too important to be carelessly tossed around risking misleading others or hurting someone. I know you see this poem and this bar as a place of fun and good times, and I don't mean to be maudlin about this, I really don't, but reading it reminded me of the Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Carson McCullers) or Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (Anne Tyler) - two wonderful depictions of loneliness and desperation.
Now, as for the HUB community - Don, these people are not good writers, they just THINK they can write. Most of it is simply awful and some family member or stupid friend has sang their praises and they automatically think they are headed for a Putlizer. I would not waste my time any further with this. No one who can really write would put their material out like this - they wouldn't need to. My advice is always the same: get in a workshop. There has to be one or more in Myrtle Beach. Check it out at the libraries, community colleges, etc. Good writers are what you are looking for, people that can really help you and are happy to help you. I went to the HUB thing a couple of times and read some of what's out there. I was never impressed.
Facebook - I thought this was for teenagers until recently when it seems everyone I went to highschool with is on the damn thing. They also are in church on Sundays, say grace before eating a peppermint, and vote Republican! Need I say more? They want me to be one of their Facebook "friends". I say: I have a friend and his name is Bucky, and two more named Elmo and Lena, and they are not so stupid as to be putting all their personal shit out there for the entire world to read - as if anyone really gives a shit about your vacation pictures, your grandkids, or your grandmother's recipe for Pecan Pie!!!!!!!!!!!
EGO is the ruination of us all - hard to overcome it - but a good start would be to get off HUB and FACEBOOK. Say goodbye to that silly shit and get face-to-face with good, sensible, reliable people who can REALLY be of some help to you. You have the ability. You have the heart. Do it.
shelby
This is a fine poem. I enjoyed reading your words and getting to know your friends at the Tiki Bar. Great stuff!
shelby 2 years ago
Hey cuz . . .gotta' hope those "friends"? at the Tiki bar don't read your Hubs or even know about them. Seems you did a pretty good SLAM on each of them - not so bad on Frank and Jim, but Old George, the Graham sisters, Willie, the Carsons, the Martins - WOW! I know all about colorful local characters, but these are REAL PEOPLE at a REAL Tiki Bar, and you went and NAMED them all. When are you and Helen having them over for dinner? Uuummmmm.
OR . . . have I missed your point entirely?
OR . . . is this some new form of poetry, maybe something like SLAM BAM, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN poetry?
Sorry, if I'm wrong, but doesn't seem like a good way to "win friends and influence people" to me. Also, you have not painted a picture of a place to have a "great time" but a rather sad sounding place to me full of heartbreak, loneliness, insecurity, bitterness. Do any re-writes on this one? Always read everything you write aloud to someone else and also yourself before putting out to the public. Then on this particular one ask yourself would you REALLY want the Graham sisters to know that you thought of them as local lushes with their cheap drinks and cab rides home, or Willie as a condo-selling huckster, or Old George as stingy and tight-fisted (although you did say "like the rest of us"), and the Carsons and Martins as foolish braggarts? Like I have said a zillion times before - you gotta' read poetry before you can write poetry - you gotta' be a reader of GOOD literature and poetry before you will be able to write it - some exceptions, but rare, very rare. I have been studying this craft for lots of years and still cannot do it worth a damn, BUT . . . I do recognize good writing when I see it, and I have seen you do some good stuff. This is not IT!!! This is hurtful and I know you would not intentionally hurt ANYONE. My advice? - and again, unless you know something I don't know about these people and this Tiki bar - I would take it down immediately.
ss