The restaurant is jumping - in many ways. The Karaoke nights are very popular; Lunch crowds have been plentiful and friendly. Gay and Straight families with well-behaved kids (the "please and thank you" kind) abound and the entire day staff has been humming along like a well-oiled machine. We've had one complaint per day for the last week, and those were because the customer mis-read the menu. These were handled quickly and fixed in minutes.
The dinner crowds have been mostly large family groups which ties the place in knots and causes a back-up resulting in a wait of an hour, or more. No one seems to mind; they just want to get in and have a good time.
I've already stopped taking reservations for the entire weekend. It's that crazy and wonderful.
It warms my heart to see the bar at Happy Hour. It's full of gay men, lesbians, straight singles and couples sitting elbow to elbow engaged in conversations about every subject imaginable - not caring about one's sexual orientation, only intelligent conversation. Isn't this what we've been striving for all these years? Well, at least at Dos Locos, it has become a reality.
OK, that's all well and good, but the bar was so packed this evening that I didn't hang around for my AS cocktail. Just logged out, grabbed my bag, and took the quiet walk home.
These past few days have made me feel so proud of where I am in my life today. I open the door to my little place and it smells like home. It's true that I work with certifiable crazies and I'm happy with the association. As long as people are glad to be around and breathing (with a sensahumah) I'm there.
Yes, I'm still looking forward to a holiday this fall, no matter where it takes me, but as the old saying goes, "if what you want isn't coming to me, it means you're not ready for it yet." Well, I am working on it. And I raise my martini glass to say, (in my best Elaine Stritch voice) I'll drink to that!
And so it goes.
*
I said it before and I'll say it again, you're in a much better place in your life now (if I can be so presumptuous to say). I think in your Previous LIfe you limited your world to a gay only crowd (for the most part) and you see where that got you. Superficial madness. Now that you have a more balanced life, gays and straights, you're happier. You have friends and associates who like you for what you are and not just part of the "Camp" crowd. A business like Dos Locos does more to advance the GBLT cause than all the LOVE dances and slave auctions that Camp throws.
ReplyDeleteNow if you would just have listened to me all those years ago you would know I was right. ;)
You didn't need a hug, you needed a life and you got it now. I'm very happy for you.
No snippy comments please. :)
@Ron, I've never met you, and that goes for Wayne too.
ReplyDeleteLooking back is the easy way to give a comment, or to say "I told you so!" Looking forward is much harder, we all have to grow in our own time.
Looking at myself, I'm a much happier person than the guy I was 10 years ago. It only took a bone/muscle disease and two years in plaster for me to realise that. In a way my world has shrunk on a daily basis, but connecting with the world [via comments on blogs like this] and getting to know the people behind those blogs [by email] has enriched my life.
Of course I envy you, having a partner and going steady for so many years, with its ups and downs, but that's not something that happens to all of us. Wayne thought he would have that too, a partner for 30 years... until that backstabbing SoaB turned his life upside down.
I'm glad W is having a better life now, AND that he stayed in town, not giving in to the gossip spread by his former partner. Or working two jobs to pay the bills. His time is now!
Just be a friend and stop the "I told you so" remarks.
BTW, I admire the way you're both working in the community, serving guests in a hotel or a restaurant is not an easy living.