The William's Bar &Grill

It's a habit of mine to watch two rerun episodes of Cheers most week nights. Sometimes I"m feeling very tired all evening and just waiting until it's late enough to go to bed. But as eleven p.m. draws near, I change my mind. I've heard it said that television shows like these take the place in our lives of our splintered, far flung families. Maybe if you've moved around a lot, these television people substitute for friends. Then why not go to a real bar and make some real friends? It's not as easy as flipping on the T.V. I think what made me most uncomfortable when my husband first started taking me to the William's Bar & Grill was the loggers. These guys are tough. They don't need to fake it. Their flannel shirts and Carhart accessories have three-corner tears and grease stains. Their boots are rugged and scuffed. Their hair is long and wild. Around here the best time to get logs out of the many swampy areas of the woods is when it's very cold. But then there's the darn snow and wind to deal with. And beat up old equipment that likes to break down in the best of times really gets balky when it's way below zero. It's fun to eavesdrop on conversations about these things once you've settled in and faded into the woodwork, but I sure found it hard to march in and claim my bar stool. But claim it I did. Having a great big hamburger or a fish sandwich and a couple of beers sure beats cooking and doing the dishes. Gradually we got to know that the little blond lady behind the bar is Karen and she runs the place. After you've been coming awhile, she'll start drawing you a glass of beer when she sees you walking in. She'll ask if you found any blueberries or caught any fish. She wonders if you've seen the odd antlers on Joe Blow's deer? You actually don't know Joe, but you walk out to the parking lot with her to see the deer with the odd antlers in the back of his pickup. John is a young dark-haired guy who is Karen's most reliable helper. He doesn't talk much, but there is something very calming about his silence. We went once during the holidays on a night when they were treating everyone to Tom & Jerrys. John asked me if I wanted rum or brandy in mine. I said I wanted brandy but didn't know what my husband would want. "Oh, he'll want brandy too. I'm sure of that." John knows his customers. Once in awhile Lena comes in to help. We happened to be there on her very first afternoon behind the bar, and we asked for a Bloody Mary. A Bloody Mary seems to have many different ingredients and in Williams they're kept all over the place. Poor Lena. She alternated between looking for things, hesitantly asking Karen, and then apologizing to us for taking so long. We felt bad for complicating her first day, but have since noticed that Lena is always hesitant, always apologetic, always warm and friendly. It sometimes seems to me that everyone I meet at the Williams Bar & Grill has always lived in Northwest Minnesota. Another figment of my imagination. It turns out that Lena is from Elgin, Illinois and often visits her father there. One afternoon a week or so ago we stopped at noon for a hamburger on our way out to the lake for ice fishing. A young couple came in with their two week old baby, asleep in his car seat. Everyone gathered around to see him. A big, tall logger with curly red hair and beard came and stood beside me. He looked at me and said, "So peaceful. The little guy doesn't know what life is all about yet, does he?" Cheers.