by Catherine Lenehan

Created on: October 10, 2009   Last Updated: October 11, 2009

I could go on forever with great stories that I am sure everyone has and loves to retell. My favorite ones created during my favorite pastime: people watching. You never know what kinds of things you can notice people doing when they do not think someone is watching, I myself find that I do things and pray that no one saw it. One of the best places to participate in this, the ultimate spectator sport (that is because the spectator is the participant) is within the walls of bar.

I cannot begin to recount the hilarious bunch that I encountered in my brief stint as a bartender as a beach side restaurant. They were all part of a tiny microcosm that was Gaitors restaurant, in very small corner of the universe called Seabright, New Jersey. It literally took about one single day to fit in to this work environment, or semi-work environment. Guest and co-workers alike were easy to get to know and I loved being there as much as I could.

Every place is full of regulars with their odd idiosyncrasies. What was interesting about Gaitors was that the restaurant was a peculiar mixture of local townies and wealthy diners. The dcor was gorgeous and the food was sensational. You could get a massive plate of fresh fish and veggies, amazing pizza, or just some wings. Since it was a beach bar, so to speak, there was some tourists thrown in the mix, bennies (what us shore people call northern Jersey and NYC inhabitants that cause bumper to bumper traffic all day starting as early as 9:30 in the morning on a nice weekend), and just people who liked to talk, which are always fun.

This is one story out of many about all the people I met; the crazy characters that permeate every scene of my summer. Memories that will not leave my brain unless forcibly removed. However, the weirder the better in my book, I was just as weird as the rest of them if not more so. Which is why I was able to fit right in.

Book Lady

My all time favorite memory was my friend the book lady. She came in on an extremely hot day for lunch. After what seemed like an enormously revitalizing 3 course meal - complete with a cup of creamy chowder; a Caesar salad; an entre with a ridiculous amount of linguini, 13 fully shelled clams, and a creamy white sauce; and of course 2 rolls to soak up the periphery; 17 unsweet teas, 50 sweet-n-lows, and 3 ciggs later- my single female diner threw in her proverbial towel. She was a large, somewhat unkempt woman. She dressed as if her aspirations of becoming a park ranger influenced

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