Real drinkers
I was standing in the bar of the Sunset Restaurant in Glen Burnie one recent Monday afternoon to pick up a takeout order, and the place was surprisingly full.
Some of the people at the bar were eating, but most were nursing glasses of scotch or bottles of beer. Most were quiet, although a few discussed sports while staring at a couple TVs on the wall above the bar. They looked to be in their 40s, 50s and 60s, and weren't too interested in talk.
I told Sun reporter Jacques Kelly about them, and he said those kind of people were "real drinkers."
Kelly was right, but I didn't really get the full meaning of what he said until the next day. I had to go back to the restaurant on a Tuesday to pickup another takeout order for a photo shoot.
Some of the same people were there again, sipping the same drinks. Some were even in the same seats. And this is like 2 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon. It was kind of sad.
I hope that's not me in 40 years. Real drinkers or not, I could think of a few better things to do with my retirement than sitting in a Glen Burnie bar all day.
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
