Greatest bartender in the world, she worked at the Fiddler's Green, the junior officer bar at Knox. Kim was a slight, Korean woman. She always wore tasteful clothing, and her bartender skills were legendary. She know what everyone in the room was drinking. And, trust me, Cavalry and Armor officers are exuberant drinkers. Three hundred fools in her bar, and she knew what ever one of them was drinking.
One night in 81 I came in after three days in the field, teaching Guard soldiers tank gunnery.. I was parched, I was tired, and Kim was ready to serve. Normally, I drank bourbon, but i told her I was ready to switch horses. I wanted something different. And I was hungry.
Kim looked at me with her inscrutable Asian eyes. "You wanna vodka tonic, and a Ruben sandwich". It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact.
I trusted Kim. She had been taking care of junior officers for many years. "Okay", I told her. "Vodka tonic and a Ruben sandwich."
I came back to Knox in '86 for the career course. When I walked into the bar, Kim looked at me, her eyes narrowed, and she asked "You drinking bourbon, or you want vodka tonic?" Five years I had not been in her bar, yet she knew what to ask.
I hope she's retired now, living happily with grandkids all around her. She was a great bartender.
3 comments:
Too bad the Army's crackdown on alcoholic related misbehavior killed the post clubs, except maybe overseas.
(And of course, the post-9/11 base access restrictions all but ensure there are no young ladies in the clubs, even if they were still going concerns.)
Sigh... Good ones are one in a million!
During OBC in '87, I went to Fiddler's Green and Tanker Bar. Very nice people on staff. Did you ever eat at Otter Creek?
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