First Pour

Jake's Bar

West Chester, PA

February 2023

We come here frequently. It's a corner tap room in a college town. In the morning, when they open at 8AM, the 3rd shift workers wanders in and has a drink before they head home and go to bed. Around noon, the postal workers, the construction guys and other men in various vest uniforms sit at the bar. In the early afternoon, college kids come in and fuel up before they go to their college dives. In the evening, the locals wander in and take up all the seats at the bar. They all know each other and are in no need of much conversation.

One day, I decided that I wanted to get there when it first opens up and get the first pour of the day. For reasons I can't explain, I saw this as some sort of badge of honor. So my two friends and I showed up at 7:45 AM and knocked on the door. Someone called out to us to let us know that the bar wasn't open yet. I called back and told him that I knew it didn't open until 8 AM but I wanted to make sure I was the first pour of the day. He shouted out, "What?" and I yelled back that I wanted to get the first pour of the day. He asked if that was a new thing now and I confessed that it was just my crazy idea. He told me he had to drop his kids off to school and when he came back, he made sure I would get first pour. I waited patiently and when he returns, he poured me a beer and my day was now complete.