Cheers to the Lonely

Sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. --Theme Song to CHEERS I've seldom been to a bar, and never to drink. I've been to a bar to listen to a band. In fact I did that Saturday night. It's more of a restaurant than a bar, but I just wanted to relate that I know nothing about the bar scene, except for what I've seen on television and heard in country songs. So I admit that there might be more experienced people who could write this post. I do think bars form a secular congregation of believers. They believe that this is a good place to meet people like them. They believe that having a place to go besides an empty apartment or a house that is more like a combat zone will make them feel better. Some become dependent on alcohol, to others it's just a part of the scene. In many country songs these are people who have been left behind in life ... left behind by husbands ... left behind by wives ... left behind by betrayal. The lies here are stark. The neon lights. The sparkling beverages that have a bite to them as they go down. The loosened inhibitions as the alcohol begins to take effect. The waitress is not flirting, she's friendly because she wants a good tip. Some country songs play more lies on the jukebox. The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time. I Went To Bed At Two With a Ten and Woke Up at Ten With a Two. But I think a bigger lie looms in the bar than the one night stands and faded love. A bar is a perfect place to be lonely. You're not really alone because there are people all around you. Yet, you probably don't know much about those people. Sometimes they are lonely while they act rowdy and cheer on the band ... and sometimes they are lonely while they sit at the bar or a table and just drink and stare and think and wonder. This afternoon I had an episode of loneliness. I think it was a combination of some frustration, an exhausting weekend, not enough sleep last night, an all-afternoon job in front of me, and a sad song on the radio. I wondered, where do lonely people go? They go to bars and find themselves around other lonely people. I'm sure that's not true of all lonely people ... but surely there are lots of bars with people sitting by themselves sipping on beers and staring off into space wondering things like ... What if I had only spent more time with .... How could someone who claimed to be my friend ... If I had not lied about.... Am I the only one who feels.... All these years have gone by and I'm still a..... Emptiness. Is that another reason people go to bars? Because they feel empty inside and maybe if they got around some people and heard some noise and numbed their minds perhaps they might not feel so empty? The church ought to be more like a bar. People ought to come because they are lonely and empty. We ought to be watching for them ... expecting them. They ought to come and sit in the crowd and just watch. They ought to contemplate their lives. They ought to meet a person or two. Maybe they will find love or friendship. They ought to be served something that settles the jagged nerves of a beaten up soul. Sadly, church is seldom like that. But that's for another post. All I wanted to say tonight was, "Cheers to the lonely people." These wild old bones they move slow But so sure of their footsteps As I trip on the floor And lightly touch down Lord it's been ten bottles Since I tried to forget her But the memory still lingers Lying here on the ground ...And if drinking don't kill me Her memory will I can't hold out much longer The way that I feel With the blood from my body I could start my own still And if drinking don't kill me Her memory will --George Jones