Bars have been the focal point of communities for centuries. It brings people together in a happy, jovial and tipsy environment, and i do feel sorry for anyone who has never been in one.

Like my letter in The Star in response to an alcophobic said, ”To many of us, having a drink is a time to relax after a hard week’s work, let off steam, chat and laugh hard (have you ever seen sad and sulking friends sitting together in a bar?), and catch up with friends and family.”

It’s a place to bond.

Bars. Always ready for u

It’s also a place to celebrate an occasion, drown some sorrows, get spiritual, break (n mend) hearts, debate, flirt, discuss, hide, recharge and maybe even dream.

The social lubricant called ethanol helps, ensuring anything can happen.

No club or restaurant can perform similar functions.

It’s an essential weekly social activity and hobby for many. I’m in a bar every week for sure. It’s sumtin many people look forward to, sometimes without realizing it.

There’s this piece in this online mag (Serious Eats) entitled When Bars Were More Than Just Bars. Traditionally in some countries, bars were gathering points for the community and its leaders. Sorta like a town hall.

”They’ve always had a unique role of being places both part of and separate from the common horde, which is part of their appeal. The sociologist Ray Oldenburg described bars as a “third place,” different from home or work, where people could escape but still be part of a group. In centuries past, however, bars were far more than just that, and doubled as de facto town halls, jails, courtrooms, theaters, and places where schemers schemed and plotters plotted.”

I’ve definitely plotted in bars, with fellow Socialists. Haha.

”A lot of stuff gets stirred up and started in bars: protests, movements, sit-ins, and even the occasional revolution.”

”In the lead-up to the American Revolution, Philadelphia’s City Tavern became the unofficial meeting place for the First Continental Congress and is where George Washington and John Adams met for the first time.”

D place to be

In countries where there’re no bars, where do folk gather? Hmmm.

When i was in Kandahar, Afghanistan, there were no bars (or even booze, tho there were lotsa drugs). People just sat their asses home most of d time. Lights out 10pm kinda shit. Not a very enticing life.

Not much to look forward to. Socially at least.

I did write a lil bout it once on this blog.( However, that post is now labelled ‘private’, as it’s probably better for Mercy Malaysia that way.)

So whichever bar you hangout at, that’s your public-cum-private refuge for those few hours.

Your second, cozy, crazy home. Enjoy it!