"The Magnificent Lakeview Lounge"

Word count: 14208
This time in 2003: 8568
This time in 2002: 9327
Here's our first special cameo. Phil, this is for you.

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Chapter 10: The Magnificent Lakeview Lounge
(In which I get a drink.)

I need a drink, good lord, I need a drink. I deserve a drink, yes I do. And I know just the spot. It's a bit of a hike, but it's got everything I need (stools, a bar, booze and a friendly mixologist) and it's within stumbling distance of home. I head there posthaste.
The Lakeview Lounge has been around since the 1920s and it shows. It is the very definition of a dive bar. There are holes in the walls, holes in the floors -- it's amazing the place hasn't fallen apart around its patrons. The sign out front which declares "Live entertainment" uses two Ns to make up the M. It's that kind of place. But it's friendly and cheap, and like I said before, it's got everything I need.
From the name, you might think that it was in Lakeview, or that it at the very least had a view of the lake. Neither of these things are true. The bar was opened by Jake and Sylvia Lakeview, the great-grandparents of the current owner, my good friend, Bart.
"Charlie!" Bart says as I walk in the door. "It's good to see ya. It's been too long!"
Bart is about my age, tall and rail-thin with a wild shock of white hair that he's had for as long as I've known him. I met him back when we were both in high school. Where I was the average, invisible kid, Bart was the exact opposite. With a build like his, it's impossible to go unnoticed. He has a personality to match: gregarious and friendly, good-natured and funny. He also had a darker side that was mostly quelled when he took over the family business, but still comes out from time to time when he's forced to remove an unruly customer. When we were kids, Bart was the one who got me into trouble. It was never anything serious, but it did cause my parents to worry from time to time. Bart was a natural leader though, and it was tough for me to ever say no to him, no matter what my better judgment told me. And we always had so much fun....
"Howdy, Bart." I say, smiling. It's always nice to see a friendly face, and that song does have it right -- you do want to go somewhere where everybody knows your name. "It's good to be seen."