A Very Dry Martini

To the right is a very old snapshot of hubby and I taken in 1976. We were engaged at that point, but we had been dating for about a year. Dating in NJ had been fun.There are plenty of places along the Jersey Shore providing entertainment and drinks. By far, the hottest spot in NJ in those days was Jimmy Byrne’s Sea Girt Inn. So, one night we decided to check out the crowd at the Sea Girt Inn. We took a friend of mine along who I had known since high school. 

The place was packed--literally. People stood shoulder to shoulder. It made me nervous because if anything happened, we could never get out quickly. Nevertheless, we made our way to the bar, which was no small feat in that crowd. My soon to be hubby ordered a dry martini. The bartender was quite a character. He asked, "How dry?" Hubby told him it should be very dry. So the bartender squirted the Vermouth over his shoulder. We thought that was hilarious. 

We edged away from the bar. My friend's drink spilled down the back of the man in front of her. I was not having a good time. The press of people was too much for me. I was grateful when we left. 

In these COVID-19 days, I think of the past when everyone crowded together without any cares. I wasn't concerned about germs at the Sea Girt Inn, I was worried about a fire. How innocent we were.