you never know

I don't think that Beagles understands the main reason for bars.  Sure they are for drinking beers with your pals which could be accomplished by filling my fridge with beer and inviting over a few friends, but then you are missing two of the most important factors of a bar.  The first is that you never know who is going to walk in the door,  It could be just one of the regulars, it could be somebody who hasn't been around in awhile.  It could be somebody you like, it could be some loud mouth asshole.  It could be a perfect stranger who has a couple drinks, doesn't talk to anybody else, and walks out the door never to be seen again.  It could be somebody who has a story, has been some place, done some thing, has put a lot of thought into some subject, and wants to talk about that, or about something he has done or place he has been.  His story might be fascinating or it might be a huge bore.  You never know and that is the point.  You never know who is going to come in the door.

Speaking of the door, you can walk out of it anytime you want to.  I suppose any of my guests at my hypothetical beer party could do that, but with so few people they would kind of have to make some excuse, tell some story, not a big deal, but not as easy as just walking out the door,  And if I were hosting the party I would not have that option at all.

A bar is kind of like The Street.  I have always loved The Street.  Anybody can amble down the sidewalk anytime they choose, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief., they all have equal rights to the sidewalk.  Nobody has exclusive use of the finest part of the pavement, nobody gets to block it without being told to move on.  And the best part is that you never know who you are going to run into.  The Store is a lot like The Street.  It's why I almost never buy anything online, I prefer the adventure of The Store, you can look over the merchandise, you can ask pertinent questions, you can crack a joke, you never have to prove that you are not a robot, people take you at your face.  And The Restaurant.  Oh you can get something to go and take it home and wolf it down while watching some crappy tv show, but how much better to have a little interaction with the server, observe the people at the other tables, and of course, you never know who is going to walk in the door.

Many years ago I had occasion to go into the burbs (the end of the train line, a long ride on a suburban bus) for some computer crapola.  It was in what they call an industrial park, a broad street with huge lawns on either side (never have liked those huge groomed lawns, big waste of space if you ask me), and on the far side of those lawns low slung buildings, this company, that company.  They did not have a front door.  The only access was down a driveway and I assume they had a parking lot behind the building.  I guess you parked there and then went to your office where you spent your whole day except for lunch in the company cafeteria.  A guy could have been working in the building next door for as long as you worked in your building and you would never know they existed.

Downtown you see people all the time, you see them on your way to work and from the window in your office and there are all those wonderful restaurants downtown crammed with all sorts of people and you never know who is going to walk in the door.  It was my theory that this was why the burbs were more conservative than the city, the only people they ever saw were other white middle class people.  They always knew who would come in the door.