NICE GUY AWARD

Having been a DC bartender for almost forty years, I have come across all kinds of people: good, bad, indifferent, nice, mean, generous, cheap, straight, gay, not-sure-which-way, young, old, famous, infamous, etc., etc. When behind the bar, I always wanted to be treated as a person, not a servant. And one of the people who fit that bill was Lanny Davis, White House Counsel to President Clinton. One of the nicest people I've ever served in all those years of bartending. I was always supposed to have a smile on my face for my guests, (formerly customers, but that term is politically incorrect now. And go REDSKINS!), but Lanny always had a smile for me. When Lanny Davis was working at the White House for President Clinton, he would stop in after work at the Oval Room Restaurant, where I was tending bar at the time, and quaff down a couple of Tanqueray and tonics. (From all the pressure he was under, I'm surprised he never had more than a couple!) And he was always writing down his notes on my bar napkins for his book, "Truth To Tell." I always kidded him, and told him I wanted those "note napkins" for a souvineer! Lanny Davis always made it worthwhile to go in to work. It was always a pleasure for me to serve him. He was always a gentleman, and never had a mean word for or about anyone. (Another "nicest person award" would go to George Stephanopolous, who came into my bar one morning, and asked if I minded if he sat at my bar while waiting for his lunch compatriots. He also greeted me with a smile! This was also at the Oval Room, one of the three times I ever worked a day shift during my long career. Lanny is also a gifted jazz pianist, as he demonstrated one night on the Oval Room piano, with his wife Carolyn singing at his side. If he ever left his law career, he would have a job as a jazz pianist overnight, in a heartbeat. I wish all my guests were as nice as Lanny Davis. But if they were, then I'd have no material for my memoirs!