It had been a while, months...

It had been a while, months at least, since I last visited the Acrop. And my prior visit seemed to me to show that I had lost that "regular customer" vibe I'd gotten in the past. Waitresses ignored me, dancers didn't stick around long for the tips I was throwing on the stage. No worries, I'll get that back. I'll visit often, order the same drink every time, and tip well. Because the atmosphere is more important to me than saving money by stiffing working dancers and staff. I make good money and I rarely spend it all so why not have fun with the money I keep?

So I sat at the front stage, the one downstairs by the bar, with the Budwiser sign and where the stairs lead up to the dancer's dressing room, and patiently flagged down a waitress. It was packed, even though it was early (I'd timed my visit to be an hour or so before shift change, which is around 9p) and a mixed crowd, mostly groups in their 20s or 30s, men and women alike. Some old-timers (that's men older than me, to me) but not a majority of the crowd. The dancers were young, too - or maybe I'm just getting older. And beautiful, every one of them.

It took me at least two tries to get a waitress' attention but I had plenty of singles so I was in no hurry. I ordered my Pendleton whisky on the rocks (a $7.50 drink at the Acrop) gave her a ten and told her to keep it all. When she returned, my drink was in a larger glass than normal, and she leaned down and whispered in my ear "Don't tell anyone, but that's a double. Thank you for being so patient!" There's a prominent sign at the bar - "We Do Not Serve Doubles". It's been there forever. I thanked her and assured her it was between the two of us. This time, unlike others, I could actually taste the alcohol.