The Daily O’Collegian

Ask people what comes to mind when they think of Ray Charles. “R&B singer” or “blind musician” — or maybe even “Jamie Foxx movie” — would be likely answers.

Ask Nick Ecker, a landscape contracting junior, and he thinks “mixed drink.”

“People bring in their buddies on their 21st birthday and cover their eyes,” Ecker said. “Then, I hand the blindfolded birthday boy three pieces of ice and watch as he throws the cubes at the liquor bottles. Whatever three he hits, that’s his drink.”

Strange drink mixes aren’t the only unusual thing Ecker has encountered in his three years bouncing and bartending at Dirty’s Tavern.

“We’ve had six or seven brawls with at least 20 or 25 people involved,” he said. “One person throws a punch, then a few more people jump in, then a few more and before you know it, everyone is just hitting everyone — their friends, the bouncers, random people.”

Amy Honeyman, a marketing junior, has been bartending at Dirty’s Tavern for eight months now and said she’s already seen her share of events in that short time.

“Some people do small stuff, like pour themselves [Jagermeister], but I’ve been here when people peed under the table, had sex in the bathroom, and about three weeks ago, someone pulled the toilet out of the ground.”

Honeyman said people become most upset when there are beer specials and the bartenders go by “bar time.”

“Since we start serving 10 minutes early, we stop serving 10 minutes early, but people want to go by their watch,” Honeyman said. “People get pissed and start throwing their cigarettes or beers at us.”

As bad as that sounds, Honeyman said it’s not the worst thing she’s experienced.

“One girl was passed out in the bathroom,” Honeyman said. “She was ass-out, covered in her own puke and who knows what else. We had to drag her out of the bathroom, and she kept fighting us, saying she didn’t need help. It was disgusting.”

Jamie Hamilton has been bartending at Willie’s since November of last year and has seen people trying to steal liquor and girls giving oral sex on the patio while it’s closed.

Joe Baldwin, who began working for Willie’s two weeks ago, worked at The Copper Penny for two years and said the most unusual thing he saw involved someone’s grandfather.

“About six guys walked in, all dressed in business clothes,” Baldwin said. “They order their drinks, sit at the double tables and one asks the group ‘Think Grandpa would mind if we brought him in?’

“So I’m thinking they’re going to assist their grandpa or he’s in a wheelchair or something. But they bring in a box shaped like an octagon and sit it on the table. Turns out, it was their grandpa’s ashes.”

As if that wasn’t strange enough, Baldwin said a woman drinking a Bloody Mary approached the men and was invited to meet their grandfather. She rubbed the urn and said “Hi, Grandpa.”

Baldwin also tells the tale of a group of girls and their “special” friend.

“Every group of girls has the DUFF,” Baldwin said. “DUFF stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend. She’s usually the one who drives everyone home and makes the other girls look prettier. But she’s also the biggest cock block if you piss her off.

“Well, one time when I was working the door, the DUFF found herself a good ole’ boy and was going to take him home. All of her friends start calling her a hussy or whatever and one yells out she’s going to call her mom.

“Before you know it, she has her phone out and is really calling her mom! I couldn’t believe it!”

But like many others, being a bartender isn’t the only thing Baldwin does in the bar.

He also specializes in random bar tricks, bar bets and “barorigami” — the “art” of folding bar napkins into designs.

“I’ve gotten some numbers and even some dates from that little trick,” he said.

Baldwin had another story about his friend Charlie that wanted his keys to drive home, but Baldwin wouldn’t tell him where they were.

“Charlie stands in the middle of the bar, takes off his shoes and then his shorts,” Baldwin said. “So Charlie is standing there in his underwear, looks at me and says, ‘Joe, I can’t find my keys no where!’”

Jordan Hampshire has been bartending at The Copper Penny since January and had some interesting stories of her own.

“I’ve found a guy’s pair of underwear in the men’s toilet,” Hampshire said. “But my favorite part is when we have to cut people off. They stumble up to the bar and begin to sway while trying to order a drink. Then they argue and say, ‘I’m not drunk.’

“Sure you’re not.”