Another wild week in the jungle we call 2020 but I can’t remember exactly what transpired this week. Something big, right? I know Bowling Green gave up 62 points in their football game but I don’t think that’s national news (or surprising). It’ll come to me.

Anyway, we move forward toward Thanksgiving. As happy as I was to see the Dodgers win the World Series and the NBA finish, it’s put a severe dent in sports available to watch. Usually, at this time of year, NBA has started and hockey is underway. Now, nothing. It’s sad to see my dad shuffle around with no sports to watch.

Bartender of the Week

I met and worked with Chris Stoddard twenty-some years ago when we both worked for The Village Pub in Palm Springs and to this day he still is pound for pound and inch for inch the best bartender I’ve seen. He was an absolute beast. You couldn’t work faster than him and you couldn’t outsell him, no matter how hard you tried. And his skill was and is top notch.

Stats: 6’2 with a long wing span.

Superpower: Take 20 orders and make 20 drinks at the same time. Uncanny memory.

Kryptonite: San Francisco Giants and knick knacks.

Fun Fact: Chris is not impressed by magicians and their shenanigans.

An outstanding bartender and good friend, I welcome Chris to the new pantheon of Bartenders of the Week. No one is more deserving. You can catch Chris at MidiCi in Marina Del Rey.

This week’s Tip of the Cap goes to all the workers who put in thankless long hours to make the shit-show of this year’s election run somewhat smooth. The hours were long and grim and the gratitude low. Thank you all.

And a Wag of the Finger to the counters in Nevada. From my experience, I know damn well that if you had the casinos in charge of counting the ballots, they’d have had them finished before 11 PM on Tuesday. Offer them the vig and it woulda been sooner.

That’s it for The Odds and The Ends this week, thank you for reading. If you have a bartender you’d like me to mention, please DM or Message me and I’ll do that. Be good to one another this week and my friend’s take my advice; pull down your pants and slide on the ice.

Kevin R. Andrade