{"id":13160,"date":"2026-03-10T20:37:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T20:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/?p=13160"},"modified":"2026-03-10T20:37:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T20:37:58","slug":"the-oldtimers-bar-and-the-mystery-guests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/the-oldtimers-bar-and-the-mystery-guests\/","title":{"rendered":"The Oldtimers\u2019 Bar and the Mystery Guests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bartender glanced toward the seven men at the end of the bar and said with a grin, \u201cAh, those fellows? They\u2019re retired policemen. They always sit here, just watching. Don\u2019t drink, don\u2019t order\u2026 they\u2019re on <em>inspection duty.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The four retirees looked at each other, puzzled. \u201cInspection duty?\u201d one asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes,\u201d the bartender explained. \u201cEvery time I open, they sit there to make sure I don\u2019t cheat anyone. Honest as the day is long!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The four men laughed, finishing their martinis. But after a few more rounds, one of them whispered, \u201cSomething seems off. Seven retired policemen just watching\u2026 that\u2019s a lot of eyes for a small bar!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Continue reading on next page\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Curiosity got the better of them. After the next round, they walked over to the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cExcuse me,\u201d said the first retiree, \u201cbut why do you just sit here without drinking anything?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the policemen smiled knowingly. \u201cWell, someone has to make sure the drinks are only ten cents. Plus, we like to reminisce about the old days. And\u2026 we enjoy seeing new customers get a bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The retirees nodded in appreciation. \u201cThat\u2019s fair,\u201d said another. \u201cWe can respect a good watchdog policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then the bartender added with a twinkle in his eye, \u201cAnd here\u2019s the best part: if anyone ever tries to scam me or sneak a free drink, these seven gentlemen will make sure it doesn\u2019t happen. It keeps the bar honest\u2026 and keeps me laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The four retirees chuckled, clinking their glasses together. They spent the afternoon sharing stories, drinking the incredible martinis, and occasionally glancing at the seven silent policemen who were keeping watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By evening, the old men left with full hearts and empty glasses, promising to return. And as they stepped into the warm Cooktown night, one said, \u201cBest ten cents we ever spent\u2026 and the most entertaining bar we\u2019ve ever visited!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The moral? Sometimes, a bargain, a few martinis, and a group of silent watchers make for the perfect day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The bartender glanced toward the seven men at the end of the bar and said with a grin, \u201cAh, those&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13162,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13160\/revisions\/13162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/sirbenet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}