Life Behind Bars

About the Author There simply is no easy way to explain author Ray DeGraw Jr.  People have been trying to do it for years, few have...

Chapter 16 You’re Welcome! I have been accused of many things in my life.  I have been told I am arrogant, brash, have a small shred of...

Chapter 15 $2.13 and the Art of the Tip In my 20 years of tending bar, it never ceased to amaze me how many people out there don’t know...

Chapter 14 There Are Only Ten Drinks  (Time to get technical!) There were three questions that always seemed to pop up from customers on...

Chapter 13 Millennial Madness The walls were slowly closing in on me.  Madness and depression were taking their grips on my once...

Chapter 12 The Great Escape, Part II In spite of my triumph over the Brothers Grimm, I couldn’t help but feel underappreciated.  I felt...

Chapter 11 All Good Things Must Come To an End Life can certainly be a funny thing sometimes.  Just when you’re up, something will come...

Chapter 10 Just What the Doctor Ordered I have found over the years that there is nothing more important than being prepared for your...

Chapter 9 The Help I have, in this short life, done it all.  I have worked for a newspaper, I have worked in construction, I have worked...

Chapter 8 Ownership In all my years of living on this planet we call Earth, I have never encountered a group of individuals who cry the...

Chapter Seven The Cast Hipster Henry Well, if dealing with millennials isn’t bad enough, meet Hipster Henry.  A simple minded sheep...

Chapter Six If You Build It, They Will Come Let’s face it, the true ambition in life is to find your significant other.  To find your...

Chapter Five Zanzibar! It seems silly to me now as I think back to it...you know, “throwing” away my "so-called" career and a college...

Chapter Four The Great Escape The first couple of shifts weren’t the easiest, which is always the case when you start working a new...

Chapter 3 Another Bump in the Road When growing up, my father and I loved watching Cheers together on Thursday nights.  Seems a bit odd...

Chapter Two Life of the Party I guess I always pictured tending bar as throwing a party every night and getting paid for it.  Quite...

Life Behind Bars (Everything you did and didn't want to know about the restaurant industry) By Raymond DeGraw Jr. To my wife, Kathy, for...